


A New Beginning

by animedevilluvzyuri



Category: Akame ga Kill!, RWBY
Genre: Crossover, Eventual Relationships, F/F, Starting Over, Wordcount: 400.000, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2018-10-31 15:13:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 76
Words: 455,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10901955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animedevilluvzyuri/pseuds/animedevilluvzyuri
Summary: Six months after the creation of the new Empire, Akame reunites with Leone. With everything they've been through together in their Night Raid days and their current life, Akame longs for a new start. That wish came true when Akame and Leone suddenly arrived in a new world and meet many new people. From assassins to students, they'll learn all they can about being huntresses.





	1. Reunion

**A/N: Yep you read the summary right. This'll take a bit different turn from how the anime ended so Leone is alive in this story. Hey she has to be to make this pairing work. Any case hope all of you will enjoy this. I know I will. Opening song Foreground Eclipse From Under Cover (Caught Up In A Love Song)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill One: Reunion

The sounds of crunching of leaves could be heard on the forest floor. A lone figure wearing a black cloak was walking through the woods wandering aimlessly with no destination in mind. The figure wasn't paying any attention until several bandits suddenly appeared and surrounded the figure. All of them were laughing at their new prey. One of them walked up to the figure. "Didn't anyone tell you that you're walking on our turf? If you want to pass, you better have some valuables on you." The figure didn't reply back which pissed the bandit off. "Hey, are you deaf or something? Either pay up or I'm gonn-" The figure quickly drew a sword and slashed at the bandit's neck. He let out a gurgled scream while holding onto his neck. "Y-You bas…tard…" He dropped down to the ground dead.

The other bandits readied their weapons after seeing what happened to their own. "Get that asshole now!" All of the other bandits yelled at charged right at the figure. However, that wasn't smart on their part. When the next bandits came in close to the figure, they all slashed across the chest. Within seconds they fell down dead. The same happened to the next few who came in close. The figure decided to go on the offensive and cut apart anyone in the figure's path. Any bandit in the figure's way was cut apart into two halves and several more pieces. The bandits soon realized they weren't dealing with any normal person.

One of them started to back out. "W-What the hell? I'm getting out of here!" Other's had the same idea. No amount of money was worth being dead. They started to run away but stopped scared when the figure jumped in front of them. They started to take a few steps back while feeling fear coursing through their bodies. "Hey, come on now. You can pass. We won't bother you again. We swear!" The bandit's pleas fell on deaf ears as the figure went right through them and slashed them apart.

All of the bandits were dead and the figure sheathed the sword. "How many people who have begged the same way have all of you killed?" The Wind blew through softly and blew back the hood covering the figure's head. It was revealed that the figure was Akame with those same scars she had bared since her battle against Esdeath. She looked at the corpses and sighed at the sight before her. "Yet more I have to bear." She continued to walk through the forest. While walking, Akame began to have some thoughts. _"_ _How long have I been traveling? I lost track of time some time ago. How many people have I killed since I started this aimless journey? How much blood have I spilled? How many screams have I heard?"_ These kinds of questions were often asked in Akame's mind. No matter how much she asked, there was no answer to them. Soon her walking became unfocused fell down onto the forest ground. There was one more question Akame had to ask. _"How long has it been since I last ate?"_ Ever since she started this lonely journey, Akame never did regain her normal appetite. She figured it must've had something to do with the markings all over her body. She really wasn't the same after that battle. After everything she went through, Akame simply powered through everything on sheer will alone but even that was running out on her. So here she was, all alone in a nameless forest lying on the ground as easy prey for any nearby danger beast to come by and have her as a meal. In all honesty, Akame would rather prefer that. She had no purpose now. For most of her life, it was either being fooled into believing she was helping the Empire while seeing her allies being killed or fighting against the Empire while her allies were being killed one after another. Now that the Revolution was over and everything else will be right since then, what place was there for someone like her?

All Akame had left were the markings all over her body reminding her of all the people, all the blood she had killed while using Murasame. She started to close her eyes. _"Perhaps this is where I will die. What do I have worth living for now? Everyone I knew is either gone or dead. Maybe I'll see them again in the next life if there is one and if I'm even worthy of one. Can someone of my sins be forgiven?"_ Those were more questions that she knew will never have answers. Akame began to close her eyes and await whatever plans fate had in store for her.

**B**

The first thing Akame noticed when she came to was that she was warm. The next was that she could hear the crackling of a fire nearby. She opened up her eyes to see a campfire near her and it was night. Not only that but there was a cover over her which explained further why she felt so warm. Near the fire were several pieces of large meat impaled by sticks. Akame couldn't remember the last time she had seen food. Suddenly, hunger overcame her and snatched one the meats and ate vigorously. She didn't care who saved her as long as Akame remembered to be grateful to the one who brought her here. While eating, Akame failed to notice another person walking up behind her. "Well, I'm glad to see you're up and hungry."

Akame stopped eating as she recognized the voice. She stopped eating altogether and looked back to see an old face. "Leone?"

Leone grinned at her friend. "Hey, Akame. Long time no see." She was suddenly being hugged by the other girl. A bit surprising but it was welcome. "I'm happy to see you too." After their little reunion, the two were enjoying each other's company. "Seriously, it's really awesome seeing you again. It's been what, six months?"

The other girl was a bit surprised hearing that. "It's been that long? I had no idea."

The blonde nodded at the question. "Uh-huh. Although, you look like you've seen better days. You're lucky I came around when I found you."

That did bring a question Akame has been meaning to ask. "What are you doing here anyway Leone?"

Leone giggled nervously. "I was just passing through honestly. When I heard screams, I went over to where they were to find a bunch of dead bandits. A little further along and I found you unconscious."

Perhaps it was coincidence or maybe fate. Akame was happy to see an old friend again. There was one thing that worried her. "And how are your wounds?" She remembered Leone was shot several times by the Prime Minister. It was luck that the blonde managed to pull through. She was able to kill him but as a result, she lost Lionel.

Leone placed her hand on her stomach. "Not too bad. I can still feel some of the scarring. Then again you have some scars of your own huh?"

Akame looked at her arm to see the scar running along with it. "It's not so bad. You kinda get used to it."

The blonde looked at the scar as well. She knew Akame wouldn't be the same after she used Murasame's Trump Card. Still, she was beyond happy to see an old friend again. Even old feelings she had from before began to surface again. "So…how have you been doing Akame? See anything new since we last saw each other?"

Akame just lowered her head and looked at the ground. "Some new sites but nothing else. I'm never in one place for long."

The other girl could relate. "Yeah I know what you mean. I'm never in one spot as well."

Akame chuckled. "I'm sure you owe some money from a lot of loan sharks."

Now that was funny to Leone and she laughed. "Y-Yeah. Something like that." She muttered that part under her breath. "I'm telling you it sucks not having Lionel anymore. Sure I'm still strong in my own way but with it, I could've beaten the crap out of so many people that pissed me off."

So it wasn't only Akame who was struggling to get by since their last meeting. She wondered about something. "Hey, Leone…" The other girl listened closely to hear what Akame had to say. "Do you ever sometimes wonder that with everything that we've been through, this what we deserve? Just wandering aimlessly surviving day in and day out."

Leone gave that question some thought and leaned back. "Well, we kinda knew what was going be in store for us once the Revolution was over. It's like Tatsu-" She stopped herself from saying the name. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." Akame gave a weak smile. "It's like he said. We're assassins out of business. There's no place for people like us anymore."

That comment brought Leone down a little bit. "Yeah, that's true. There isn't much for ex-assassins like us to do anything. Well, more so me than you. At least you still have Murasame. Me on the other hand…" She shuddered at her next thought. "You don't want to know."

At least the two of them were in the same boat together. Akame sighed. "So this is what's left of Night Raid. Just forgotten in the shadows."

Leone felt the same way. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Akame looked up at the night sky. "Sometimes I wish I can start over. A new start somewhere else."

Again the blonde knew what the other girl was talking about. "I kinda wish for the same thing. Kinda of a funny thing actually considering where we are?"

Akame looked at her friend and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Leone giggled. "Well, there are rumors going around about this forest. Some say that an ancient deity or god lives in this forest and when hears cries for help or some wish, it'll help you out of whatever is troubling you. Kinda dumb if you ask me but hey."

That did sound nice to Akame. "I kinda hope that's true. However…" She looked at both of her arms. "Do I even deserve a second chance with these scars around my body?"

To her surprise, Leone placed her hand on Akame's. "If you ask me, I don't mind your scars. To me, you're still the same girl I…I…" She couldn't bring to say the next words.

Akame knew what she was trying to say. "I know Leone but what we from before was just temporary. What was the term you used before? Friends with benefits?"

Leone instantly regretted those words. "Okay, you're right about that but…I do miss you a lot whenever I think about you when I'm traveling. I know what we had before was more than that. I just couldn't bring myself saying those words to you. But you should still know what no matter what kind of hell you're going through, I want to be there for you so you won't have to shoulder the whole thing by yourself."

This was the most sentimental Akame had seen from Leone. She too wanted to be a lot more than what they had in the past. Still, to her, it may be too little too late. "Are you really willing to commit such a thing?" Her answer was Leone suddenly coming over to her and pressed her lips against Akame's. Akame's eyes widened in surprise but the feeling quickly passed by and enjoyed the new feeling that was going through her body.

This kiss lingered as long as it could until Leone broke the kiss while blushing a bit. "I don't care what kind of burden you have to carry. I don't care if you become a demon yourself. All I care is that I'm not going to waste this chance again being with you Akame. I…I love you." It was at that moment Akame felt something else going through her body. A familiar feeling. Out of impulse, Akame kissed Leone fully on her lips and caused both girls to be on the forest floor without breaking the kiss. The feeling within Akame increased tenfold. Never before she would feel something like this in her life. Unfortunately for the both girls, they had to break the kiss before things got too heated for the both of them. The two were breathing heavily. Leone couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe we should start off slow first."

Akame smiled back at her. "That…would be a good idea." Although Akame wouldn't mind ravaging Leone on the spot, it was for the best to start over. After everything that happened between them, the two girls were lying together with cover on both of them and fire put out. Just as they were about to fall asleep, Akame had some last thoughts. "I do wish we can start over. Have a new life. Just me and you Leone."

The blonde wrapped her arm around the other girl's body. "I know. I kinda wish for the same thing. Maybe it'll happen someday but for now, let's just enjoy the moment we have now."

Sleep started to overcome them and began to close their eyes. "Leone…" The other girl just mumbled something in response. "I love you too." She didn't hear a response. Akame quickly fell asleep.

Sometime after the two girls were sleeping, a mysterious woman clad in a pure white dress quietly approached them. The woman had an ethereal aura to her and a mysterious glow. She smiled sweetly at both of the girls and put her hands together as if she was praying. _"I hear your cries of woe and grant your wish. You will no longer endure the pain you bear in this world. May the two of you live your lives anew into the next world."_ The glow around her became brighter and soon enveloped the area around them.

**B**

Akame began to stir and opened her eyes only for the bright sunlight to blind her temporally. She groaned as she sat up while covering her eyes with her arm. Once her eyes settled with the brightness, Akame looked over to her new lover. "Leone?" Again she didn't hear a response. She figured the other girl was still sleeping. Akame stood up and walked over to the lake nearby. She kneeled down and splashed some water onto her face in order to wake up. It did the trick but once the water settled, Akame gasped at her reflection. Her face was clear. Clear of the scars she had from before. _"_ _How is that even possible?"_ There was also one more thing out of place with this picture. _"Where did this lake come from?"_ Akame ran over to the blonde and shook her a bit. "Leone. Leone wake up!"

Leone groaned as she began to stir and sit up. "Just five more minutes…"

It was one surprise after another when Akame saw her new girlfriend looked like. "Leone?"

The blonde turned to her. "What is it Akame? Can't we just sleep a little more?"

Akame really couldn't take her eyes off of the other girl. She wanted to tell her but it would be better if Leone saw for herself. "Leone…go over to the lake and look at yourself."

Leone didn't understand what she meant by that. "What are you talking about? There's no lake near…here…" She looked at her girlfriend and saw that there was a lake. "Where the hell did a lake come from?!" The blonde ran over to it and saw her reflection. What Leone saw made her gasp. "W-What the hell!?" She saw very familiar animal ears on her head and her hair had grown out to be very long. Not only that but she looked a bit younger as well. "What the hell is going on?! How did I get younger? Why am I in beast form? Where the hell is my tail!? My claws!?" It was beginning to be a bit too much for her.

Akame walked up to her trying to calm the blonde down. "I don't know. The scars on my body are gone as well."

Leone turned to her and she was right. The scars she had from before were gone. This was beginning to be very strange for the both of them. "Akame…what the hell happened to us while we were sleeping?"

The other girl wished she could answer that but there none to be found. "I don't know. All I do know is that we're in a very different location. This lake wasn't here before and you…you look like you're in your beast form but only half of it."

The blonde looked around the area and discovered something unusual. "Wait a minute. This isn't even the same forest we were in before. This is different. Where the hell are we?!"

That was a question Akame wanted to know as well. "I guess we should go and explore. If we're lucky, we may be able to find a village."

That was as good a plan as any for Leone. "Yeah you're right. Come on let's go." Akame grabbed Murasame and the two headed off in a random direction. Sure enough, this wasn't the same forest they were in before. Leone kept messing with her new look. "Seriously this is weird. It's like I'm stuck between my human and my beast form. I wonder if I got any of my strength back. How am I like this anyway? Lionel was destroyed."

Akame was wondering the same thing. The same could be said about her scars. "It is quite strange. I hope we can find the answers soon. Then again if we don't, I am happy to be traveling with you Leone."

Well, maybe things weren't all bad. Still, there were a few things the blonde had to complain about. She looked at her arms. "It's kinda weird having my normal arms instead of my claws. Also…" She looked back and whined a little. "I don't even have my tail. That's just not fair. That was my favorite part."

Akame giggled as she smiled at the blonde. "And why is that?"

Leone just looked away for a bit. "Promise not to laugh." She glanced back to see Akame nod her head. "Sometimes when I'm alone, I go into my beast form and…play with my tail for a little bit." And that resulted in Akame laughing a bit. Leone growled at her. "I thought I told you not to laugh."

Akame quickly stopped but couldn't stop smiling. "I'm sorry Leone. It's just that I didn't expect such a cute secret from you. If I have to be honest, I do like you having longer hair. It really suits you."

Leone ran her fingers through her hair upon hearing that. "You think so? I could never grow out my hair the natural way. To be honest, I kinda like it this way too. I guess we'll have plenty of time to talk about these things once we figure out where the hell are we." That was something Akame could agree on. They walked a bit more into the forest until they came into a clearing with a large cliff in front. They stopped and Leone groaned. "Huh. Kinda of a dead end huh? No matter. Hopefully, I can jump up that cliff while carrying you Akame." Suddenly, Leone picked up a faint sound from her lion ears and became aware.

Akame was also the same as she heard the crunching of leaves. She grabbed ahold of Murasame's hilt. "It seems we have company." The next thing they heard was vicious snarling coming from all around. She saw countless pairs of red eyes coming out from the forest darkness. They soon saw the beasts emerge out of the forest and they puzzled the two girls. "I've never danger beasts like these before."

Leone had to agree. "Something tells me these things aren't distant relatives of Razor Wolves." The strange wolves continued to surround the two girls. Instead of feeling being threatened, Leone just grinned at the situation they were. "What do you say Akame? Want to have some fun just like old times?"

Akame drew out Murasame. "Sure why not? It's been while. Now then…" She pointed her sword at the wolves and looked at them with threatening eyes. "We'll bury all of you."

**A/N: Ending song Luschka (** **ルシュカ** **) - moratorium**


	2. Killing Impressions

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Two: Killing Impressions

Deep in the Emerald Forest, a group of four girls was making their way to a destination while having a conversation to pass the time. The conversation however really wasn't the topic one of them wanted to talk about. "Look how many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

One of the girls, Weiss Schnee scoffed at Yang's complaint. "Sorry still won't be enough to forgive you, Yang. You're the only one out of all of us that failed the test and now here we are cleaning up your mess."

The brawler of the group groaned. "But I seriously tried. Honestly. Come on Ruby back me up here."

The leader of their group did feel a bit bad for her older sister. "I do kinda think you're being a little too hard on her Weiss. Can't you just give her a break?"

The heiress glared at the other girl. "Can't you just do your duties as her leader and not her sister?"

Once again it was up to Blake to be her partner's saving grace. "Don't worry Yang. The whole reason we're here is to help you out. We'll get through this no problem."

The blonde was grateful for her friend's words. "Thank you. At least someone is supportive of me. Unlike a certain Ice Queen, I know of."

Weiss growled at the nickname. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?!"

Blake just sighed at the two girl's confrontation. "Come on now. The sooner we finish this assignment, the faster we can go back to our dorm."

That was something everyone could agree on. There was one problem, though. "What was this assignment again?" Ruby asked.

Weiss sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's to clear out a den of Beowolves and we're supposed to do it as a team. It's the only saving grace we have thanks to Yang's screw up."

The brawler of the group was really becoming tired of the heiress' attitude toward her. "Oh, will you just drop it already Weiss? I was just off a few points on the test that's all."

"A few points can make a difference of a pass/fail grade and you failed Yang. Even your sister did better than you." Weiss countered.

Blake shook her head at where this conversation was going. _"If this keeps up, I think our only hope of breaking this if some weird light came out of nowhere and took us all to a different world or something."_

As the leader of the group, Ruby did have the responsibility of calming tensions within her team. "Can we please calm down? Okay, so Yang made one little mistake. That's really not enough to be angry at her right? After all, mistakes can be fixed right?"

Weiss rolled her eyes at the statement. "No Ruby. Sometimes mistakes can't be fixed. However, this one can. All we can do now is-"

"Wolf."

"Exactly like Blake said. All we have to do is wolf-" And she suddenly turned to her teammate. "Where did wolf come from?"

The Faunus girl pointed to the air. "Beowolf incoming!"

The other three looked to where she was pointing and sure enough, a Beowolf was coming at them but not the way they all thought. "Move move move!" All four girls jumped back as a carcass of Beowolf crashed into the ground. All of them walked up to it to see what that all about. Ruby was more weirded out than curious. "Okay…since when did Beowolves started to fall from the sky?"

Blake took a closer look at it and saw something unusual. "Look at its chest cavity." The rest of the group took a good look at it. "It's completely caved in."

Now that made everyone else curious. "What in the world would do that?" Weiss asked.

The Faunus girl looked at the outside edges of the cavity and found fresh blood. "This Beowolf was killed recently. Which means whoever did this is still around." She looked ahead at the path they were on. "And I bet whoever did this is up ahead."

Now everyone had to be prepared for what's coming. Sure they killed more Beowolves than they could count but not once they've seen a kill like this before. The team took off to find out who or what did this and hopefully get to the bottom of this. One thing is for sure, Yang really liked this turn of events. It was one way to make an assignment all the more interesting.

While they were running, the team found more of the Beowolves in a similar state like the one that almost fell on them. It was becoming all the stranger to them. "Jeez, what kind of a person is strong enough to chuck Beowolves after they're dead?" Yang asked.

"I don't know but it sounds like something you would do Yang." Blake joked. Yang couldn't help but agree with that.

Suddenly another one started to fall onto them but they spread out and it missed them. "Who keeps doing this?!"

Ruby wondered the same thing as Weiss. "I don't but this something or other must be really really strong if it was able to kill Beowolves like that."

"Moreover I hope it leaves some for us. I really need the grade here." Yang added.

"We should be more worried about the one who's doing this in the first place." Blake warned.

Whatever was doing this, if they did find out what then? Would the team fight against the one who was tossing dead Beowolves? That was an answer they'll soon find out. The path they were soon led to a cliff and they stopped. "Okay, so where's the thing that keeps sending these things?" Her answer came in the form of hearing something crash into cliff face below. Yang looked down to see another dead Beowolf. "Well, at least we know where they're coming from." She looked back her teammates who all had horrified looks on their faces. "What's everyone freaking out about?"

Ruby just pointed at the lower level. "Yang…look."

The blonde did just that and now understood what her sister meant. Beowolves all over were dead and their blood was spilled out of their bodies. There were at least half of them had their bodies cut into several pieces. It was a gruesome site for all four of them. "What…could've done this?" Blake wondered.

Yang giggled nervously. "Yeah, no kidding. This makes our killings look tame."

Ruby suddenly spotted something near the distance. "What's that?"

The other three girls looked at the same direction and saw what their young leader saw. Weiss narrowed her eyes. "What in the…"

"Are those…people?" Blake asked.

Sure enough, she was right. What's more is that they saw these two girls slaughtering the Beowolves that were surrounding them. They could even make out what one of them was saying. "Come on! Is that all you fleabags got!?" Several of the Beowolves charge right at her but the blonde girl of the two managed to hit one after another with devastating blows and they didn't get up from those hits.

Meanwhile, the other girl seemed to be making quick work in killing the Beowolves in front of her. The odd thing was that they would just drop after the girl slashed them just once. That made Weiss a bit curious. "What kind of a sword is that?"

While team RWBY was busy watching, Akame and Leone were kept busy by killing one Beowolf after another. After Leone kicked one after trying coming at her from the side, she was pretty happy that she was able to gain her strength from her Beast Mode. "Yeah! I still got it! Man, I forgot how much fun this was. Hey, Akame! What's your count so far?"

Akame sliced the top part of the head from a Beowolf and fell down dead. "Eighteen."

And the blonde was surprised hearing that. "Seriously? Damn, I better get it into gear." She gestured at the Beowolves around her. "Well, come on! Don't you have any balls or not!" Several of them ran right at her but Leone just smiled. Just as one came in close to her, the blonde managed to deal a blow to its side with a boom and sent it off flying. She then kicked the next one to the head and broke its neck. The third one Leone crushed its head into the ground. The blonde had to admit she was having the time of her life. "I'm back in action." She grinned at the rest of them. "Who's next!?"

The four girls didn't know what to think about what they just saw. "I don't believe it." Ruby spoke.

Weiss nodded in agreement. "No kidding. She took down three Beowolves barehanded. What kind of insane strength does that girl have?"

She was right about that but Ruby meant something different. "No, I mean that Faunus girl there looks a lot like Yang."

Yang noticed that as well. "Hey yeah. She really does. That's kinda cool and weird."

Blake was a little worried about her, though. _"_ _If she's a Faunus then…what's she doing here along with that other girl?"_

While Leone was busy celebrating, she let her guard down for a second and that was enough for one Beowolf to come from behind and bit her on the left shoulder hard. The blonde screamed and instantly grabbed on to it. "You son of a-"

"Leone!" Akame quickly headed over to her stabbed the head. A few seconds later and the Beowolf dropped dead. The blonde held her shoulder and Akame was worried about her new girlfriend. "Leone are you alright?"

The other just seethed in the pain. "Yeah, I think I'm okay. I really am out of practice."

"Can you still use your arm?" Akame asked.

As she did, another one came up right at them. However, a crushing backhand fist to the skull was all it took to kill it. The blonde smiled as she rolled her shoulder. "Yep. Good as new." She turned to the rest of them. "You're going to need a lot more than a bite if you want to kill me!" Leone charged at the next group.

Again Weiss had to shake her head to see if she was hallucinating. "Ok that's shouldn't even be possible. No one could've recovered that fast from a Beowolf bite."

Akame smiled as she was relieved that Leone was back to her old self. She turned around to deal with the next group in front of her. Rather than them coming to her, Akame rushed over to them instead and slash them apart as she passed them by while their blood spilled everywhere. A couple more jumped at her but Akame slashed through their chests and moved on to the next lot. The ones she did cut managed to stand up but then suddenly drop dead onto the ground. It was the same result every time Akame managed slashed at the Beowolves. Just one hit from Murasame and those she cut apart were dead in the next few seconds. It was something Ruby was wondering about for a bit. "What kind of a weapon is that other girl using? It looks like a plain old sword but those Beowolves are dropping like flies."

While the four girls continued watching Akame and Leone kill off the remaining Beowolves, Blake noticed something unnerving about them. Yang saw how disturbed her partner was. "What's the matter, Blake?"

The other girl continued to observe what she was seeing. "It's strange and ominous."

Weiss wasn't in the mood for riddles. "Would you care to explain?"

Blake saw the other two kill several more. "It's the way they're fighting. That Faunus girl over there, she looks like she's enjoying killing the Beowolves while the other wastes no time slaying them like it is second nature to her. One thing is for sure, they're experienced."

Akame and Leone were almost done with the pack they only had a few more left to go. They went back to back. Akame wondered about something. "So what's your count, Leone?"

The blonde grinned. "Twenty-seven. You?"

Her girlfriend just giggled. "I'm still ahead of you by six."

Leone just groaned. "Man. I hoped I would've tied with you. In any case, want to wrap this up together?" Akame wouldn't have it any other way. She nodded and that gave Leone the signal to start. The blonde took off to one of the first five Beowolves and delivered an uppercut into the air. The second one charged right at her but was stabbed right through by Akame's sword. The third one tried to jump her but Leone kicked it to the ribcage and sent it flying away from the two. The fourth tried to attack the blonde but Akame was able to cut it half. As the last one who Leone knocked into the air first started to come back down, both Leone and Akame turned around and landed their attacks simultaneously. Leone punched the Beowolf one way and Akame kicking it the other way. The result was the wolf being torn apart in half and both halves went to opposite directions. That was the last one. All that was left were multiple corpses of Beowolves scattered throughout the field. Leone stretched out her arms. "I say that was a good warm-up to get back into the swing of things. Wouldn't you say Akame?"

Akame flicked Murasame to get the blood off of it. "I'd say so. Although I have noticed you were sloppy with your surroundings. Otherwise, you would've not been bitten in the first place."

Leone sighed at that. "You're not going let me live that down you are?"

After the fighting was all down, team RWBY finally had their opinion about the two girls they just saw. "Two people were able to take down that many Beowolves? Barehanded and with just a simple sword at that as well." Weiss surmised. "Just who are these two?"

That was a question the others would like to know as well. "Should we say hi to them?" Ruby suggested.

Blake shook her head. "I don't think that's wise. For all we know, they're more dangerous than any Grimm out here. I think it's wiser if we leave them alone and they'll go on their way."

The other three had to agree with that. If they could do that to a horde of Grimm, no telling what they could do if they ended fighting against other people. Yang had a thought. "Should we report this to Professor Ozpin? I'm sure he would want to know about this."

For a rare time, she had the right idea. However Ruby was thinking of something different. "You know…wasn't this the den of Beowolves we were supposed to go for your assignment Yang?"

Yang and the other girls stood still as the wind blew past them and several crows cawed. The blonde of the group screamed. "Aw, crap!"

Weiss put her hand on Yang's mouth to muffle the rest of the screaming and shushed her. "Be quiet. We don't want to alert them. We'll find some other den later. The assignment isn't due until the end of the week. For now, let's just agree to your plan and tell Ozpin about them."

The blonde of the group nodded her head and the heiress removed her hand. "Right then. Let's get out of here." All of them started to leave.

The wind continued to blow through Akame and Leone as their backs were turned against the cliff face. "You sensed them too right Akame?"

The other girl nodded. "Yes. They showed up near the end. Four in all. Although I find their auras a bit unusual."

Leone grinned in agreement. "Why don't we say hi? We're in a different place so I'm sure you won't be recognized." She turned around and went into a starting crouch position. She smiled. "Ready or not here I come!" The blonde took off and left Akame alone. She decided to follow suit and ran after her lover.

Leone ran up to the cliff and jump high over it. She landed and started running again to catch up with the group that was spying on her and Akame. Speaking of said group, Yang groaned at her missed opportunity. "Man and after all the traveling we had to go through only to go back empty handed."

Blake decided to cheer her partner up. "Relax Yang. It's not like that was the only den around here. We'll find another one."

Ruby smiled at her older sister. "Blake's right. No need to worry Yang. We'll get this done soon enough."

Weiss doubted that a little. "Let's not get our hopes up just yet."

While they were walking, Blake's bow twitched a little and gasped. "Someone's coming and fast."

She and the rest of the girls looked back and the leader was a bit worried. "What's wrong Blake?"

Before the Faunus girl could give an answer, the person quickly caught up with them and jumped over the group. She landed right behind them with a small crater in her place and they turned to see Leone smiling at them. The blonde chuckled at team RWBY. "Well hello there."


	3. Surprising New Experiences

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Three: Surprising New Experiences

The air between Leone and team RWBY was dead silent. The four girls could only stare in half disbelief and half fear. Except for Yang. She was staring at the other blonde's exposed cleavage. _"Huh. That's a good pair she has."_

Weiss wondering how she found them so quickly. _"I was sure we were careful not to be noticed."_ If she was here, her partner couldn't be far behind.

This was one of those times Leone missed having her tail. If she did have it, the blonde could imagine it would be moving around playfully behind her. She chuckled at the group in front of her. "So…did you enjoy our little show back there? I have to admit the last thing I expected when I woke up, other than being in a different place was having an audience watching us."

In this situation, it could go either two ways. One where they fight this mysterious Faunus girl. They do outnumber and doesn't appear she has any weapons (Or barely any other clothing according to Weiss.) The other was talking to her. Ruby decided on the latter. She slowly and carefully walked up to Leone. "H-Hello there. It's nice to…meet you?"

And the heiress already didn't like what her leader was planning. "Ruby what are you doing? Don't walk up to her."

The younger girl stopped and glanced back to her partner. "I'm saying hi to her."

Weiss groaned at her answer. "Did you forget what she and her friend did to all of those Beowolves? She could to the same thing to you if you're careless."

Although she brought up a good point, Ruby still thought it was worth a shot. "I know but we kill Grimm too. How is that any different from us?"

"You should listen to her." The young girl looked back at Leone. "You should be careful who you're talking to. For all you know, I can easily rip your throat out without a second thought."

That comment right there made Yang a bit mad. _"Make a move like that and I'll make sure to show you who the real beast is."_ She readied Ember Cecilia just in case.

Ruby had a counter for that. "If you could do that, you would've done it right at the start instead of talking to me."

Leone didn't expect that kind of answer from the younger girl. She just laughed at what Ruby said. "Hey, good observation. You're right. I could if I wanted to but I won't because you're not my enemies. Plus I may be helluva strong but even I'm not suicidal enough take on the four of you at once." There was one more reason why she wouldn't fight the four of them. _"That and for four girls around Akame's age, their auras are very strong. There's a lot more to them than they're letting on."_

Ruby was very happy to hear that. "So we can be friends, right? We don't need to fight each other?"

Leone thought about the proposition. "Maybe if you can tell me your names first."

Blake stepped up this time. "How about you tell us yours first?"

The blonde observed her for a few moments. _"There's something different about this girl. I can't tell why, though."_ She decided to play by their rules. "All right then since you asked so nicely. I'm Leone."

For some reason, that was a fitting name for her considering what the other girl looked like. Ruby thought it was good enough. "Leone. Nice to meet you. I'm Ruby Rose the leader of this group. The girl to my right is Weiss Schnee. The girl to my left is Blake Belladonna and the girl on the far left is my sister Yang Xiao Long."

Leone looked over to Yang and discovered something very peculiar about her. She walked up to the other blonde with curious eyes. Yang felt rather uncomfortable that Leone was in her personal space. "Uh…hi there?"

The recent Faunus girl took a closer look at Yang's look. "Huh. It's kinda like I'm looking in a mirror."

Now that she brought it up, Yang and Leone looked very similar to one another like Ruby mentioned before. Weiss, however, had a different thought. _"_ _Now that I think about it, she could pass off as Yang's and Blake's daughter. I mean she has Yang's looks and obviously Blake's ears and eyes. Either that or she could be her Faunus twin."_

Meanwhile, Blake was becoming a little jealous of how close Leone was to Yang but couldn't deny how similar both girls looked. _"I wonder else these two have in common? Well, there is the fact both of them are good at hand to hand combat."_

Ruby decided to speak out Weiss' thoughts and squealed. "Oh wow, I was right. She does kinda look like you, Yang. She could be a long lost twin of yours."

The older sister thought that was just strange. "You have a point Ruby but there's also the fact she's a Faunus. Still, a having a twin that is a Faunus does sound pretty cool."

Leone raised an eyebrow at the word she heard. _"What the hell is a Faunus?"_

"Leone!" The four girls looked back while Leone looked ahead to see Akame running up to them. Akame's first thought was that she was relieved that none of them were fighting. _"So they're just talking. That's a good sign."_

Her girlfriend giggled as she hugged Yang suddenly from behind. "Hey, Akame check it out! Are you seeing double or what?"

Akame caught up to the rest of the group and stopped as she saw the girl her girlfriend was behind. Sure enough, she was right. _"_ _She looks similar to Leone. When she's in her beast form of course."_

Yang, however, was feeling something different. Leone's breasts on her back. It kinda freaked her out. _"Holy crap she isn't wearing anything underneath that top. Also, damn those things are soft."_

Blake once again became jealous and had enough. She went up to the two blondes and separated them. "Alright, that's enough." She really didn't like how close Leone was to her partner.

Leone just giggled and looked over at her girlfriend. "It's all right Akame. They're friendly."

Once Akame walked up to them close enough, Ruby had a good look at the other girl's eyes and was a bit mesmerized by them. _"Oh wow. She has really pretty eyes."_

Leone walked up to her girlfriend and hugged her from behind this time. "Right, I guess I should introduce you to this girl. Her name is Akame and she's one of the best I know of."

Weiss became wary of Akame. _"She's the one who slaughtered those Beowolves like it was nothing."_

Akame had her own thoughts about the group of girls in front of her. _"Judging by their appearance, it looks like three of them are about the same age as me and I suppose Leone as well given her new look. The girl in red seems to be a bit younger, though."_

Ruby smiled at the other girl and approached her. "Hi there. I'm Ruby. The three girls behind me are Weiss, Blake, and Yang. It's nice to meet you Akame."

Akame can pretty much guess who was who based on the names. She bowed to them. "Hello." It was like Leone said. They weren't enemies so there wasn't any reason to kill them. She was, however, interested in them.

The young leader saw the sword sheath that was on Akame's hip and couldn't help but be a little interested in it. "I know I'm asking this all of a sudden but can I see that sword of yours? I'm kinda curious about it." She wasn't the only one who was wondering about her sword.

Leone let go of Akame and both girls glanced at the sword. Akame turned to the younger girl and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. This sword I wield, it's very dangerous and very deadly."

Yang crossed her arms under her breasts. "I'll say. I never saw a weapon that was able to kill a Beowolf in one hit. I'm guessing it's not useful for a sparring session right?"

Akame nodded at the question. "Indeed."

Now that the formalities were over, it was time to ask questions. The most obvious one first. "Okay so would you two mind telling us why you're here in the first place?" Weiss asked.

The other two girls looked at each other and were unsure if they should answer that honestly. Leone chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "To be honest, we're not sure either." It wasn't a total lie.

It seemed to be a believable answer to the group. "Oh, so you're lost." Ruby spoke.

That was good enough for the other two girls. "Yeah, you can say something like that." Leone answered back.

Weiss was still suspicious of them, though. "Alright. Then you wouldn't mind telling us where you're from. I seriously doubt the outfit you're wearing is school appropriate."

Leone took a look at herself and the back to the heiress. "Hey, when you have the looks, you have to flaunt it."

Yang chuckled at that. "I hear that." Her teammates turned to her staring at the blonde. "What? She's not wrong."

The heiress looked back at the other two girls. "And then there's you. I don't quite recognize that school uniform."

This time Akame looked at herself. _"School uniform?"_

Weiss put her hand on her hip. "Which brings the question, where are you two from because it's certain that you're not from around here."

She wasn't wrong on that. However explaining still wouldn't be easy for them. The two girls looked at each other and then back to the group. "Remember when you asked we're lost? Yeah, that's truer than you think." Leone spoke.

"We were hoping you would tell us." Akame added.

Now it was team RWBY who was a bit confused. "You don't know where you are?" Blake asked.

The other two girls nodded at the question. Ruby was the first to answer. "Well, you're in the Emerald Forest."

Akame and Leone just kept staring at them. "It's near Beacon Academy." Weiss spoke next.

They still didn't understand. "Near a city called Vale?" Yang spoke next.

Still nothing. "You're in Remnant." Blake spoke last.

Now that they did understand. "A remnant of what?" Leone asked.

Apparently, they are out of town. Way out of town. Weiss walked up to them and pulled out her scroll. She opened up her map app and showed the map to them. "This is Remnant." Akame and Leone took a closer look at it. One thing came to their minds. Leone swiped the scroll from Weiss' hand. "Hey!"

The blonde was turning it all around wondering what it was. "What the hell is this?"

Akame had the same question. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before."

Now the group was more perplexed. "What you never saw a scroll before?" The heiress asked.

Leone kept turning the device in her hand around. "No, I've seen scrolls before except they were pins with paper wrapped around it. This is not a scroll. It's…whatever this thing is"

They also seem to be out of touch with technology. Weiss held out her hand. "Can I have that back please?" Leone tossed the device back to her. The heiress fumbled a bit before catching it. She glared at the Faunus blonde. "Hasn't anyone told you to respect other people's property?!"

The blonde shrugged. "Not really. I usually break things." That was not the answer Weiss was looking for.

Seeing their reaction to the heiress' scroll made Blake curious about something else. She walked up to Ruby and whispered something into her ear. Already the young leader wasn't sure of it. "Is that even a good idea?"

The Faunus girl nodded. "Try it out. Just announce first."

Ruby trusted her teammate and walked up to Akame and Leone. "Uh…hey…" The two looked at her and she giggled nervously. "Okay, I'm not attacking you. I just want to show you something."

She took out something out from her back and suddenly transformed into a large scythe. That brought out the reactions Blake was thinking of. "What the hell!? What kind of a weapon is that?" Leone wondered. She had never seen a weapon like that before."

"A transformative scythe? How is that even possible?" Akame wondered if this was a new Imperial Arms.

Ruby shook her head. "You're half right. It also doubles as a high powered sniper rifle." She transformed her weapon into its gun form. "Cool huh? I call her Crescent Rose."

The other two literally had no words to describe what they saw. Throughout all the battles they had been through, both former assassins had never seen or heard of a weapon like the one in front of them. Their expressions told everything Blake needed to know. "All right I think it is obvious now. You two are apparently from somewhere if you never saw scrolls before and weapons like Ruby's. So tell us."

Akame tried to fit the pieces. They were in an unknown location with unknown monsters and unknown weapons they haven't seen before. It was then she figured it out. _"We're in a different world."_ It was all there and Blake wanted to know where they were from. This put them in a usual spot. _"Should we tell them? Would they believe us?"_

Thankfully Ruby came to their rescue. "Come on Blake there's no reason to ask them on the spot right there. I'm sure they'll tell us sooner or later. Right now they need our help."

"Help?" The other three girls spoke at once.

The young leader nodded happily. "Yeah, they're lost and need someplace to go. I say we take them to Beacon. I'm sure Professor Ozpin can help them out."

And there she goes again trying to help those in need. Weiss had different thoughts. "Ruby we just met them. We just can't take random strangers to Beacon. We don't know anything about them."

Her partner thought otherwise. "That's not true. I know they're good people."

Leone chuckled quietly at her choice of words. _"Oh if you only knew how many people we've killed."_

Weiss still wasn't convinced. "I still don't think it's a good idea."

Ruby put her hands together and gave her partner the saddest puppy eyes. "Come on Weiss. Please?"

The heiress had barely had any weaknesses. Unfortunately for her, Ruby's eyes were one of them. She sighed and turned away. "Alright fine. Just quit giving me that look."

The young leader giggled happily and hugged her partner. "Yay! Thank you, Weiss!"

The older girl instantly blushed at the close sudden contact. "L-Let go of me, you dolt!"

Yang laughed at the sight. "I'm with Ruby on this one. Besides, I'm kinda interested in getting to know my doppelganger."

Blake knew she was outvoted on this one. "All right fine but…" She turned to the two girls. "You will tell us everything. Got it?"

The two smiled at them. "Understood. We appreciate your help." Akame bowed to them once again.

Leone grinned at the group. "Yeah just show us the way to this…Bacon place."

Weiss glared at the other blonde. "It's called Beacon!"

**B**

The journey back to Beacon was quite pleasant for the group of girls. Well mostly, since Blake kept glancing every now and then at Yang and at Leone, who looked like they were hitting it off very well. Ruby kept bugging Akame about her sword but she kept shooting the younger girl down. Weiss thought she was being very protective of her sword. Upon closer inspection, it didn't look that much different than Myrtenaster except it didn't have a rotating chamber. _"There must be something about that sword that made it possible to kill those Beowolves easily, but there's nothing to it other than a simple sword."_

Their traveling soon came to an end when they arrived at their destination. "Well, here we are. Welcome to Beacon." Ruby announced.

Akame and Leone gazed upon the castle-like structure. "Impressed" was one word for them to describe it. "What the hell is this place? It's like a freaking castle!"

At this point, Weiss wasn't surprised by their reactions. "It's a school. What else would it be?"

"This is a school?" Both girls asked. Sure Akame grew up with somewhat of an education but she's never seen a school like this before.

Yang chuckled at their question. "Yeah I guess it would be a bit much for people who haven't seen it before but it's really awesome."

Another question came to Leone. "And you four…go to this school?"

"Yes/yep." All four answered at once.

Once again they stared at the castle in front of them. They had the same thought. _"What kind of school is this?"_

Ruby ran up ahead of the rest of the group. "Come on! I'll show you the way to Professor Ozpin's office! I'm sure he'll help you out!"

Akame and Leone thought that this Ozpin person was the one in charge of this. There was one thing that worried Akame. "Are you sure we won't draw attention?" She hasn't forgotten what Weiss said about Leone's outfit. Sure back in the Capital, no one batted an eye but in a place like this, she does kinda stick out like a sore thumb.

Blake had their answer. "That shouldn't be a problem. It's the weekend so a lot of the students aren't around right now. Plus we'll be taking the most discrete path to Professor's office." If they had it their own way, the two former assassins would just sneak around in the shadows.

Ruby jumped a few times. "Come on come on! Just follow the leader!" She ran further ahead.

Another question came to Leone. "Now that I think about it, how old is she anyway?"

Yang giggled at the question. "If you want to know, Ruby is fifteen."

That answer surprised the two of them. _"She's fifteen?!"_ Ruby was younger than the rest of them.

Leone had another thought. _"She fifteen and uses a freaking huge scythe that's a gun, and goes to a school that looks like a castle. Man, we haven't been here a full day and already this is a little too much."_

The rest of the group followed the young girl. True to what Blake said before, there wasn't anyone else around. They soon came up a large door. Something about it made Akame and Leone feel a bit…nervous. Ruby knocked on it a few times. "Hello? Professor Ozpin? We need to talk to you about something important." They waited for a few minutes before the doors opened. When they did, a woman was in front of them. Both Akame and Leone thought that this was the person called Ozpin. "Oh, Miss Goodwitch." Apparently, she wasn't.

Their teacher observed the group in front of her and noticed two new additions she hadn't seen before. Already she wasn't pleased. "Would you four mind telling me what two uninvited guests, one obviously dressed, inappropriately are doing here?"

It was obvious she was their superior judging how she was talking to them. Ruby gulped. "W-Well you see Miss Goodwitch; we were on our merry way to do an assignment when we just so happen to come across them. I thought we could bring them…here…?" It was obvious she was cracking under her teacher's glare.

Goodwitch sighed. "Miss Rose, while it is admirable you want to help these two young girls we do not condone bringing in strangers into the school. I'm afraid they'll have to-"

"Allow them in Glynda." They heard a different voice coming from the room. "Miss Rose wouldn't come here if it wasn't important. Let us hear them out." She didn't have much say in the matter and moved out of the way. The group entered the room and it wasn't what Akame and Leone expected it to be. In front of the group was a man with a cane smiling at them. "It's good to see you again Ruby and I see you brought along some new company."

The young leader smiled at him. "Yes, sir. You see their names are-"

Akame just suddenly walked up and bowed to him. "Hello, sir. Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Akame and my companion is Leone. Your…students found us in the Emerald Forest and have graciously offered to help us in our time of need."

Leone understood why her girlfriend was acting this way. _"Well more or less it's true."_ She had her own thoughts about the man in front of her. _"He kinda reminds me a bit of the Boss."_

Ozpin was pleased to hear out her explanation. "I see. That's to be expected of Ruby's team. So tell me what happened that brought this along."

This time Ruby decided to explain. "Well uh you see sir, we were going to a Beowolf den for an extracurricular assignment when we saw these two fighting against a bunch of them. Seriously they wiped out a whole den by themselves."

That intrigued Ozpin. He wanted to know more about this. "I see. Well from what I see, the girl beside you wields a sword but how did the other manage to handle them?"

Yang raised her hand this time. "Well believe it or not she beat them barehanded. Seriously this girl is a lot stronger than she looks. Not only that but she was able to recover from a Beowolf bite like it was nothing." This was becoming all the more interesting to him.

Weiss decided to explain this time. "It was Ruby's idea that she would bring them here and see what you can do to help them since they're obviously not from around here."

"And that's pretty much all of it." Blake finished.

Ozpin heard all he needed to hear. "I see. Thank you for telling us. Would you four please give us a moment with these two?"

That was it. They told what they needed to be told. All of them nodded and started to leave the room. Ruby briefly placed her hand on Akame's shoulder and smiled at her. "Good luck." With that said, she left with the rest of her team.

Once the doors closed, it was only the four of them left. Ozpin decided to speak. "I find it interesting that two young girls such as yourselves managed to wipe out an entire den and one of you fighting barehanded at that. That leads to me believe that you two are quite experienced in this sort of thing."

He wasn't wrong there. "Yes, sir. You can say something like that." Akame answered.

Ozpin observed them closely. "I can tell you two are from a faraway place. Very far away. To ease your concerns, whatever you say in this room will be kept only between us. You can tell us the truth."

Well, he was the head of this school so they could agree to that but only on one condition. "We'll tell you everything but first can you explain what kind of school is this?" Akame asked.

Ozpin thought it was a fair question. "Very well. Beacon Academy is a school that specializes in training young students like the girls you were with to become hunters and huntresses."

Leone raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's pretty cool I guess. So what they're supposed to hunt would be those weird wolf things right?"

Ozpin nodded at the question. "You're partially right. Beowolves are only one type of Grimm. There are many more species and some even more dangerous."

"Grimm?" Akame wondered if that was what the animals here were called.

"Yes. You could say they are humanity's enemy. It is a long constant battle between the two forces. That's why there are schools like Beacon. To train those who want to become hunters and huntresses." It sounded pretty impressive to the two former assassins. This was a bigger deal than they thought. "Does that answer your question?"

Akame nodded. "It does. In fact, I find it quite amazing."

Leone had to agree. "Yeah, it sounds pretty awesome."

Now that one part was done, it was time for the other. "Now that I answered your question, it's time to fill your end. As I've said before, anything you say will strictly only between us. Do that and I'll see what I can do to help the two of you."

There wasn't much of a choice. He did seem he would believe what they would have to say. Akame sighed and decided to go for it. "Very well. We'll tell you everything although what we're about to say may come as a surprise to you."

Ozpin just chuckled. "Then let us hear you out."

**B**

A day passed since Team RWBY met Akame and Leone and haven't seen them since. Ruby thought something bad must've bad happened to them. She was at her desk in class where the rest of the students were entering. Yang knew what she was depressed about. "You think those two are alright?"

Ruby continued to whine. "I hope they're alright. We haven't seen them since we left Professor Ozpin's office."

Weiss could only think of one explanation. "If you ask me he probably sent them off somewhere else."

Her partner instantly didn't like that answer. "Did he do that?!"

Blake had other thoughts. "I don't think he would although it is strange we haven't seen them in a while."

Yang groaned as she leaned back. "Aw man and I really wanted to know more about Leone. She seems really awesome you know." And that statement irked Blake a little.

Once everyone took their seats, their teacher Professor Portman arrived. He turned to the class. "Good morning everyone. I have a special announcement to make. Today we have two new students joining us. Please make sure you treat them well and welcome them with open arms." He turned to the door. "Come inside and introduce yourselves, ladies." Everyone turned to the door and it opened. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang gasped quietly at who they saw walked in. They stood in front of the class. "Allow me to introduce you to your new classmates. Akame Night and Leone Wild."


	4. Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Four: Terms and Conditions

Ozpin was looking over the campus from his office while taking a sip of his coffee. He was still thinking about what Akame and Leone had told him yesterday. To be honest he was rather impressed of what they told him about the world they were from and what they were before.

_F_

"And that is all." Akame finished explaining everything about their world. About the corrupt Capital, the Imperial Arms, and who they were.

Throughout the whole explanation, Ozpin was very into it. Glynda, on the other hand, was having a hard time believing it. The professor cleared his throat. "Well…that is quite the world you two you were in."

Both girls were surprised by that statement. "Wait, you seriously believe what we said? You don't have any doubts or anything else?" Leone thought he would have a hard time believing a few things they told him.

Ozpin just smiled at the two of them. "I see no reason why the two of you would lie. You explained everything without hesitation and said it with conviction. There is no doubt what you have said is true."

Well, at least he believed them. However, there was still one more thing. "So now that you know everything, what will you do now?"

The professor gave that question some thought and came up with a solution quickly. "From what I gathered, you two have nowhere to go and I can't let such experience go to waste. So here is my proposal. In order for me to help the two of you, why not enroll yourselves into Beacon?"

Both Glynda and the two former assassins were taken a bit back from that offer. Leone took a step forward. "H-Hang on for a second. You want us to be…students at the school?"

Ozpin nodded at the question. "Of course. However, this is the only way I can help you two out. Beacon is first and foremost a school for training those who want to become Hunters and Huntresses. If you two enroll, I can help out in some ways. If not…well, I don't need to tell you that."

Well, the choice was obvious for them. Akame clenched her hands tightly. "If that's the only choice then…we'll accept."

Leone turned to her girlfriend in surprise. "Wait seriously Akame?" She saw the look in her eyes. The blonde knew that look all too well. She sighed. "You are. Alright fine. We might as well. Still, it's going to be weird that we're to be students considering what we were before."

Ozpin was glad to hear that. "Then it's settled. We'll give you the proper paperwork for your enrollment. Who knows, maybe you'll become far better huntresses then what your original profession was." One thing was for sure, if they went this direction, both girls could make something of themselves.

_F_

While Ozpin had no qualms about their enrollment, Glynda had different thoughts on the matter entirely. "Are you sure it was wise to enroll those two. Even if what they told us were half as true, what makes you think they'll assimilate to this new lifestyle?"

While she did bring up a good point, Ozpin was confident in his decision. "What I have learned from those two, they have had no sense of purpose for quite some time. What I have given them is another chance to live their lives. I have no doubt they'll make the best what they can while being in this world. Of course with this kind of secret, it'll be a while before they can trust anyone else with it."

Glynda still doubted his decision which was very rare. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Ozpin just took another sip of his coffee. "Well, I suppose we'll see. It's up to them now at this point."

**B**

There was a bit more chatter in the school cafeteria. Mostly because all of the other students were talking about the two new students who were eating together. Leone certainly noticed. "Wow, I didn't think we would get this much attention. It's kinda unusual when you think about it huh?"

Akame just took another bite out of her lunch. "It is strange. Most of our lives we would avoid attracting attention like this. I find it a little unnerving." She looked at her girlfriend's ears. "So how are you taking your new appearance?"

The blonde looked up to her ears. "Well, considering I'm something called a Faunus now, kinda okay I guess. Also…" She wiggled around her sit looking a bit uncomfortable. "Do I really have to wear a skirt?"

Akame giggled at her lover's new problem. "You're still not used to it?"

Leone sighed. "You know I don't do skirts Akame. Seriously, I feel…so open down there and these uniforms, I just look weird. And don't even get me started on the bra." These were only the first of changes they had to go through. "So how are you enjoying the food at this place?"

The other girl took another bite. "It's alright I suppose."

The Faunus blonde played around with her food. "I guess you're right on that. It's not like yours or Su's cooking that's for sure." She took a bite out of her food. "So what's our plan?"

Akame pulled out her own scroll. It was already opened to their schedule. "Well, I suppose after this we should just roam around the school and familiarize the layout for the rest of the lunch period then we move on to our classes."

Leone pulled out her own scroll and squinted at it. "I'm surprised you already know how to use these things. I'm still trying to figure out how they work."

The other girl knew Leone wasn't big on thinking. She was more punch first don't ask questions later. "I'm still learning about them as well but they are very useful. That woman, Goodwitch I believe her name was showed me the basics. It looks like they can be used for other purposes as well."

The blonde looked closer at her scroll. "If you say so." There was one thing she noticed about Akame. She still wasn't eating the way she used to. _"I guess even if the scars aren't there anymore, that doesn't mean they're gone."_ They decided to finish up their lunch quickly and go on their way to explore the rest of the school.

While they were heading to the exit, a total of sixteen eyes were focused on them. "So those were the two girls were talking about before?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yep. That's them. Hard to believe they enrolled here." Ruby stated.

Weiss just crossed her arms. "Yeah, that's not the right description. It's more like how they were able to enroll in the first place? They must've told Ozpin something."

Yang wondered about that as well. "I hope they'll tell us what they told him. There's a lot more we don't know about them."

Jaune had a suggestion. "Can't you just ask them? I'm sure they're reasonable."

Blake just shook her head. "I don't think it'll be that easy. From what I can tell, it'll be a while before they can trust anyone else outside themselves."

Yang took a closer look and had a thought. "Huh. Now that you mention it, they do seem a bit close."

"Ooh ooh, I have an idea!" All of them turned to Nora dreading what kind of scheme she had this time. "We should totally have another food fight and invite them to join. It'll be fun!" She giggled happily.

Everyone else sighed depravedly at that suggestion. Ren more so from him. "No Nora. We're not having another food fight."

**B**

Now that they were walking around the school, it seemed even more impressive the second time around. It would be a little more pleasant if Leone still wasn't fidgeting around with her skirt. "Seriously I don't really like this skirt. Sure you pull it off fine Akame but this really isn't for me."

Her girlfriend sighed. "Well, you don't have a choice Leone. This is proper school code."

The blonde groaned when she heard that. Of course, she would say that. "Yeah yeah, I get it. Doesn't mean I have to like it." She took a good long look at the other girl. "Then again I can get used to how you're looking in that uniform Akame."

Akame chuckled at the compliment. "Are you saying you like a girl in uniform?"

Leone chuckled back. "Your words not mine."

Akame pulled out her scroll again and checked her schedule. "It appears our next class is with a teacher called Oobleck. After that, it seems we take a different class from each other."

The blonde already didn't like the sound of that. "Aw man really? What kind of class do I get then?"

Her girlfriend took her scroll and saw what class she was going to take. "Apparently it's a class for Faunus only."

Already that sounded interesting to Leone. "No kidding huh? Well, I guess I'll learn more about these Faunus things." Something else caught her eye about their schedules. "Hey check it out. Apparently, there's a sparring class. Now that's something I can get behind."

Akame didn't share her enthusiasm. "You know as well as I do we can't patriciate in the activities right?"

And just like that Leone's happiness was shot down. "Oh right. Ozpin's conditions." Akame remembered clearly what they were.

_F_

Ozpin was looking over the paperwork both Akame and Leone filled out. The two were already dressed in the school's uniforms to get a feel for them. Already the Faunus blonde didn't like the skirt. The professor gave one last look before setting the papers down chuckled. "Night and Wild is it? Fitting last names for the both you. With these papers, you two are now officially students of Beacon Academy. Congratulations ladies." The only thing missing from this picture was a small applause. "Now that you two are students, you will be given a few things. The first are your own scrolls." Glynda walked up to them handed the two their scrolls and they took them. Having their own of these things made them quite curious about them. "The second thing is that a dorm room will be assigned to you."

That part they can live with. It wouldn't be that much different than when they lived back at the base. Akame bowed to the professor. "Thank you for this opportunity. We're grateful for what you've done."

While Ozpin was glad to hear that, he wasn't done yet. "Don't thank me yet. There's still one more thing I have for you two. Actually two things. They are conditions."

Of course, there had to be something to add on to this. "All right. What are these conditions?" Leone asked.

Ozpin held up one finger. "The first condition is quite simple. However, you should know that students who attend here are in teams of four and have partners of two such as you've seen with Ruby and her team. As of now, you're only a team of two. As long as you are, you will not be permitted to join or participate any of the team activities."

Already they were at a disadvantage. "So what, we can't do mostly anything at this school?" The Faunus blonde wondered.

Ozpin shook his head. "Not necessarily. I will help you with this problem. I'll search for others who will be part of your team. Once you have all four team members, you'll be allowed to participate in team missions."

That was one problem solved. "So what's the second condition?" Akame asked.

The professor held up a second finger. "The second condition is this. Considering your weapon's ability Miss Night and Miss Wild's lack thereof, you two must find weapons of your own. Until you do, any sparring matches you will not be able to participate." Well, of course, they were going to have that condition and for a good reason. "With that being said, maybe it would be better if I were able to hold onto that sword of yours so it won't fall into the wrong hands."

Akame glanced over to Murasame and gripped the handle tightly. "I appreciate your concern sir but you mustn't worry about my sword. Only I can use it and no one else."

Ozpin decided to trust her words. "I understand. I suppose all that's left is to show you to your dorm room. Starting tomorrow the two of you will be attending classes. We'll make sure to give the two of you your class schedules in the morning."

Everything was set. All that's left is to look forward to what'll happen tomorrow. Glynda walked past the two girls. "Follow me you two. I'll show you to your dorm room."

The two former assassins looked back to Ozpin and smiled at him. "Again thank you, sir, for this opportunity."

Leone chuckled. "Yeah, thanks. I'm pretty sure we'll have a blast here."

Ozpin held up his hand. "Think nothing of it. Just remember those two conditions." The two nodded and left to follow Glynda to their new home.

_F_

Remembering that made Leone sigh. "It's great and all that he's going to help out finding some new members for us but that weapon part is going to be tricky. I mean how are we supposed to find weapons like…what was that kid's name again?"

"Ruby." Akame replied.

The blonde snapped her fingers. "Yeah, Ruby. It's not like we're going to find weapons like hers in some shop or something. Just how are we suppose to get our hands on them?"

Her girlfriend had to agree with that. She couldn't use Murasame for sparring purposes so they're already at a disadvantage. Probably the biggest concern she had was using a different weapon. Akame had used Murasame for the longest time so there was a good chance it would feel strange of using another weapon. "What kind of weapon would you want to use Leone?"

Leone gave some thought to that question. "Considering my fighting style, something close combat but with something similar to my claws back when I used Lionel. That's the only thing I can think of." She imagined weapons similar to the claws she used from before.

Akame was having more trouble of imagining what weapon she wants to use. "I suppose this is something we'll have to figure out later on. The quicker we solve this, the faster we can participate in the activities."

The other girl brought up a good point. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, what do you think of the idea of two new people joining our little group? I mean considering the history we have.

That was another thing that worried Akame. The first group she was with were all killed. The same was with most of Night Raid. _"Having two new members with us. Will…everything work out this time?"_ She had hoped so. The last thing Akame wanted was the same thing happening to her a third time. In a different world no less.

"Akame?" Hearing Leone's voice broke her train of thought and turned to the blonde. "Hey, are you okay? You seem to be a bit out of it."

Her girlfriend just gave a small smile. "I'm fine. I just have some things on my mind that's all."

While being distracted for just a moment, Leone suddenly bumped into someone and was knocked down to the ground. "Ah damn!"

"Ow!"

Naturally, Akame looked kneeled down to the blonde. "Are you alright Leone?"

Leone opened one eye to look over to Akame. "Yeah, I'm fine. What hit me though?"

"I-I'm sorry." The two former assassins looked to the person in front in the same position as the blonde. One obvious hint they saw was the person who was a girl had large bunny ears. She looked very shy. "I…I didn't see where I was going. I'm sorry to have troubled you both. I'll be going now." She stood up and walked away quickly.

The two girls only stared at the other girl until she made a turn around the corner. Akame helped Leone stand up. "So I guess she was a Faunus too considering her…ears."

The blonde patted off her skirt. "Yeah, you're right. To be honest it was weird seeing someone like her but she seemed nice. Leone did see one detail from the other Faunus girl while she briefly looking at her. _"It looked like she was crying and I somehow doubt it was from our crash."_ Her train of thought was suddenly broken when they heard the bell ring. It freaked the blonde out a little. "What the hell is that?"

Akame looked up. "I think that's the bell signaling that lunch is over. We have to go to our next class."

Leone groaned. "Aw really? Well, let's get going then. We can't be late for class now can we?" She started to walk away and headed to the class.

Akame couldn't help but smile. This was the start of their new life. She couldn't help but notice the situation she and Leone were in. _"We were once assassins and now we're students. I must admit I never would've expected to be in such a place as this."_ While still reveling in her new experience, Akame suddenly remembered something and ran over to catch up with her girlfriend. "Leone wait! The classroom is in the other direction!"


	5. Bunny in Peril

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Five: Bunny in Peril

The knob of the door began to turn and the door opened to reveal Leone and Akame entering their new dorm room. The Faunus blonde sighed. "Well, home sweet home I suppose." Their dorm room wasn't anything different from their rooms back when they lived back in the base in their world. Their room was a bit basic. When Glynda first showed them to their room, it was just four beds and several desks. Naturally, first, they did was rearrange the beds. They placed each of the beds in the corners and moved the desks in between them. They spent their first night sleeping in the same bed but that was about it. Leone laid down on the nearest bed to them. "Well, that was some first day huh?"

Akame sat next to her girlfriend and smiled at her. "Yes, and we'll have much more like it. This is only the beginning. Speaking of, what did you think of your Faunus class?"

Leone thought back to it. "Eh, not too bad. It was kinda weird seeing people with animal traits other than the ears. I did learn some new things about them. For one apparently, they can see clear in the dark like it was day. Boy, that would've come useful back in our missions huh."

The other chuckled to that. "Yes, it would've." There was so much to learn about the world they're in and what Leone had become since then.

"Hey, Akame?"

She looked over to her girlfriend. "Yes, what is it?" Her response was Leone suddenly tackling her down to the bed and was on top of Akame. She blushed at their positions. "W-What are you doing?" Her answer was Leone suddenly kissing her and the blonde's tongue invading her mouth. Akame moaned slightly as she felt how rough Leone's tongue was. _"It feels so course."_ She really couldn't fight back if she wanted to. Her girlfriend was in permanent beast form so of course, she was stronger than the girl below.

The kiss continued on until both girls had a need of air and Leone broke the kiss. Akame was breathing slightly heavily while having a deep blush on her face. The blonde rather proud of what she did. "You have no idea how long I've waited to do that." She leaned down toward Akame's ear and licked it before she bit it as well.

Akame cried out by the sudden action. "L-Leone! Why did you do that?"

She heard her lover giggle mischievously. "What do you think? I've marked you as mine." There goes Leone succumbing to her cat-like nature again. This wasn't the first time she bit Akame. She had done it many times before in their "flings" back in their world but Leone really hadn't said any of this before. Before Akame could speak again, the blonde decided to continue the kiss where they last left off. It was different than the last one as it was much more lovely and gentle. Akame wrapped her arms around the other girl's body and tried to get used to Leone's rough tongue.

Once again, the need to breathe overcame them and kiss broke again. This time, both girls' faces were in a deep blush and both were breathing heavily. Judging by how hot Akame's body was beginning to feel, she knew where this course was going. "Leone, are you sure? I mean with the way you are now…"

Leone smiled at her and giggled. "Come on Akame. It's not like this is the first time we did this back in my beast form. In fact, I do remember you saying how good my tongue was." Akame blushed as she remembered that one time where she and Leone did have that one night. The blonde decided to tease her a bit more. "You know Akame…we could invite Yang to join us sometime. I know you would like it."

Of course, Akame's blush deepened and shook her head. "You don't if know if she's like that."

The blonde thought otherwise. "I don't know about that. I mean if we look alike, who's to say we don't have the same interests as well. Besides, I remember you liked the fact of both me and Chelsea giving you all the attention if you know what I mean." Again that was a night Akame remembered very well. Too well in fact. "Well that aside, I know you want this just as badly as me. It's been six months. I think we're a bit overdue." Akame gulped at that. It was true that in the time Akame was traveling alone, she really never had to experience those same feelings again. It was one of the things she missed the most. "Do you remember that night we had? The one before the war started?" Akame knew what Leone was talking about. It was the night before the Revolutionary Army battled against the Empire. It was the night where the girls didn't hold back. It was closest they had to being lovers. It was also the night where Akame gave Leone the most important thing to a girl. It was the same for Leone which surprised her lover considering how beautiful she was. "I want us to have…more nights like that and a lot more to come after that so please…"

Akame saw the wanting look in Leone's eyes. She was serious about what the blonde was saying. Leone truly wanted this to be real. The thing is Akame wanted it as well. They literally had nothing standing in their way now. No enemies to kill them, no death hanging over their heads, no war. They were free to pursue this relationship of theirs to wherever they want it to be. And right now Akame knows where she wants it to be. She relaxed her body and trusted Leone to do the next step. It was strange to her. They've done this multiple of times but this time, it felt different to her. This was to be their first night not as just a fling but as lovers. Leone understood the signal and kissed Akame once more before starting to remove her clothes.

**B**

The first thing Akame noticed when she started to come to was that she was warm under the bedsheets. The second was that there was a pair of arms wrapped around her body. The third however and it was the most obvious was that she was in the nude and so was Leone. Akame remembered their night well. It was even better than the night before the war. She only hoped they didn't disturb any of the nearby dorm rooms. Happiness swelled up inside of her. Akame couldn't believe it. She was in a relationship with a beautiful girl by her side and for once, she could see something positive in her life. She reached over to her scroll to check the time. Once her eyes focused on the time, she gasped. Akame instantly sat up and shook her lover a few times. "Leone. Leone wake up!"

The Faunus blonde mumbled before sitting up as well. If it were any other time, Akame wouldn't mind staring at the other girl's perfect nude body for as long she wanted. However, she doesn't have the luxury of that this time. Leone rubbed her eyes. "Come on. Can't we cuddle for a few more minutes?"

As much as Akame wanted that, there was basically no time. "I'm afraid not. We've overslept. We have five minutes before our first class starts!"

It took a few seconds for Leone to register those words into her head until her eyes widened with shock. "OH CRAP!" The two girls scrambled to put on their clothes on. There was even a mishap where they had each other's bras mixed up while putting on their clothes. Once they were dressed, the two girls ran out of their room and used their former assassin skills to rush over to their class. Once they reached the door, Leone slammed it open. "We're here with two minutes to spare!" Everyone else looked at them like they were a bit nuts while Yang just chuckled at their sudden entrance. The lesson Akame and Leone learned today? Never have a night like last night to make up the six months they missed together before a class.

**B**

The two girls were thankful that lunch rolled around. Akame more than Leone. They chose the spot they sat down from before and started to eat. Over a table from them, once again team RWBY and JNPR were looking over at the two new students. Yang still chuckled at their last minute entrance. "Man, I thought our first day almost missing class was bad."

"I wonder what made them almost late." Ruby asked.

Blake and Weiss wondered the same thing as well. The reason they were late the first time was setting up their dorm room. An idea came to the brawler as she stood up and started to walk over to the two new students. "Yang, what are you doing?" Blake asked her partner.

The blonde stopped for a moment and looked back at the Faunus girl. "I'm going to ask them to join us. It doesn't hurt to try." With that said, she continued to walk over to them. Yang really didn't see why these two would just eat by themselves. After all, they do kinda know each other and she would like to know more about them. She approached the two with a bright smile. "Hey there!"

The other two girls stopped eating and saw Yang. Leone was particularly happy to see her. "Oh hey there Yang. What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

The other blonde smiled at her Faunus counterpart. "I just wanted to ask to see if you and Akame can eat over with my group. They really want to know more about you two."

Akame and Leone looked at each other and weighed their options. While they can't fully disclose everything about themselves, it would be nice to be part of a bigger clique. They wouldn't get anywhere if it was just the two of them. They looked back at Yang and Akame nodded. "We would like to take you up on that offer."

Yang was glad that they agreed. "Alright. Let's meet up with the others then. You're going to like them."

Leone and Akame picked up their trays and followed Yang back to her own table where her group was. The rest of the group saw them heading over to them. "I guess they decided to join us then." Weiss pointed out. Like before, Yang and Leone were enjoying each other's company. She looked over to Blake to see that the Faunus girl had a slight glare. This made the heiress curious. _"What's up with Blake? Ever since Leone and Yang started talking to each other, she's been having that same look on her face."_

Once the three girls arrived, Leone and Akame sat in between Weiss and Blake. They saw another group of four sitting across from them and figured they were friends of Yang's as well. Yang sat next to her partner. "Ok let's get the introductions out of the way. Akame, Leone, meet Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Jaune aka Vomit Boy."

And Jaune was insulted by hearing that again. "Hey!"

The other blonde chuckled. "Any case, they're team JNPR."

Leone waved at them. "Hey there."

Akame just smiled at them. "It's nice to meet you."

Pyrrha smiled back at her. "Same to you. Ruby and the others told us a few things about the two of you."

"Yeah like how one of you beat a lot Grimm with your bare hands!" Nora exclaimed loudly.

"And that you have a weapon that supposedly killed Grimm with one strike." Ren added.

Well, so far they only know what Ruby's team had told them what they saw firsthand. "Yeah, that's pretty much true." Leone confirmed. "What else have you heard about us?"

The members of team JNPR looked at each other trying to think of another question then looked back at the two girls. "Well, we had hoped you would tell us more about yourselves." Pyrrha suggested.

"Yeah like how Leone looks so much like Yang's and Bla-" And Ren elbowed Nora to not spill the beans about Blake's Faunus heritage. That was a kept secret between all eight of them.

He cleared his throat. "She was wondering why you look so much like Yang Leone."

The Faunus laughed at the obvious statement. "Man, I've been getting that a lot lately."

Yang laughed in agreement. "I know right?" Weiss just groaned as she didn't need two of the same people in her life that causes her so much grief.

There was a small detail Pyrrha remembered what Ruby told them at one time. "Oh yes Akame. Ruby told us at one time that you refused to show her your weapon. Why is that?"

Akame just looked away as she heard the question. "It's as I've said before. It's very dangerous."

That didn't sound so bad to Nora. "Ooh, dangerous. I like your weapon already. It sounds really fun." The other two girls didn't think so. If only they knew the truth. "What's its name?"

Now questioned confused them. "Name?" The Faunus blonde asked.

Ruby giggled. "Yeah, your weapon's name. Like how mine is called Crescent Rose, Blake's is called Gambol Shroud, Weiss' is Myrtenaster, and Yang's is called Ember Celica."

All of them sounded like really cool names to Leone. Akame saw no harm of divulging that bit of information. That part she could tell them. "Murasame. That's its name." She took a bite out of their food.

Already Blake was curious about the name. _"Murasame?"_   That added another list of questions on her list.

Ruby just thought the name it was cool. "Ooh sounds mysterious."

Obviously, the next question is what everyone else had in mind. "So how did you two managed to enroll here when we just met you two days ago?" Weiss asked.

Now all eyes were focused on the two girls. Akame decided to tell them only what they needed to hear. "It was Ozpin's way of helping us since we have nowhere else to go. To be honest we're grateful for the chance." Ruby smiled when she heard that. She knew that he would help them out in some way but didn't expect him to enroll them here. "However, he placed a couple of conditions for us."

"And what conditions are they?" Jaune asked.

Akame took another bite out of her food. "Well for one, as long as it's just Leone and me, we can't join in any of the team activities." That part sounded reasonable to them. They can't do much with only two members. "However, he has offered to help us finding team members for us."

Well, at least they weren't completely stuck. That did raise another question. "Well that's nice of him but I wonder what your team name will be."

That resulted in Leone asking a question from her. "Team name?"

Ruby giggled at the question. "Yeah, team name. Like how ours is RWBY and theirs is JNPR. You see they're made up of the first letter of our first names. Since yours already has an L and an A, you just need two more to make your team name."

That did sound like a neat concept to them. Akame thought about it for a few seconds. "That sounds very interesting."

Getting back on topic, Ren decided to ask the next question. "So what's the other condition you two have?"

Leone sighed at the question. "Well, as long we don't have any useful weapons, we can't fight in the battles. Sure Akame has Murasame but let's just say it's really not good for practice. That's the part we're stuck on."

A light bulb appeared above Ruby's head. "If that's the case, I can help you out with that." They turned to the young leader. She smiled at them. "I know a thing or two about weapon building."

It almost sounded too good to be true. "Wait seriously? You can make weapons?" Leone was having a hard time believing that.

Yang smiled at the fact. "Yep, she sure can. In fact, she built Crescent Rose herself. You can say she's a bit of a weapon geek."

"Yang!" Her sister whined.

Now that part surprised them both. "She built that freaking scythe?!" Apparently, there was a lot more to Ruby than Leone thought.

Yang always loved people's reaction when she told them that little fact. They would never expect a young girl like her to make her weapons. "Yep. She's the most awesome little sister I could ask for."

Akame's widened for a bit when she heard that and looked to Yang. "Ruby…is your sister?"

The blonde smiled at her. "Yep, she sure is. Yeah, I know we don't look it but trust me we're sisters."

Akame turned away and stared at her food blankly. "I see…"

Everyone didn't know what was wrong with her but Leone did. _"Akame…"_

Pyrrha noticed the sudden change in the other girl's mood. "Are you feeling alright Akame?"

The other girl just kept staring at her food. "I'm fine." Even though she said that, obviously something was bothering her.

Ruby decided to bring back the topic. "So anyway yeah I can help you with that. It just depends on what kind of weapons you would like."

Akame looked over to the young leader and smiled at her. "Thank you for the help. As for what weapons we would like to have, we may need some time to think about that."

Another lightbulb appeared above Ruby. "Well if you don't know, you can tag along with us with our assignment. It could give you some ideas."

That did sound like a good offer but there was a slight problem. "That's nice and all but we can't do team stuff remember?"

Ruby giggled at what Leone said. "I know that but your condition doesn't say you can't just watch us. Maybe seeing us in action will give you some ideas of what weapon you want."

Yang loved the sound of that. "Hey, great idea. And I get to spend more time with Leone too." Yang talking more about the other Faunus blonde was really starting to get on Blake's nerves.

It was an offer the two really couldn't refuse. "In that case, we'll be glad to come along." Akame agreed.

It was all set then. All that was left was for Ozpin to look for two more members to join them. Now there was one question left and it was on everyone's mind. "Alright so now that we have all of that worked out, would care to tell us what you told Ozpin?" Weiss asked.

Akame and Leone were still unsure of telling them that but they couldn't dodge the question forever. "Please stop!"

A sudden cry came in time and every looked to where they heard it. Ruby and others saw a very familiar sight. They saw four others laughing and taunting a familiar Faunus girl. _"That's the girl Leone ran into yesterday"_

The sight before them made the Faunus blonde a bit angry. Weiss sighed. "Looks like Cardin is at it again."

Leone narrowed her eyes at the group. "And who's that?"

"Cardin Winchester. The leader of team CRDL and a total jerk to that girl Velvet. He keeps bullying her just because she's a Faunus." Blake explained. She didn't need to say any more of how much she didn't like them.

Seeing Cardin pull on Velvet's ears brought back some memories from Leone. Old habits die hard as she rose out of her seat and walked over to where Cardin and his team were. Akame was instantly worried. _"Leone be careful."_

The others wondered what she was doing. "Why is she going over there?" Jaune asked. That was what everyone else was thinking but one thing they do know was that this wasn't going to end well.

While Cardin was busy getting his kicks pulling Velvet's ears, neither he nor his team noticed Leone coming up to them. "Hey, assholes." They heard her and stopped to turn around to see her.

Cardin just smiled at her. "Well, what do we have here? Another one of you? What you came here to save this freak?" He had no idea he was provoking an ex-assassin and it was Leone on top of that.

As much as the Faunus blonde would love to do what others pissed her off, she knew it would result in a lot more trouble for her and Akame. So she decided on the next best thing. Leone suddenly grabbed him by his shirt, lifted him up which freaked Cardin out and [G51] slammed him on the table so hard that it broke. The little spectacle drew everyone's attention from what they were doing. The whole thing freaked Cardin out and his team. He even saw how pissed off Leone was. "You know I really hate assholes like you that get your kicks by picking on others!" She raised her arm to Cardin's head. "Let's see how you like it when you're on the same end!" Akame really did think she was going to kill him. Thankfully it didn't come that since Leone punched the ground next to his head and it did leave a crater. "You think you're so badass picking a girl like her. Well, guess what jackass you're not! All it proves is that you and your little posse here are just weak little shits who are too scared to pick a fight with someone stronger than all of you!" She picked him up again high. "Think about that next time when you pick on somebody else!" Leone threw Cardin easily to the window and he crashed through it.

Outside of the window where Cardin crashed through the window and screamed until he hit a tree, Neptune and Sun saw just that while making their way over to cafeteria. They just looked at each wondering what that was all about. Back at the cafeteria, everyone in it was silent at what they saw. "Miss Wild!" Everyone turned to Goodwitch who heard the commotion from outside and she didn't look too happy. "With me. Now."

Leone didn't have much of a choice but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was giving Cardin a piece of her mind. She started to walk over to the teacher. As she walking over to her, Dove sighed at what just happened. "Jeez, what a freak. This is why all Faunus are just freaking animals."

And in the next second, he and the other two were instantly knocked out by Akame. Blake looked to where she was sitting before and back to where she was now. _"How? She was sitting next to us and all of a sudden she's over there."_

Akame glared at the three members who were lying around her. "What gives you the right to judge? A person, Faunus or not shouldn't judge by their appearance but rather by their actions. If any case, you four are the animals here."

"Miss Night." Akame looked over to Goodwitch who wasn't too pleased by her actions. "You come as well."

The former assassin closed her eyes and walked over to her. While doing so, Ruby smiled at what she saw and started to clap. Yang started to clap as well. Soon after one person started to clap after another until the whole cafeteria went into applause. As Akame joined up with Goodwitch and Leone, the Faunus blonde smiled at what her girlfriend did. _"Awesome thing you did Akame."_

All three left but Ruby and the others decided to follow. As they exited out of the cafeteria, Neptune and Sun saw them leave and wondered who the two new girls were. Sun apparently saw a resemblance in Leone. _"Yang?"_

For both of them to be escorted out by Goodwitch, it must've been bad. "I guess they're the ones that threw Cardin out the window." Neptune spoke.

"Sun? Neptune?"

Both of them saw Ruby and the others. Neptune waved at them. "Hey there. What just happened in there? We saw Cardin being tossed out of the window earlier."

Sun looked over to the two girls with Goodwitch. "And who were the two girls with Goodwitch? I've never seen them before."

Blake narrowed her eyes at the two of them. "New students believe it or not."

Once all three were out of sight, Glynda sighed at what just happened and turned to Akame and Leone. "This is your second day here and already the two of you are causing trouble. I know Ozpin has given you special exceptions but this is not the way to use them. You cannot be starting fights with others."

As much as Leone hated being lectured, at least she had a reason. "Yeah but there's a reason why I threw that ass out the window."

Glynda decided to hear her out. "Go on then."

The Faunus blonde clenched her hands tightly. "That guy was picking on another Faunus. I just couldn't stand around while he did that so I had to do something."

Apparently, she just wasn't picking a fight to Glynda. "So you were just helping out a fellow student in trouble?"

Akame decided to explain. "Please understand. Yes, Leone's actions were a bit extreme but she doesn't act upon them unless she has a reason. Cardin was picking on a Faunus called Velvet and decided to help her out."

After that explanation, Glynda sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "Well, this isn't the first we have heard of Mr. Winchester's actions." She opened her eye to look at the two girls. "I will overlook this due to the circumstances but do please stay out of trouble. Just because you two are special exceptions doesn't mean you're above everything else."

The two girls smiled and nodded at her. "We understand. It won't happen again we promise." Akame bowed to her.

Glynda adjusted her glasses and turned away from them. "For your sakes, I hope not." She started to walk away from them but stopped as she had one more thing to say. "Oh yes and if you do have a personal grudge against Mr. Winchester, there is a way to do it officially. You can fight him in my class but only when you two have suitable weapons. Is that clear?"

Leone loved the sound of that. "Getting to beat the crap out of him in public and we won't get in trouble? You betcha."

Their teacher didn't say anything else and left the two of them alone. Well, they dodged that bullet but she was right. They weren't above the rules. With that set in their minds, Akame and Leone wondered what to do next. That made the Faunus blonde sigh. "So what we should we do now?"

Akame pondered on the question. "I suppose we should go back to Ruby and the others." Her stomach growled in agreement. She never really did finish her lunch.

Leone laughed at what just happened. "Probably a good idea. While we're at it, we might as well see if that bunny girl is alright. I think I kinda scared her when I threw that asshole out of the window."

Her girlfriend smiled at that idea. "That would be a good idea. Shall we go then?" With that said, they started to walk back to the cafeteria where everyone else was.


	6. Team RWBY Demonstration

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Six: Team RWBY Demonstration

Team RWBY along with Akame and Leone were walking through a forest where leaves continued to fall off the trees. What they were doing there was that Ruby and her team was tracking down a Beowolf den to finally finish their assignment. Akame and Leone who were still in their school uniforms were with them to observe and find an idea of what kind of weapons they would want to use so Ruby can make them for the two girls. They were looking around at the forest. "So what's this place called again?" Leone asked.

Weiss sighed at the question. "It's called the Forever Fall. You think the name would be obvious since we're surrounded by falling leaves from the trees."

Blake thought to explain further. "It's also the place where there may be another Beowolf den nearby."

That pretty much explained everything they needed to know. Mostly anyway as Akame still had a question about all of this. "So why do you need to partake in this particular assignment?"

Yang just laughed nervously while Blake and Weiss sighed. "Yang here failed a test that graded us all as a team. So because of her, we have to take an extra assignment to make up for it." Weiss explained.

The brawler of the group sighed at it. "And I told you I'm sorry. The sooner we get this done, the better I won't have to listen to you complaining about my performance any longer." That was something the rest of the team could agree upon. Yang looked back and smiled at the two girls. "So now that you two have been in Beacon for a while now, what do you think of it so far?"

Leone grinned at the question. "Kinda awesome if you ask me. The only complaint I have so far is that I still haven't had the chance to show everyone what I'm made of."

The other blonde loved hearing that. "Well, when you do get a weapon, maybe we can have a sparring match in Miss Goodwitch's class."

The Faunus girl would love to enjoy that match. "You're on then. Question is, do you think you can take me? You've seen me fight before."

That Yang didn't have a problem with. "True but you haven't seen me fight before. Besides, fighting the other students is way different than fighting Beowolves."

Leone had to admit, she was right. "You got a point. Guess we'll just have to see and find out."

While the two were enjoying their conversation, Blake wasn't as much. She really didn't like the way her partner was looking at the other Faunus girl. It was something she couldn't figure out why. _"Am I…jealous that Leone is getting so much attention from Yang?"_ She threw that thought away. _"No. I'm sure it's nothing…I hope."_

Ruby looked behind as well. "What about you Akame? What do you think of Beacon?"

Akame smiled at the question. "It's nice. It's…an opportunity I thought I would never have." Truth be told Akame was glad she was getting a proper education in her life for once. Even if the education was similar to what she learned before, at least it didn't involve other people and assassinations.

The group continued to walk through the forest until they arrived at a wide open clearing with a cliff overlooking them. There were multiple holes in the side the cliff and they all heard growling coming out of them. Multiple Beowolves started to come out of the caves while snarling at the group. This group wasn't as big as the one Leone and Akame took on but it was enough to satisfy the conditions of their assignment. Yang smiled at the challenge in front of them. "Well looks like we found the den."

Blake counted each one. "It looks like there's twenty-eight in all."

Ruby tried to do the math in her head. "Okay, so four of us and twenty-eight them. That leaves us…"

"Seven Beowolves for each of us. Fourteen if we take them in teams." Weiss calculated. She drew out Myrtenaster and rotated the chamber.

The young leader nodded. "Right. This'll be easy." She took out Crescent Rose and transformed it into its scythe mode.

Yang flicked her wrists and the bracelets around her wrists transformed into Ember Celica. Seeing them for the first time caught Leone's interest. _"That's kinda cool."_

Blake drew out Gambol Shroud and readied herself for the fight ahead. Akame looked at the weapon closely. _"That suits more of my style."_

Yang chuckled a bit. "First team to finish wins!" She instantly bolted at the Grimm in front with Blake following close behind.

"Yang! That's not fair!" Ruby called out. "Come on Weiss!" She began running toward the Grimm as well.

The heiress just sighed. "It just can't be simple can it?" Weiss ran to keep up with her partner.

Leone crossed her arms under her breasts. "Alright let's see what they can do."

Akame nodded in agreement. "Yes. This'll be quite the learning experience for us."

Ruby looked up ahead and saw that her sister may have a surprise start but that wasn't going to last long. She used her sembalance to quickly rush pass the first team leaving a trail of rose petals just in time for the first Beowolf to jump attack her. The young leader saw the attack coming and swung her scythe at the Grimm and decapitated it with ease. Ruby landed at the same time the corpse of the Beowolf hit the ground. Few more of them came charging at her but she switched Crescent Rose to its sniper form and fired off a shot for each. The bullets easily went through their bodies and dropped dead. Ruby did another one and tried to attack her from the side, but a glyph suddenly appeared and blocked the surprise attack. Weiss appeared and thrust her rapier into the Grimm and out of the other end was a large icicle. She removed Myrtenaster and stood by her leader. Ruby smiled at what the other girl just did. "Nice save there Weiss."

The heiress just scoffed. "Well someone has to look after you. Otherwise, I'd never hear the end of it from your sister." A yellow glyph appeared from underneath her and launched her at the Grimm ahead of her. As she passed one, Weiss quickly slashed at the side and did the same with others. Once she stopped, the heiress just flicked her weapon. "And freeze." Ice suddenly came out of the wounds of the Grimm and fell down dead to the ground.

As Weiss turned around to see another one trying to attack her from behind, Ruby split it in half with Crescent Rose and landed behind the other girl. Both teammates rushed to three of the Grimm and each took a side. Both girls were able to slash through their respective target before turning to each other and attacked the remaining Grimm together by swiping both of their weapons at it. As the Beowolf fell down dead, both girls couldn't help but smile at their teamwork. "Hey, we may win this after all. Don't you think Weiss?"

Weiss just rolled her eyes at Ruby's words. "Let's just focus on the task at hand shall we?"

After seeing their performance, Akame was pretty impressed by Ruby's fighting style. _"Ruby may be younger but it's obvious she's very well trained. The way she uses that scythe shows her mastery of both forms the weapon has. I am curious as to where those rose petals came from. Perhaps that was her sembalance."_

Leone had her own thoughts about Weiss. _"Okay so Weiss can be pretty good with that toothpick weapon of hers and it looks like it can use ice attacks. Great, just what we need."_ Seeing that ice brought back unpleasant memories to the Faunus blonde. _"Also what was up with those things she used before? I guess that's her sembalance."_ Both Akame and Leone learned what sembalance was and what people could do with aura. If Leone could guess, her fast recovery ability she received from Lionel would be her sembalance. As for Akame, that has yet to be discovered. So far they were impressed by what Ruby and Weiss could do but now their attention turned to the other blonde and her partner.

Yang didn't like how the contest was panning out for her. "Great. At this rate, they'll win."

"Then let's pick up the pace." Blake ran up ahead to their small group of Beowolves and slashed at them. In the next moment, she transformed her sword into its gun form and fired at the remaining Beowolves surrounding her. They were all head shots and they went down quickly.

A few were running up behind her but they were taken out by Yang's shots. The Faunus girl looked up to see her partner in the air and saw the blonde smiling. "Today's forecast calls for sunny with a chance of Yang!" She fired several more shots at the Beowolves around Blake and then landed behind her. Not for the one to stay still, the blonde rushed over to some of the Beowolves in front of her. They tried to attack in response but Yang delivered a quick blow to the chest to the first while firing off her shot at the same time to send the Grimm away. She did the same to the other one. Another one tried to attack her from the side but then Gambol shroud appeared and went through the head. Yang looked over to Blake who pulled the sword back to her. The blonde smiled at her teammate. "Nice save there Blake!"

The Faunus girl smiled back at her. "I'm your partner. It's what I'm supposed to do."

Their performance caught Akame and Leone's eyes. Leone grinned at what Yang's weapons could do. _"I kinda like what she's using."_

Akame paid close attention to Blake's weapon. _"An interesting use of a weapon."_

Both teams saw the remaining Beowolves and smiled. All of them ran toward to the nearest Beowolf and Ruby was the first to reach it. She slashed its body in half easily and another one right behind it. Yang came up from behind and fired a few rounds at the next Beowolf before landing in front of her sister and instantly punching the next closest Beowolves near her while shooting off at them. She fired a few rounds at the next Grimm before turning around to do the same with the next one, but Weiss suddenly appeared and used her glyphs to travel around them quickly while slashing at them at all sides with ice appearing out of their wounds. Once she was done, Blake appeared and shot at the remaining Beowolves with Gambol Shroud before landing on the ground before rushing over the last ones and cutting them down. As a final show, she threw her sword at the last Beowolf straight to the center of the forehead and pulled it back to her. All four girls looked around the area smiled. Ruby jumped up for joy. "Good job everyone! Looks like our assignment is done."

Yang chuckled happily at that. "Awesome. Man, I wish testing was more like this."

Weiss knew what the upcoming question was. "So who won this little bout?"

Each girl recollected the Grimm they killed. Blake suddenly remembered. "I was the one who killed the last Beowolf so…I believe Ruby and Weiss."

Ruby giggled as she suddenly hugged Weiss. "We won Weiss!"

The heiress couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed by this with a blush added to it. "L-Let go of me, you dolt!"

While they were celebrating, Leone and Akame now had a pretty good idea how the team fights. The Faunus blonde couldn't help but giggle nervously. "Hey, Akame?"

Akame couldn't stop looked at the team. "Yes?"

"Now I'm really glad we didn't have to fight them when we first met." Leone thought they were pretty awesome.

Yang turned around to the other two girls and waved at them. "Hey! How did you like the show!? Did you seeing us finally give you two some ideas for some weapons?"

Both girls nodded at the question. "Yeah, we have some thoughts about them!" Leone yelled back.

Hearing that perked Ruby up. "Really?!" She used her sembalance and left Weiss in a flurry of rose petals to where Leone and Akame were. "Can you tell me?"

Akame just smiled at the younger girl. "Maybe when we come back to the school grounds. We'll tell you then."

That was more than enough for Ruby. Yang suddenly came from behind hugged her. "Alright, little sis. You've won this round but next time I won't lose."

Ruby giggled at her sister. "Oh yeah? We'll see about that."

Seeing the two sisters act like this made Akame feel a familiar sensation running through her body. She smiled sadly as she lowered her head. "What's wrong Akame?"

Akame raised her head quickly to see Ruby looking at trying to figure out what was making her feel sad. Her response was the older girl just smiling at her. "It's nothing." She turned away from the group. "Always cherish your moments for as long as you can as sisters." Akame started to walk away from the other group.

The team had question marks over their heads. Weiss asked the question all of them were thinking about. "What was that all about?"

Leone looked to Akame and knew what her girlfriend was talking about. _"Does it still bother Akame? Of course, it does."_ She sighed. _"She's not going to like this but I'm not going to entirely tell them everything."_ She turned to the team. "Akame had a younger sister herself some time ago. Seeing the two of you acting like that reminded her all of the times she spent with her."

The team was surprised to know something about Akame that she had a younger sister. Blake noticed the key word in that sentence. "You said had. What happened to her little sister?"

That was the part Leone really can't tell them. She could tell them part of the truth. "She passed away. Let's put it at that." The Faunus blonde really didn't want them to the whole truth. Leone started to walk away as well. All four girls looked at each other with this new discovery over their heads and began walking back to Beacon with Akame and Leone.

**B**

The walk back to the academy wasn't as joyful as the walking to the Beowolf's den. Leone and Akame kept their distance ahead from the team. They themselves had thoughts about what they learned about Akame. Blake was still having a hard time believing it. "So we finally learn something about Akame. Too bad it had to something about her losing her sister."

Yang being an older sister herself couldn't help but have one terrifying thought. "You're telling me. I really don't know what I would do if I lost Ruby." She hoped something like that would never happen.

Ruby was a bit saddened hearing that. "Yang…" She really didn't want to think what her life would be like without her older sister.

The only who couldn't share the feeling was Weiss. _"Sister huh?"_ She and her older sister weren't all that close so the heiress really couldn't know the feeling.

Even if was something like that, the team now knew a little about one of the mysterious girls. They still wondered what their past was like. Meanwhile, Akame and Leone were having a discussion of their own. "You didn't have to tell them you know."

The Faunus blonde sighed as she knew her girlfriend didn't like this. "I know but the way you were looking at Ruby and Yang, I know it reminded you of your sister. I didn't tell them the whole truth. There are some things that should be kept secret."

That was something Akame could agree upon. "Fine, I'll allow that but remember, there are some things that need to stay…where they are."

Leone understood that and left the conversation at that. Still, she couldn't help but worry. _"_ _Does it still bother you that much Akame?"_ The Faunus blonde knew some things should stay in the past but there are those that are worse off if they're buried for too long.

Suddenly her ears perked up when she heard a certain line from the other blonde. "Well, now that assignment is over now, I need a good way to relax."

Weiss scoffed at what she heard. "Yang, all you do is relax when it doesn't come to homework assignments."

Leone smiled at the opportunity and turned her head to the group. "Hey, Yang! If you want, I can give you a massage some time." And suddenly, Blake felt a bit fearful when she heard that.

Her partner didn't seem to mind, though. In fact, she smiled at the offer. "Seriously? I've never had a massage before."

The blonde smiled at her. "Ooh looks like I'll be giving you your first one then. I'll tell you this, I have magic fingers." And that didn't help Blake either. In fact, she was already imagining the worst out of the situation.

Again Yang didn't seem to mind. "I'll take you up on that offer then."

Akame seemed to share Blake's worries. "Leone…"

Her girlfriend turned to her and leaned in close to Akame's ear. "Don't worry. You're the only one I give that has the happy endings" And that comment made Akame blush while Leone laughed. The four girls behind wondered what they were talking about. They continued to walk until they saw Beacon in view. As they approached the school grounds, Leone noticed a couple of people up ahead. One was just standing while the other was leaning on the wall. "Hm? Who's that?"

Akame instantly recognized one of them. "It's that girl from before. The one with the rabbit ears but who's the other girl next to her?"

As the whole group approached the two girls, the girl who was leaning started to walk over to them. They soon met in the middle and the girl in front lowered her sunglasses to have a closer look at the two girls in front. "These the two were you talking about before Velv?"

Velvet nodded at the question. "Yes, Coco."

Coco continued to eye Akame and Leone for a few more seconds until Leone had enough. "And you are…?"

The other lifted up her sunglasses and clicked her tongue. "Coco Adel. The leader of Team CVFY. From what my little bunny had told me, you two put quite the hurt on Cardin and his buddies."

Just remembering what Cardin did the poor rabbit Faunus was enough for the Faunus blonde to growl. Akame nodded at the statement. "Yes, that was us. Is there something you want to say to us regarding that?"

Coco just smiled at the two. "Just to say thanks for sticking up for my little bunny. From what I heard, Cardin's been a real ass to her for some time now. If you haven't pretty much sent him to the infirmary, I would've done the same thing to that asshole myself. No one messes with my bunny." Velvet blushed at the nickname. "In any case, thanks. For what you did for her, consider us friends. Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask." She turned around. "Let's go Velv." Coco started to walk away.

Velvet looked at her leader for a few seconds then turned to the two girls in front. "I know I didn't say it before but…" She bowed to them. "Thank you." With that said, the rabbit Faunus left to catch up to her leader.

After all of that, Leone couldn't help but smile. "I think she was kinda cool. What do you think Akame?"

Her girlfriend did indeed have some thoughts of her own. "She was…unique." There was something else she wanted to know. _"Are those two perhaps…"_

"Well, that was something." They turned around to face Ruby and her team. Yang smiled at them. "Looks like you two made some more friends."

Both girls smiled at that fact. Now that they were done with the sudden meeting, Ruby walked up to them. "So since we're here at the academy now, care to tell us what weapons you want?"

Akame just chuckled as she nodded at the younger girl. "Alright, we'll tell you then."


	7. Out on the Town

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

  Kill Seven: Out on the Town

 

The young leader made a few more sketches. “Not now Weiss. I need to figure out how they’re supposed to work.”

The heiress heard Yang laugh. “Might be better not to talk to her when she’s like this. Ruby can be pretty serious when it comes to weapons.”

Weiss was already aware of that. “I can see that.”

Blake looked over the designs. “So how are the designs coming along Ruby?”

That was a question the young leader could answer. “I think I have it with Akame’s weapons of choice. Still, it's kinda weird she wants a weapon like this." She thought back to what Akame told her and the rest of the team.

_F_

Ruby was confused when she heard what weapon Akame wanted. “You want a what now?”

Akame thought to explain a bit more thoroughly. “An extendable sword. I thought of this when I saw Blake throw her weapon at some of the Beowolves. I thought I could use a sword that could do the same but with a blade instead."

Ruby finally understood what the other girl meant. “Ohh you want a segmented whip sword. That’s a cool choice.”

Akame smiled at the younger girl. "Yes, that's it. I'm sure that'll suit me fine."

The young leader nodded a few times. “Alright then. So what kind of gun do you want to go along with it? Gambol Shroud is also a pistol so maybe you want to that?”

To her surprise, Akame shook her head. "That won't be necessary. Having a firearm may be fine and all but it doesn't suit me. Just the sword is enough for me."

_F_

Ruby continued to sketch out a few more drawings. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who didn’t want a weapon that could double as a gun. On the bright side, it does leave more room for me to focus on the blade and other things.”

Yang thought the same. “Well I guess that’s a plus but she’s going to have a hard time fighting against most people who can shoot at her.”

Weiss didn’t seem too concerned about that problem. “Maybe, but then again we haven’t seen her fight against another person yet so that’s still up for debate.” She looked at the other drawing for Leone’s weapon of choice. “Still struggling with Leone’s weapon?”

Ruby looked over the design as well. “I think I almost have it. I can tell she really wanted this one.”

_F_

Once they heard Akame’s choice of weapon, Ruby looked over to the Faunus blonde. “So what weapon have you decided on Leone?”

The older girl just grinned at the question. “Easy one for me. Something similar to Yang’s but I want mine to have claws. Cat claws to be exact.”

Again Ruby was confused by her weapon choice. “So you want cat claw gauntlets?” Hearing that reminded Yang of two certain twins she fought against before.

Leone nodded at the question. “Yep. I want the claws like on top of my fingers. You know like actual cat claws.”

The younger understood the condition. “Okay then. If you’re aiming for something similar to Yang’s Ember Celica, you want it to fire off too?”

Same as Akame, the Faunus blonde shook her head. "Nah you can leave that. Firing off gunfire may be cool and all but I'll just stick to what I do best."

_F_

Ruby sighed at the designs. “I guess they want their weapons to be like Jaune’s. Simple but effective.”

“So are you almost done?” Blake asked.

The young leader looked over several of each design. “Just about. I may need to  run into town to get some materials.”

And a light bulb suddenly appeared above the older sister’s head and turned to where both Akame and Leone were. Speaking of the two, Akame was helping out her girlfriend with a few assignments. It became clear that Akame was the smarter of the two while Leone was struggling a bit. “Do you understand now Leone?”

The Faunus blonde groaned in frustration. “I think so but come on. I thought this was going to be easy.”

“Nothing is ever easy Leone. You and I should know that by now.” Leone knew what her girlfriend was talking about. “Now onto the next topic.”

Before they could talk about the next subject, Yang suddenly approached them. “Hey, you two.”

They both looked to Yang and Leone smiled at her. “Oh hey there Yang. How’s the weapon thing going?”

The other blonde looked over to her sister still going over the designs and back to the two girls. “Pretty well. My sister just needs some things to make them so she just needs to make a quick run into town and that got me thinking. How you would you two like to see Vale? I know you haven’t seen it yet so the team and I would like to show you around.”

The two girls looked at each other thinking about the opportunity. It would be nice to see more of what this world had to offer. They looked back Yang and smiled at her. “Sure. We’ll take up that offer.”

Yang was glad to hear that. “Great. Once classes are over, we’ll head over there. Just remember to dress out of the school uniforms and into your regular clothes.”

And already there was a problem. One Leone was very aware of. “Uh yeah about that.”

The other blonde wondered what she was trying to say. “What? What’s the problem?”

Leone chuckled nervously. “You see, I kinda have no other clothes to wear other than the school uniform I’m wearing. Remember we came with the clothes we had from before.” Akame may have no problem wearing her old outfit but Leone’s was another.

Yang was surprised to hear that. “Seriously? Then how do you two sleep?” They really didn’t want to answer that. Let’s just say together in one bed wearing nothing. They were that comfortable with each other. Luckily Yang already thought of something. “Never mind. I could lend you my other outfit but when we arrive at Vale, we’re going to do some major shopping on our own. What do you say?”

Well, that was one problem solved. Leone laughed at the proposition. “Alright then. Count us in!” While they were talking to each other, Blake heard the conversation and wasn’t a bit too thrilled that the other Faunus girl was tagging along.

**B**

Leone and Akame’s first impression of Vale? Unlike anything they've seen before. It looked very different than the Capital. They were taking in the sights. "So what do you two think so far?"

They both looked behind to Yang and the rest of them who were wearing their regular outfits. Akame was wearing her original outfit but Leone was wearing Yang’s other outfit. The brawler of the team even said she admitted that Leone looked attractive in her clothes much to Blake’s dismay. The two girls looked around at part of the town. "It's pretty cool I'll tell you that."

Akame had to agree with her girlfriend. “So now that we’re here, what do we do now?”

For Ruby it was obvious. "Well, I'm going around town to pick up the materials."

She had her plan and Weiss had her own. "Well, I supposed we'll do some shopping around to fix Leone's wardrobe problem.”

Of course, Yang had a plan of her own. "Right, and we show them all the awesome sights that we can see after that.”

 With that, they all agreed on something. “Fine then. We’ll return here in about five hours. That should be plenty of time for what all of us want to do.”

Ruby smiled at the terms. “Sounds good to me. I’ll see all of you later.”  With that said, the young leader left the team to do her thing. Now it was only the members of RWBY and the two former assassins.

The heiress thought they should start now. “Well now…follow me.” She started to walk but then noticed no was following her. She turned around to face the rest of the group. “What are you all just standing around for?”

Yang just laughed awkwardly. "Well, I was hoping to show them the fun places first."

Weiss just rolled her eyes at what she heard. “Are you kidding me? What’s more important to them?”

Leone sighed as she knew what to do. “Tell you what. I’ll go with Weiss and shop around with her. Akame, you go with Yang and Blake.” As much as the Faunus blonde wanted to spend more time with the other blonde, this was kinda her problem in the first place.

Akame knew this as well. “If you say so Leone.”

Well even if she didn't end up with the girl she wanted, Yang was still pleased she gets to hang out with Akame. "All right then! Come on, we'll show you some of the fun places in Vale." Let's go Blake." She started to walk away from the group. Her partner followed and was secretly glad that Leone was tagging along. Akame she could deal with. Akame looked at her girlfriend one more time before catching up with the other two girls.

Now it was just Weiss and Leone. The heiress turned away. “Coming?”

The Faunus blonde just smiled at the question. “You would be surprised how often I say yes to that.”

**B**

In all honesty, Blake was glad Leone wasn’t with them this time. If she had, then Yang would start a conversation between the two. For some reason she can’t quite place, it irked her to no end and didn’t know why. _“Why is it that I always act this way when those two are close together? I don’t have any control over to who she talks to but the way they talk to each other so closely like that and how, why does it bother me so much?”_ She felt this familiar feeling the first time they spoke to each other and it was growing ever since. The Faunus girl knew what the feeling was. _"Is this…jealously? Why would I be jealous of Leone talking to Yang? Also, why am I…afraid?"_

“Blake? Remnant to Blake?” The words managed to break the Faunus girl out of her train of thought and looked at the girl plaguing her thoughts. Yang sighed in relief. “That’s good. You’re still here with us.”

Her partner just smiled at her. “I’m fine. I just…have a lot on my mind.”

The blonde smiled at her. "Well, what better way to keep those thoughts away than having a bit of fun? Come on, the arcade isn't far from here. Let's go!" She started to lead the way. While walking, Yang was feeling a bit disappointed Leone couldn't be with her but Akame with them wasn't bad either. In fact, the blonde thought up of something. "So Akame, what can you tell me more about Leone?”

And Blake felt more of those unpleasant feelings again. _“Why do you always talk about her?”_

Yang didn’t notice and continued. “I mean, there’s still a lot we don’t know about either of you. What was she like before you two met?”

The question made her stop and that in turn, the other two girls stopped as well. Akame slightly looked away. "There isn't much I know about her past. What I do know is that she…doesn't remember much from her early life. Not even her parents. From what I know, she spent most of her childhood trying to survive in the streets and taking up a job at a massage place. Leone may act carefree and happy all the time but I know better than anyone that she was alone with no one looking after her.”

And hearing that made Blake forget about her strange feelings and felt sorry for the other Faunus girl. _"So…she's been alone for a long time with no one around her. Leone…she just had herself and no one else. I can't imagine what she had to go through. A child Faunus wandering the streets alone. It's a wonder how she didn't end up as something else."_

Yang also felt a bit bad hearing the other girl’s brief explanation. “I had no idea.” She then smiled. “I guess she’s lucky to have you then huh?”

Akame looked back at them and smiled. “Yes, and much more.”

That led Yang to her other question. “So, what was she like when you two first met?”

Akame just chuckled at the question. “Let’s just say she really couldn’t leave me alone for a time.” She walked past the two girls and stopped as she turned to them. “So shall we go to this…arcade as you called it?”

The blonde was surprised to hear that question. “Seriously? You never heard of an arcade before? Oh, we're going to change that. You're going to love it." 

**B**

Akame couldn't take her eyes off of what she was seeing. So many sounds and bright lights all coming from different directions in one place. In hindsight, she was amazed. Yang loved her reaction. “Pretty cool huh? You can even win prizes if you scored enough tickets.” She pointed over to the counter and Akame saw the different prizes one could get. The blonde looked around the arcade. “Since this is your first time here, let’s start you off with something easy.” She found what she was looking for. “Here we go.” They approached one of the games and as expected, Akame didn’t know what it was. “This should be easy.”

Akame blinked at the game a few times. “What is it?”

Blake was beginning to question where Akame grew up. “It’s called skeeball. What do you is put some money into it then nine balls come out. The point of this is to roll the balls into those holes at the end. Depending which hole the ball goes into, it's added to your score. The higher the score you have, the more tickets you earn."

Akame seemed to understand it easy enough. Yang thought she should demonstrate. "Here I'll show you." She took out a coin and inserted into the slot. The machine powered up and several balls dropped into the open slot. The blonde took one of them and rolled it up to where it went into one of the holes. As it did, the number thirty showed up on the scoreboard. Yang turned back to the other girl. “Easy as that but the bigger points are kinda harder to get. You give it a try now.” Akame took up that offer and grabbed on the balls. She observed the targets carefully just like she was about to assassinate someone. Akame rolled the ball up and it veered a bit all the way to the hundred easily. The other two girls were impressed at what they saw. “Oh, nice. You rolled into the hundred.”

Akame took another ball and rolled it into the hundred again. It was impressive the few times but then Yang and Blake's expressions began to change when Akame kept rolling into the hundred constantly without losing one ball. The numbers on the scoreboard were climbing. This continued until Akame had no more of the balls to throw. Tickets started to come out of the dispenser and became a small pile. Akame picked it up and presented it to the other girls. "I think did pretty good."

Yang just laughed awkwardly. “That’s an understatement.” After organizing the tickets by folding them on top of one on the other, the three girls looked around to see what other game their new friend would like to play. There was one that caught the blonde’s eye. “Hey, I think you’ll like this.”

Akame looked at the game and once again was confused by it. “And what’s this?”

And Blake once again had to explain. “It’s called Whack-A-Grimm. What you do here is take the hammer and hit the Grimm that pops up. The longer the game, the faster the Grimm pop up and then go back You’re only allowed three misses before the game is over. Like the last game, you can get tickets judging by how high the score is.”

Again, this was something Akame understood very well. “I see. So, it most likely tests your reaction time.”

Yang looked at the game. “I guess you can say that. Give it a try.” Akame picked up the hammer and the blonde inserted the coin into the slot and the game started up.

As the first Grimm popped up, it was immediately struck by Akame. Another one popped up and she struck down that one as well. It wasn’t long after that the game started to pick up speed but Akame didn’t lose track. Again, Yang and Blake couldn’t believe what they were seeing. “You got to be kidding me. How good is she?”

Her partner wondered the same. “Apparently very good.” She paid attention to how Akame was hitting them. _“She really wastes no time hitting the next one as soon as it appears.”_

Akame lost count how many she hit by this point. She was in her zone. However, as Akame was hitting them, something else was playing in her mind. The moment she hit one of the Grimm, she would imagine blood splatter everywhere. Her breathing became heavier as the game went on until all she could see was red and heard screams. For the first time, she missed a Grimm. She missed two more until it was game over but Akame didn't seem to notice. All she was doing was breathing heavily. Yang and Blake noticed and instantly went over her. The blonde put her hand on Akame's shoulder. "Hey hey, are you okay? You seem a bit out of it.”

Akame recollected herself and breathed in deeply. “I’m fine. I guess I was…a little too into it.”

“That’s saying something.” Blake thought it was something else but decided to lay off that subject later. Like before, tickets were coming out of the dispenser until there was a large pile of them. Yang picked up the pile and folded the tickets on top of each other.

Both girls were surprised how much for someone like Akame who was a first timer to these games amassed too many tickets from just two games. They wondered if was a good idea to keep doing this. Yang had decided one more game before what to do with Akame's tickets. The next game she led on was a fairly simple one. "Alright, we'll try this one." They were all looking at a punching machine. This was one the blonde was most proud of. "This one is easy. It doesn't give out tickets but it does show how strong your punch is. See the score?" Akame saw the high score and it said seven fifty. "That's mine. Blake tried it too once and got…four seventy-five?"

Her partner nodded at the guess. “That’s about right.”

Yang smiled at her. “Yeah, so I want to see how you’ll do. What do you say?”

Akame observed the machine. She was impressed there exists such a contraption that could measure one’s strength. She decided to give it a go. “I’ll give it a try.” That was all Yang needed to hear and put a coin into the slot. The machine powered up and a punching bag dropped in front as a number showed up.

Akame took up a stance similar as to how she held Murasame when she was about to make the kill. Neither Blake nor Yang recognized the stance. Akame delivered a swift strong blow to the punching bag and it was sent back to where it was before. The numbers quickly climbed until it stopped. Both girls thought they were reading the number wrong. “N-Nine hundred thirty?” Yang had never seen a score that high. Not only that told her that Akame had the stronger punch but that was enough to literally kill a person.

Akame didn’t seem as surprised and turned to the two girls. “So, I guess this means I beat your high score.”

Yang chuckled nervously. “Yeah…I guess so.” She looked at the prize corner. “So how about we exchange these tickets you won for an awesome prize. With this much, you can pretty much get whatever you want.”

Akame looked at the prize corner and observed each of the prizes. There was one that caught her eye and smiled. “I have a question. Can you save these tickets for later?”

Both girls thought that was a strange question to ask. “Uh yeah, you can. Some people save on their tickets for the bigger prizes. Why?” Yang wondered why Akame would save up this massive amount of tickets.

For Akame, the answer was clear to her. “Just for something I have planned for later on.”

**B**

“Thank you for shopping with us.” The doors opened and Weiss carrying several bags exited out of them with Leone closely following her.

The heiress sighed at the shopping she had to do. “There we go. You and Akame should be set. I’m surprised you know about her sizes well.”

The Faunus girl chuckled at that. “Well when you know someone for a long time, you get to know a few things about them.” She looked at the other girl closely. “You know I can carry those. I really don’t mind.”

Weiss appreciated the offer but had to decline. “I’m quite capable of this thank you.”

Leone left it at that and began to look around the town. Some ideas began to come to her. “Hey Weiss, I have a few questions.”

The heiress wondered what the other girl wanted to ask. “Just as long they’re important.”

They were important. To Leone at least. “What are some of the places that are good to eat around here?”

And Weiss sighed at the question. “Why are you asking that? Are you hungry?”

Leone shook her head. “No just wondering that’s all.”

That didn't seem suspicious at all to the heiress. "Well, I know a few a good places that have reasonable prices if you want to eat.”

The Faunus blonde understood that. Now for her next question. "Okay, that's good. Now, what about entertainment? Like a show?"

Now that caught Weiss by surprise and turned to her. “A show? Really?” Leone just shrugged. A show was really the closest thing for what she was planning. The heiress just sighed. “Well if you’re talking about the movies, that’s where you’re supposed to go. What’s with these questions?”

Leone just smiled. “Nothing you need to know.”

That only made Weiss more curious. _“With these questions, it almost sounds like she’s planning a date. If she is, who is she planning on asking out?”_ She decided to ponder on that later and looked in front again.

While they were walking to pass the time, Leone noticed a newspaper stand and stopped in front of it. She smiled when she saw the papers. _“Glad some things don’t change in between worlds.”_ She picked up the paper and began reading to see what’s been going on in the world.

Weiss looked back and saw Leone was standing in front of the newspaper stand. She sighed as the heiress walked back to her. “I never pegged you to read the newspaper. What are you reading?”

The article Leone was reading right now kinda made her curious. “Hey Weiss, who are the White Fang?”

The question stopped Weiss' blood cold for two reasons. One was hearing about White Fang and the other was she couldn't believe Leone asked that question. "You're joking, right? You're a Faunus and you've never heard of the White Fang?"

Judging by how she was reacting, this White Fang must be a pretty big deal. “I’m out of town, remember? So, who are they?”

Weiss just sighed as she was the last person to explain this but had to if this wanted to keep up. “The White Fang are…a radical group of Faunus. They’re something close to a terrorist organization, trying to prove that Faunus is superior to humans. They would go to extreme measures to prove that. Funny thing is that they weren’t like this before. They were once a pacifist group whose major crime was rallies. That is until they elected a new leader and started to go down the path of violence. One of their major targets is the members of the Schnee Dust Company.”

That rang a bell in Leone’s head. “Wait, Schnee? As in-”

“My family yes.” The heiress turned away from the Faunus girl. "It's no secret that my family business uses Faunus labor as the driving force for the company. Because of that, we have targets on our backs. I've lost several family members because of them. Bringing us down is one of their goals no matter who gets hurt."

And Leone recognized the scene around them. “Oh, I see. This must be a bit awkward for you then since I’m around.” She eyed the bags Weiss was carrying. “And why you won’t let me carry the bags. If people see me carrying your shopping bags, they may get the wrong idea huh?”

_“And she figured it out.”_ It seemed Leone was quicker than the heiress thought. “Yes. I will say I don’t approve my father’s way of running the company. When I finally take it over, I’ll change it for the better.” That was all the Faunus blonde needed to hear and suddenly took the bags away from Weiss. She turned back to her. “H-Hey! What are you doing!?”

Leone didn’t seem to mind. “If you ask me, these White Fang guys are just doing a hell of a lot more damage than good. To me, I’d say they’re just ruining the image of other Faunus that isn’t a part of them and if anyone does have a problem with what they’re seeing, I’ll just set them straight. Also, I'm glad to hear you're willing to change something for the better. That alone gets my respect."

Weiss was actually kind of touched by Leone’s words. “So, you can be humble when you want to.”

The other girl just chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you can say I have a heart of gold when it comes to people like you. So, care to show me these movies and the eats?”

It was the least the heiress could do. “I suppose since you asked nicely.”

**B**

Each group seemed to enjoy their time during their stay in the town. They soon regrouped and only waiting for Ruby to show up. While doing so, each group decided to pass the time by doing a bit of small talk. “So Weiss, how did it go with Leone?” Blake also kind of wondered how she spent the time with another Faunus.

The heiress just smiled. "Just fine and we had a pleasant chat. She does act a bit different than you though. How about Akame?”

Both girls just laughed a bit sheepishly. “Let’s just she packs more of a punch.”

Leone snickered at that. “I can believe that. Akame may not look it but she can kick some serious ass.” She noticed the mass of tickets Yang was holding. “What’s with the tickets?”

The two girls looked at them and then back to the other Faunus girl. “You would be surprised how good Akame is at arcade games.” Blake stated.

Said girl smiled at the experience. “It was fun indeed. Thank you for showing me that.” She saw the shopping bags Leone was carrying. “I assume those are the clothes?”

Leone brought up the bags. “Yep. We should be good. By the way, Weiss here is next in line for some big dust company."

Akame was surprised to hear that. “Is that so? I had no idea you were of high importance.”

Weiss just turned away. “That may be true but I would like it if you didn’t treat me any different.”

The Faunus blonde wrapped her arms around the heiress. “Eh don’t worry about it. Chances are we’ll still make fun of you no matter who you are.”

The heiress faked laughed at her words. “Thank you for that.” She looked around the area. “Just where is Ruby? She should’ve been here by now.”

Yang pulled out her scroll. “I’ll call her to see where she is.”

“I’m here!” All of them heard the young leader’s voice and turned to where they heard it. Ruby was walking over to them carrying several more bags then Leone was. She caught up with the rest of the group. “Sorry about that. Just needed a few more things.”

Akame saw how many bags the younger girl was carrying. “Are those…”

Ruby looked at the bags herself. "The materials needed to make your weapons? Yep, that's them.”

Leone laughed happily at the news. “Awesome! So how long will it take?”

The young leader tried to the math in her head. “One for each. You’ll have your weapons soon enough.”

That was the best news they’ve heard yet. “Thank you so much for doing this.” Akame was very grateful she and Leone had met such great people in this world.

Ruby just smiled brightly at her. “It’s no problem. You two are our friends now and this is what friends do for each other.” And there was that word. Friend. These four girls were their friends. For the first time, not since Night Raid and her previous team before them, Akame felt a familiar welcome feeling spread throughout her body.

 


	8. Sparring Match?

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Eight: Sparring Match?

"We're almost there. Are you two excited?"

Akame and Leone were following Yang to her team's dorm room to finally receive the weapons Ruby had made them. Two weeks had never felt so longer than before and now the day was here. While walking over to Yang's team dorm room, they were having a little conversation. Mostly about their dorm room. "So how come you two haven't decorated your dorm room yet? You're allowed to you know."

They were aware of that fact for a while now. "We didn't see a need to. We're just used to that kind of look."

"Yeah, I have to agree with Akame." Leone added.

Yang would have to give them a few tips about decorating at a later time. For now, the important thing is leading them to her dorm room. After making a few turns here and there, they finally arrived at the door to the blonde's team room. "And here we are. The door across from ours is JNPR's room FYI." She turned the knob and opened the door. "Hey I'm here and I brought Akame and Leone with me."

Once the three entered the room, Akame and Leone were a bit taken back at how their room looked. It was decorated with several different posters, bookshelves with books in them, and the most obvious detail about the room was that the beds were put into a position similar to bunk beds with one being supported by ropes and the other being supported by several books. Seeing this gave Leone some thoughts. _"Maybe we should decorate our room after all."_

Ruby was happy to see them. "Hey there! Welcome to our room! What do you think?"

The other two girls looked around for a few seconds. "Are you sure the books are an appropriate support for the bed on top?" Akame asked.

Blake who was lying on her bed reading a book decided to answer. "It's worked out pretty good so far."

The young leader decided to cut to the chase. "Right so anyway, you're here for your weapons. It wasn't easy but I manage to make them."

"And you owe me for taking your notes." Weiss added.

Ruby sighed at that and looked over to her. "Yes and thank you for that Weiss." She turned back Akame and Leone. "Are you two excited?"

Leone smiled at the question. "Lay it on us."

The younger didn't need to ask again and went to Weiss' bed and reached something under from it. She pulled out three objects. A sword in a black sheath and two large silver bracelets. She presented them to the two girls. "Here you go." Akame took the sword while Leone took the two bracelets. "Check em out."

Akame drew out the sword from the sheath slowly to admire the work. When she fully drew it out, she was impressed by the work. The sword was a bit heavier then Murasame and obviously wider in width. The center of the blade from the base to the tip was a midnight black while the edges were pure silver. Sure enough, Akame could see where the segments would break up to extend the reach of the weapon. The handle was also nice as it was easy to grip and there were a few mechanical features to it. All in all, Akame was pleased with it. "It's wonderful Ruby. You did a fantastic job with this."

Ruby giggled when she heard that. "Thank you. I used Blake's Gambol Shroud as the base model and then added some modifications. Of course per your request, it doesn't have a gun feature. I did leave a chamber in the base for you to use dust. Just press the switch in the center and it should open up." Akame did just that and indeed an open slot popped up at the end of the handle. "There's also a switch on the upper side that'll make the sword extend but it has to be held down in order for the sword to continue extending as far as it could. Once the switch is released, it'll retract right back."

That was something Akame could use to her advantage. She smiled at the sword and placed it back inside the sheath. "Thank you for the explanation. I appreciate for what you've done."

The young leader just waved her hand. "It's no problem. Making that was pretty fun. Now then…" She turned to Leone who was already wearing the bracelets. "You're going to like those. Like I did with Blake's weapon, I used Ember Celica as the basis for your weapon. Leave your hands open and quickly flick your wrists."

Leone did just that and the bracelets quickly transformed into claw-like gauntlets. Unlike Yang's gauntlets, though, they appeared to be like metal gloves with sharp pointed nails coming out of the tips of the gloves like cat claws. She opened and closed her hands a few times to get a feel for them. It was a strange feeling for her wearing something that was similar looking to her claws when the blonde entered beast mode. Overall, she liked them. "This is pretty cool. I can't wait to break these in."

Again Ruby was glad to hear that. "I'm glad you like them. I was worried how it would look since you were specific about the design. As per your request as well, I didn't add the gun feature so it's primarily used for hand to hand combat. I did add a chamber in each for you to use dust for added effects. Just twist your hands to open them." Leone did just that and sure enough, one open slot opened up from each gauntlet." To turn them off, just flick your wrists again." Leone did what she heard and like the younger girl instructed, they returned to their original form. Now that everything was explained, there was one more thing to ask. "So now that you two have your weapons, did you come up with names for them?"

The two girls looked at their weapons and indeed they have. Akame smiled at hers. "Yatsufusa. That's what I'll call this weapon."

While Leone was smiling at the name her girlfriend had given it, Ruby and her team were a bit confused by the name. She looked at her weapon and smiled at the name she'd chosen for them. "And I'm going with Lionel for mine."

The team questioned the choice of names they've given their weapons but decided to leave that. Ruby smiled at their choices. "Those are good names. Hope they'll work well for you."

Akame placed the sheath where she originally placed Murasame. "I'm sure they will." She looked at the clock and saw the time. "Class is going to start soon. We should get going."

That was something everyone could agree on. "We'll put these in our lockers for the sparring class. Can't wait to use those." Leone really couldn't wait to fight with her new weapons. Blake set her book down and all of the girls left the room.

**B**

The sparring class really couldn't come any slower for Leone. It seemed the whole day was dragging as long as possible until it finally came. Both she and Akame were in the locker getting ready for the class. Akame was in her original outfit readying Yatsufusa. "Are you almost ready Leone?"

The blonde was just putting on her new bracelets. "Yeah, I'm good." She closed her locker. Leone's battle outfit differed from her usual one. Her new outfit wasn't that much different from her original one. Her top was replaced by a tank top with a sleeveless tan vest over it and khaki pants along with her original combat boots. She turned to her girlfriend and smiled at her. "So…ready to break these in?"

Akame nodded at the question. "Yes. Let's go." She started to walk over to where the arena was.

"Wait Akame." She stopped suddenly and turned to the Faunus blonde. Judging from the look Leone was giving her, it was serious. "Remember, this is only a sparring class. Don't forget that."

The other girl narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend. "I know. You don't have to remind me."

Hearing that didn't seem to ease Leone a bit. "And I hope I don't have to again." With that said both girls left the locker room and headed toward the arena.

**B**

Many of the students attending the class were already present including teams RWBY and JNPR. Overlooking them all was Glynda waiting for two more. So far they were just spectators. Speaking of the devils themselves, they were approaching her and were wearing different outfits from their school uniforms. Not only that but they have seemed to have weapons in their possession. Leone was the first to wave. "Hey, there teach! How's it going?" And her teacher only glared at her in response. The younger blonde instantly let down her arm. "Oh…"

Her teacher still glared at her. "It's Miss Goodwitch to you young lady and I see you've chosen to wear proper attire this time. Not only that but it seems you two have your weapons."

Leone grinned at that. "Yep. We sure do."

"We've fulfilled one of the conditions correct?" Akame asked.

Glynda adjusted her glasses a bit. "Indeed. You two are permitted to participate. Therefore since you two have not battled once, you two will be the main participates for today's class." That seemed more than fair to them. It was their chance to shine. "Wait for the class to start on top of the bleachers."

Both girls nodded and headed toward them. From what they've learned so far about how the class works, the ones who are first selected to fight choose their opponents. For Leone her decision was easy. Akame however… "So who are you going to fight Akame?"

She gave that some thought and looked amongst the crowd. If there was one she could compare to, the choice was easy. "You'll see."

Once everyone was her, class began. Glynda looked over all of the students. "Welcome, everyone. Now that all of you are here, I have an announcement to make. For today's class, we'll have two special classes. The two students who will participate are Miss Akame Night and Miss Leone Wild." Everyone turned to them and already there were whispers among them. "So which one of you will start off?" Akame was the one who stood up in response to the question. "I'm glad you volunteered Miss Night. Who will you choose to be your opponent?"

Akame just closed to eyes. "Blake Belladonna from team RWBY."

Blake quietly gasped when she heard that not believing what she heard. _"She wants to fight me?"_

Her partner, however, was glad to hear this. "Alright, Blake. You get to go first."

The Faunus girl still didn't know what to think of it but had no choice but to accept the challenge. "Very well then. Miss Belladonna, would you and Miss Night come down." Glynda ordered.

Both girls stepped down from the bleachers and stepped onto the arena. As they were, three individuals were watching from the top of the bleachers. One of them was rather quite interested in how this fight will go. As the two girls stepped onto the arena, Blake drew out Gambol Shroud while Akame drew out Yatsufusa and stood across from each other. There was something the Faunus girl wanted to know. "So what made you decide to fight me?"

Akame didn't let up her gaze. "An old saying. If two people fight using the same weapon, it is akin to something fighting yourself."

Blake understood the meaning of that. _"So she wants to fight me because I use a sword as well."_ Basic but understandable.

Both of their images appeared on the screen with their aura gauges. Glynda looked between the two girls. "If both of you are ready…" She raised her arm and set it down quickly. "Begin."

Akame didn't waste any time coming over to Blake. In fact, the sudden movement surprised the Faunus girl as she went on the defensive. She blocked the attack from the other girl in time but she felt the raw power behind the strike. _"_ _I knew she was strong but this is ridiculous."_ Akame didn't waste the opportunity to kick from the side and that broke off their previous stalemate. Blake groaned in pain from the attack. _"She didn't waste any time going for an open opportunity."_ For not willing to give Akame another chance, Blake rushed over to her.

As their two swords clashed once again, only Blake's rebutted from the exchange. Akame took this chance for another attack and slashed downward. Blake used her sembalance to make a clone and appeared behind her opponent. However, Akame stopped her attack in front of the clone and flipped Yatsufusa as she turned around to strike Blake on the side of her cheek with the handle. The sudden attack sent Blake away and hit the floor. Seeing this surprised everyone. Mostly team RWBY. Yang couldn't understand what just happened. _"How? How could she tell that was Blake's clone?"_

That was a question only Akame could answer. _"As soon as I felt her aura from behind, I knew the one in front was a fake. A good ploy but…"_ She saw Blake starting to stand up again. _"It's no use if the opponent can sense one's aura."_

Blake wiped her mouth with her other hand and took a look at the images. Blake's aura gauge was a quarter down already. She looked back at Akame and wondered what just happened to her. _"It shouldn't be that easy to tell that was a clone so how did she know?"_ Some things weren't adding up to her. The Faunus girl started to walk around her opponent but noticed some eerily. _"The way she's looking at me with those eyes. It's like she's observing my every move."_ She had to admit it was a bit unnerving. It was a waiting game between the two of them to see who would make the first move.

Apparently, it was Akame again who swung her sword while still in her current position. While doing so, she used Yatsufusa's main ability which was to extend the blade to where the target was, as it split into different pieces to extend its range. Blake was surprised by this and dodged to the side to avoid the attack. The extended blade hit the floor and the Faunus girl took this as a chance for a counter attack. She sprinted to where Akame was but the other girl came prepared for that. She lifted the extended blade back up and turned around once with the blade following her motion. Blake stopped midway seeing the blade coming at her again and blocked again with Gambol Shroud. As like before, Akame released the switch and the blade retracted back into its original form and she closed the gap between them. Again Blake blocked the attack and the two swords separated briefly from the exchange. Blake used this to her advantage as she regained her balance and swung Gambol Shroud at Akame. However, the other girl jumped into the air before the attack reached her. Akame swung her sword down while pressing the switch to make the blade extend again to where Blake was. The Faunus girl jumped back and the tip of the sword actually embedded into the floor. Seeing that was usual to her. _"Just how much force did she put into that?"_

Akame released the switch and she was pulled back to the floor quickly. Blake didn't waste this chance and for once went on the offensive. Akame saw the attack coming and grabbed Yatsufusa while wielding it underhanded. She lifted her sword up out of the floor in time to block Blake's attack and that left the other girl open again. The Faunus girl did see this coming and quickly separated from her opponent before Akame had the chance to deliver another blow. This was the most careful Blake had to be during a fight and it was just a sparring match. She had to think about her next move carefully. _"I can't tell what she's going to do next. If I attack, she'll just block and that'll leave me open for another counter from her. If she attacks, she'll have the advantage of the first strike. How can I fight someone like that?"_

Akame had her own thoughts about her opponent as flipping her sword holding it like usual. _"She fights well I'll give her that but…"_ She gripped her handle tightly and raised her weapon as she pointed it at Blake.

Leone knew all too well what that stance meant. _"Akame, you can't be serious."_

She narrowed her eyes. _"This fight is already determined."_

Blake saw the stance before and wondered what Akame was planning. There was also something else she was sensing. It could be her Faunus senses but she felt something…ominous coming from the other girl. Almost threatening. If she had to be honest with herself, Blake almost felt, a bit afraid. As she shifted her foot just a bit to the side, that was Akame's signal to attack. She launched herself quickly at the Faunus girl at a speed she didn't display earlier in the fight. Akame was already up front with Blake who had a moment of surprise before placing Gambol Shroud in front to block the incoming attack. The two swords clashed for a moment until Akame continued to attack while Blake had to defend. They continued their flurry of exchanges with their swords and then the Faunus girl found something out. _"She's skilled. Much more than any student attending here and the strength behind her attacks, they're so intense."_ It was obvious that Akame was trained before and very well. During the clash, Akame managed to break it and left Blake wide open. She turned her body around and managed to kick Blake in the stomach with her leg. The kick managed to separate the two and held her stomach. Blake's aura gauge went down again to half.

Before she could do a counterattack of her own while using this chance, Akame quickly ran over to her while making three copies of herself. Seeing this surprised Blake. _"She can use my sembalance?"_ She had no time figuring out which one would be the real Akame and had to guess. The one closest to her was her choice and attack it hoping it would be the right one. With the sword passing through Akame and disappearing, it was obvious that was the wrong one. She sensed that same feeling from behind, Blake turned around and raised her sword just in time to block Akame's next attack. She felt the obvious difference in their power between the exchange. Akame immediately disappeared after their first confrontation and Blake looked around to where the next attack would come from. Keeping all of her senses open, she was able to tell where the next attack could come from. The Faunus girl was able to block the next attack but Akame kept repeating the same move all over but they became quicker than Blake could react. Not only was that but the strikes becoming stronger as well. When she sensed the next attack, Blake quickly turned around to block the next one but as she did, her sword went through Akame's. Blake's eyes widened in surprise. _"Another afterimage?"_ The Faunus girl suddenly felt something wrap around her arm and saw that it was Yatsufusa extended. Blake saw that Akame was across from her.

Akame pulled the sword to her along with Blake and pulled back her arm. As soon as the Faunus girl came in close, Akame delivered one more blow to her stomach and Blake let out a pained gasp as she dropped Gambol Shroud. Her aura gauge dropped again to red and that was the match. Akame pulled back her arm as she set the Faunus girl down gently and carefully removed the sword wrapped around her arm. She released the switch and the sword retracted to its original form. Glynda extended her arm to Akame. "The winner of this match goes to Akame Night."

As soon as the match was over, Yang and Ruby instantly ran down from the bleachers worried about their teammate. Yang was the first arrive at her partner. "Blake, Blake are you alright?"

She was relieved when the blonde heard the Faunus girl moan in pain. Yang helped her up while still clutching her stomach. "I'm fine. Just in a…little pain is all." She turned to Akame who sheathed Yatsufusa. Now Blake was sure about something. _"That last punch. She held back just for my sake since I know she's packing more of a punch than Yang. She's much more experienced than the rest of us. Just who is she really?"_

Akame looked back at Blake. "It was a good match. Thank you."

The other girl wished she could return the feeling but something felt rather off about her. She decided to respect the compliment. "Yeah…same here."

Yang smiled at her partner. "Come on now. Let's get back to our seats. Ruby, can you get Gambol Shroud?" Her sister did just that and all three girls started to walk back to their seats.

Glynda looked over to Leone now. "Miss Wild, it is your turn now. Who would you like to fight?"

The Faunus girl smiled at the question. "Easy. Yang."

As said girl set her partner down, she heard Leone's declaration and turned to her. "So I guess it's my turn."

"Yang…" She turned to her partner who was still in a bit of pain. "Be careful okay?" If Akame was this well trained before the academy, chances are Leone would be the same.

The brawler smiled at her like she had no worry. "I will be. I'll win this one for you." Blake smiled back sweetly at that. She really did have a great partner.

Yang started to walk down again to the arena and Leone did the same. While she was walking down, Akame was walking back to her seat. The two briefly passed by each other. "I told you it was a sparring match."

Akame half closed her eyes. "I know it was. I was holding back."

"Of course you were." They continued to go their separate ways. Leone just sighed. _"Even still, these girls aren't as experienced as us."_

As the two were coming down, Nora still had to speak her mind. "Okay seriously. Does anyone else see that Leone kinda looks like Yang and Bla-ow" And Ren elbowed his friend again.

Leone's ear perked up when she heard that. _"Why does she keep saying that? I'm Yang and Blake's what?"_ That was a question she would have to ask later. Right now her upcoming fight mattered the most. Both girls arrived the arena and stood across from each other. Leone smiled at the other blonde. "You had to know this was coming right?"

Yang grinned back at her. "Yeah, I knew. In fact, I was wondering which one of us would be the better fighter."

The Faunus blonde chuckled at that. _"Hate to say it Yang, but it's obviously me. I'll still play around with you, though."_

Again from on top of the bleachers, the woman in the center couldn't help but smile at the match up. "Let's see how good this one is."

Glynda looked between the two. "Are the both of you ready?"

The two girls activated their weapons and assumed their positions. "Ready."

Both of their images showed up with their aura gauges. Glynda raised her arm. "Then let the match…" She set it down. "Begin!"

Yang didn't waste any time using Ember Celica's shots to shorten the gap between them and then kicked the other blonde to the side. She then turned around and elbowed Leone in the stomach then striking Leone in the face with the back of her gauntlet. Yang turned again and proceeded to give the other Faunus blonde a barrage of punches while shooting out her ammo at the same time. To continue this, Yang grabbed Leone's arm and threw her up into the air and then jumped above Leone as she pulled back her arm. She punched Leone straight back down to the floor with an extra shot for added damage. Yang landed on the floor and saw the result of her work. "That's got to hurt. Sorry about that."

"Nah that's okay." Yang gasped in surprise as she saw Leone jump up like all the attacks she received from before didn't happen at all. She rolled around her neck for a bit. "That was pretty good. You really know how to start things off. However…" Leone stopped and smiled at the other blonde. "That's the only freebie I'll give you." Yang was surprised to hear that. "Don't get me wrong I'm not belittling you. When it comes to a fight, friend or foe I fight to win no matter what kind of fight I'm in." She gestured Yang. "So come on."

Yang narrowed her eyes at the other blonde and took up her offer. She rushed over to Leone to give her another round like before. However, when she tried to deliver the first blow, it was blocked by Leone's hand. Yang quickly pulled back and attacked with her other arm but that was blocked as well. She wasn't about to give up yet. The blonde continued trying to hit Leone but each attack was blocked off successfully. She then tried to kick from the side again but that was caught as well. Leone chuckled while Yang looked worried. "Oh, crap." Leone spun the other blonde and she landed on the floor. The brawler took this as an opportunity to try and sweep across at Leone's leg's to make her trip. Leone did a backflip to avoid the surprise attack.

As Yang jumped back up, the Faunus blonde saw an opening and rushed over to her. She pulled back her arm as her hand closed up and stuck Yang at the center. The force of the blow was strong enough to send her away. The other was still holding on but felt how powerful the attack was. _"_ _Damn that was strong. She really doesn't mess around huh?"_ She relaxed a bit. _"Okay, let's try this again."_ Yang ran back at Leone.

The Faunus blonde just grinned. _"I'll give her guts that's for sure. Good thing I won't splatter them out of her."_ She ran toward the other blonde as well. As soon as they met in the middle, they began to exchange blows. Both were attacking and blocking each other's attacks. Leone was even deflecting the attacks where Yang would use her shots for added power. Even if the brawler was doing her best to block the attacks, they'd still hurt. Meanwhile, Leone was having fun with the fight. _"Well, she's a good fighter I'll give her that. Still, she doesn't compare to one of those Imperial Fist Temple guys I fought from before. If this was an actual fight to the death, I already would've won."_ Yang opted to go for another kick to the side again and like before, Leone caught it again. "Really, the same trick twice?"

This time Yang smiled. "With a twist of course." She lifted up her body and kicked Leone with her other leg. That really wasn't something Leone expecting and let go of the other blonde's leg. Yang quickly stood up. "Now I got you!" She took the chance and started another barraged of attacks on the Faunus girl. This one was shorter since Leone was able to catch one of Yang's punches with her own hand. _"Come on really? She recovered that fast?"_

Leone tightened her grip. "Not bad. Still, you're going to need a lot more than that…" She suddenly punched Yang to the side of her face. "If you want to bring me down!"

Blake was instantly worried. "Yang no!"

"Relax." Her Faunus teammate turned to her leader wondering why Ruby was being so calm. "This is actually working out for her."

Now Blake was confused when she heard that. "What do you mean?"

Leone saw that Yang wasn't moving after that one hit. "Aw, crap. Did I overdo it?"

"No…" She saw Yang being able to stand up while wiping her lips. "In fact, you just helped me."

Ruby smiled as she knew what was going to happen next. "Yang is one of the best fighters I know. The more damage she takes…" Yang slammed her gauntlets together as her eyes changed from violet to red and her hair looked to be on fire. "The more she can dish it out."

Leone whistled at what she was seeing. "Damn. Wish I had that." And those were the last words she spoke as Yang suddenly punched the Faunus blonde in the face. Leone was able to recover from the attack and saw the other blonde jumping at her. _"Damn it!"_ She crossed her arms to block the incoming attack. Leone did manage to block the attack; the power behind it was much more than what she expected. _"_ _Holy shit that's one hell of a power increase."_ The attack proved too much and broke through Leone's guard as it struck her directly. Leone was sent crashing into the wall, embedded into it.

Blake really couldn't take her eyes off of her partner as they were filled with wonder. _"Yang…I never knew how incredible you were."_

Yang continued to look at Leone who didn't seem to be moving. "Sorry about that but this is what my sembalance can do. The more damage I take, the stronger my attacks become. If I had to wager a guess, you'll out for a few weeks after that." She suddenly heard laughter coming from across and saw Leone's body moving. "No way."

The Faunus blonde lifted her head as she was smiling. "Not bad. I really felt that one." She jumped out of the wall and rolled her shoulders like she was shrugging off that last attack.

Yang really didn't know what to think of this. "H-How? Most people I know go down after an attack like that. In fact, no one has ever gotten up after that attack."

Leone finished rolling her shoulders. "Guess I'm the first one then. True that did hurt a lot but take a look at the board."

The other blonde did just that gasped at what she saw. While her aura was barely above half, Leone's barely went down at all. _"Even after she took my attack, it only did that much?"_

"That sembalance of yours is pretty impressive but…" Leone smiled wickedly as she showed her canines. "Mine is something else as well. You see I call mine the Undying Lion: Regenerator. Like I said, you're going to need a lot more if you want to take me down."

Yang instantly knew what that mean. "So you…"

The woman watching chuckled a bit. "What an interesting power she has."

Both Blake and Weiss just stared in disbelief at what they heard. Ruby was the only one who didn't understand. "Wait so what did she mean by that?"

Weiss didn't break her gaze at the fight. "It means that her sembalance is to recover quickly from any injury no matter how severe it is. She can basically auto heal herself."

Now that was something Ruby understood. "She can do that!?"

That didn't come as a surprise to Akame. _"The Animal King: Lionel. Upon activation, the user is granted incredible regeneration capable of healing any wound. Add that to enhanced sense and enhanced fighting abilities, it's one the reasons why Leone was so proficient in hand to hand combat. Since Leone is in a permanent state of Lionel, the trump card has become her sembalance and all other abilities remain. This fight has already been decided."_

Leone went into her battle stance. "Since we're in this situation, the question now is what's going to win over? Increased damage or my recovery? I guess the answer will lie in how much damage your body can take." She started to grunt and her muscles began to move.

Blake didn't understand what was happening. _"It looks like she's tensing up her muscles."_

The Faunus blonde was ready for the next fight. "Let's start round two shall we?"

Again Blake's Faunus senses were kicking in. Unlike Akame's which was deadly and ominous, Leone's was more dangerous. Primal even like a hunter about to take down its prey. She was suddenly worried. _"Yang, be careful."_

"Let's go!" Leone jumped into the air and kicked straight down to where Yang was. The obvious choice for the other blonde was to jump out of the way before that attack came down on her. She did just that but when Leone kicked into the floor, it was instantly destroyed and left a small crater. Yang didn't want to take any chances and gunned for the other blonde. Just as she was about to punch the other girl with the same amount of power like before, Leone easily caught with her hand.

Yang gasped as she had never seen any do that before. _"No way…"_

Leone was quite pleased how this was turning out. _"Even with the power up, she's still not as strong as that twerp alchemist I had to fight. She's up there but not as much. All I need to end this is with one good blow."_ Before she could, Yang attacked the Faunus girl's face with her other arm but Leone easily dodged by moving her head to the side. That was the deciding factor. She delivered her own blow to Yang's stomach and the result was a loud boom. Yang's eyes returned their natural color as she dropped to the ground. Her aura meter was depleted all the way.

Glynda extended her arm to Leone. "The winner of this match is Leone Wild."

While Leone was glad to have won the match, she couldn't help but feel bad for what just happened. _"_ _Good thing I held back with that. If I'd used my full strength in that attack, I'm pretty sure I would've destroyed her rib cage along with everything else that was inside of it."_

"Yang!" Leone looked over to see Ruby and the rest of the team rushing over to the other blonde's side. Like before, Blake kneeled down beside her partner. "Yang please, are you still with us?"

The Faunus girl was relieved when she heard Yang groan in pain this time. "Did anyone get the number of that bus?"

Leone just laughed nervously. "Sorry about that Yang."

Blake helped her partner up. "How are you feeling?"

Yang was wincing at the pain of the moment. "Let's just say I may have to avoid eating food for a while. Sorry, I couldn't win for you."

Her partner just shook her head. "It's alright. I don't mind."

While Yang did laugh at that, she looked at the other blonde. "Has anyone told you that you hit really hard? And what did you do?"

The other Faunus girl just chuckled at that. "Time to time and let's just say I dispersed the power from my attack throughout your body. That's about as simple as I can explain it."

With everything done, Glynda turned to the class. "Well now that we've seen what Miss Night and Miss Wild could do, I'll end class for the day. You are all dismissed." With that said, she left the class.

The people watching now had different opinions about the two new transfer students. Ruby and her group along with Leone were walking up to where Akame was. Leone smiled at her girlfriend. "So what did you think?"

Akame smiled back at her. "You did fine. You as well Yang."

The other girl was glad to hear that. "Thanks. Man if this is what you two can do, I'd like to see what your team members can do." That proved some thought to them. Now that they have their weapons, all that was left was their two members.

As they arrived at the top of the bleachers and started to head to the exit, they suddenly heard something clapping behind them. They turned around and saw those same three individuals that were watching the fights. Already Leone had a bad feeling about them. "I must say, I'm impressed by the level of your skill and fighting from your fights the two of you showed off today."

Leone narrowed her eyes at the woman in front. "And who are you?"

Ruby recognized her. "Oh hey, you're that…student, I briefly met from before."

She just smiled at Leone and Akame. "As yes how rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cinder. The two behind me are Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. Let me just say I've developed quite the interest in both of you." Akame couldn't help but sense a familiar feeling. A feeling she hasn't felt in a long time. Cinder and her group walked past the others. "Hope we can talk again real soon." They left the room.

Ruby's team couldn't quite place what to think of them. "Well, that was weird." Yang stated.

Suddenly a strong headache appeared to Akame as she held her head. The others noticed. "What's wrong? Is she alright?" Blake asked.

Leone wrapped her arm around her girlfriend. "Akame?" She saw that this was serious. "We have to go now. We'll catch all of you later." They started to head to the other exit.

As they left, Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What was that all about?"

Leone and Akame were in the hall by themselves now and there was no one around. "Akame hey, what's going on?"

The headache was starting to let up a bit but it still felt like Akame's head was pounding. "That…woman…"

It was obvious that she was talking about Cinder. "Yeah, what about her?" Leone gasped as she saw the markings that were on Akame's body before starting to appear. _"What the…"_

Akame turned her head to Leone. "She's dangerous Leone. Very dangerous and for some reason she reminds me of…Esdeath…"

Leone gasped when she heard that. "Esdeath?"


	9. A Normal date

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Nine: A Normal Date

"Here you go Akame." Leone handed her girlfriend a cup of water. They were both back in their room after the sudden headache Akame had after meeting with the mysterious Cinder. Not soon after that, the markings Akame had from before started to show up again but disappeared a little after. They were thankful that no one was around when it happened. The Faunus blonde sat down next to her girlfriend. "How are you feeling?"

Akame downed the water quickly and set the cup next to her nightstand. "I'm feeling fine now thank you."

Leone was glad to hear that but she was still worried about what the other girl said before. "So about what you said earlier. Is that Cinder chick really that dangerous? I mean it's kinda hard to imagine someone as dangerous as Esdeath."

Her girlfriend tried to remember the feeling. "I'm sure of it. What I was sensing from her was exactly the same from when I fought against Esdeath. We have to be careful around her."

If Akame said that woman was dangerous, of course, Leone would take her word. That, of course, didn't worry her a bit. "Well still, if you could take down Esdeath who was the strongest in the Empire, I'm sure you can take down this Cinder chick easy if she tried something fishy. Hell, I'll do it for you."

Akame couldn't help but smile at the other girl's optimism. Still, they had to be cautious from now on. She doesn't know enough about the woman or what she might be planning if she is planning anything at all but it was always better to assume. While the two girls were sitting close together, Leone fidgeted a little. _"Okay, I'm close to her now. I know this isn't the best time but it is the best opportunity."_ The blonde gulped at what she was about to ask. "Hey, Akame?"

Her girlfriend looked at her and wondered why the Faunus girl was acting so nervous all of sudden. She had never seen Leone act this way before. "Yes? What is it?"

Now Leone could feel a blush coming onto her. "Would you like to…um…what I'm trying to say is…ah…" She really couldn't find the words to say it. _"Damn it why I am so nervous about this? We've known each for a long time, we're officially together now, and we had plenty of sex before. Hell, we're comfortable sleeping naked together so why am I acting like this all of a sudden?"_ This was something entirely new Leone was thinking. All of a sudden she kinda knew how Lubbock felt when he was talking to Mine and Tatsumi when he came to them about how to confess to Najenda.

Akame laughed quietly as she kinda had an idea of what her girlfriend wanted to say. "You want to ask me out?"

And hearing that made Leone look like she was caught in the headlights. The blush she had before became deeper. "Y-Yeah. I was wondering if we…could…" She took in a deep breath. "Go out on a date."

Akame couldn't help but smile while laughing at what the other girl was implying. "What brought this along?"

Leone looked while still keeping that blush of hers. "W-Well I kinda had the idea when we went into town with Ruby and the others. I mean we're both not wanted criminals now so why not take this opportunity?"

She brought up a good point. Back in their world, Akame really couldn't leave the base while Leone could walk among the public. Even if they weren't dating back then, Leone did bring her a few gifts every now and then. Now that they were in a different world, Akame wasn't wanted anymore. She could walk amongst the crowd without being in danger. She loved this already. "I would happily go out with you. There's no need to be so nervous about it."

The Faunus girl sighed as she looked back at the other girl. "I know but this is our first date as…well a couple. This is completely new."

Akame placed her hand on her girlfriends in order to comfort her. "Of course, it is. Ever since we arrived in this world, everything has been new to us. New friends, new weapons, a new life, and this isn't anything different." Leone had to agree with that. At least they were in this together. "So, when can we start our date?"

The Faunus smiled at that. "On Friday after school. That'll give me enough time to plan some things."

The other girl was pleased to hear that but she was wary of Leone's planning skills. "Are you sure you don't want me to help?"

Well, it was their date. Plus she was still learning about how to use the scrolls. "Sure. It's our date so why not?"

And that was it. The date was set and all that was left was to plan it out. Now that was out of the way, Leone leaned in closer to Akame. "Thanks, Akame. Now, how about we…"

And Akame suddenly stood up which caused Leone to fall on the bed. She knew all too well what that look meant. "Not now Leone. In case you forgot, we have homework to complete." Leone grumbled something about homework ruining the mood. "After that's done…" She turned around and grabbed the Faunus girl by the arms and held her down to the bed with Akame being on top of her with her knee in between Leone's legs. Akame leaned in next to Leone's ear. "Then we can indulge ourselves." She whispered in a husky voice.

Akame removed herself from Leone and started to walk over to their desk. Leone suddenly sat up still feeling her heart race madly. If doing the homework faster would mean they would be in bed together sooner, she'll gladly do it. The Faunus blonde saw Akame sit on the chair and began working. She could only think of one thing in her mind. _"God I love this girl."_

**B**

Leone sighed as she was waiting for Akame in the bathroom. It was Friday and so that meant their date was today. They planned together of what it would be like. Since they were going out, Leone was the first to change into a different outfit. She was wearing a black T-shirt with yellow outlines along with her usual khaki pants and combat boots. In all honesty, this was the best she could dress up for their date. Akame, however, wanted to make her outfit a surprise. There was even a time where she asked Weiss to take her to the town for something. What it was the blonde didn't know. She was about to find out shortly.

The door finally opened. "I'm finished changing Leone." When Akame walked out of the door, the Faunus gulped at what she was seeing. Akame was wearing a white short-sleeved dress with frills along the sides. Akame placed her hands behind her back and smiled at the other girl. "What do you think?" She asked with a smile. Leone really couldn't take her eyes off the other girl. For as long as she's known Akame, not once had the Faunus girl seen her wearing a dress like this before. "You're staring Leone."

Her voice managed to snap the other girl out of her trance as she shook her head. "You look…really great. I never knew you could rock a dress like that."

Akame smiled at the compliment. "Thank you. I had Weiss help me out choosing this without her knowing what I was going to wear this for. To be honest this is the second time I'm wearing something like this. So…shall we go now?"

Leone nodded slowly at the question. "Yeah sure." To be honest her eyes were still glued to the outfit her girlfriend was wearing. Already she had a feeling this date was off to a good start.

**B**

Not soon after the two girls arrived in Vale, they were walking about for a bit. Leone brought up her scroll. She was thankful for all the little helpful hints Akame had given her about it. "Let's see. The movie we want to watch doesn't play in a while so we have some time to kill. So the question now is what should we do to pass the time?"

Akame already had the answer to that. "I know. Follow me." She took the lead and the Faunus girl followed her.

What Akame brought her along was a store she had never seen before. "So what's this place?"

The other girl smiled at the building. "From what I know, it's a music store. Yang brought me here after she and Blake showed me the arcade. I found it quite enjoyable and I think you'll like it too." Leone took another look at the store and decided to try it out.

They entered the store and Leone was impressed at what she was seeing. "So all of this is music?"

Akame nodded at the question. "Yes. I know it's quite different than the music we used to listen to."

Leone picked up CD case. "I'll say. There's seriously music in these tiny things?" She was having a hard time believing that music could be stored in something so small.

Her girlfriend walked up to one of the headsets located on one of the shelves. "You can also listen to the music through this. It plays a random song from the selection here."

Again Leone decided to try it out. She took the headphones and examined them. "So I guess I'm supposed to put this over my head?" The Faunus girl placed them as so. Akame pressed the button and Leone was hearing the music. Akame loved the surprised expression she was having. "Wow. This is way different than the music we used to hear."

Akame took off the headphones so her girlfriend could listen to her. "I had a similar reaction to it. I took a liking to one song. I think was called Liar Mask."

Leone took an interest in that. "Huh. I'll have to hear that one day."

That led to something else Akame wanted to tell the other girl. "That's right." She reached into Leone's other pocket for her scroll. She had to carry it since the dress didn't have any pockets. "Yang mentioned that our scrolls can also double as something called MP3s. They're devices that store this music inside of it for enjoyment later."

The Faunus blonde was amazed to know that. "Wow. What can these things not do?"

Akame gave her scroll back to her girlfriend. "What do you think so far?"

Leone looked around the store. "Pretty cool although I'm pretty sure we've only scratched the surface with this huh?"

The other girl smiled at the question. "Indeed."

Leone put the headphones back on. "One more song." She pressed the button this time and a different song came up. The Faunus girl really liked this one and couldn't help but sing along with one of the lyrics. "This will be the day we'll be waiting for…"

After that, they left the music store and Akame was leading on to another location. This time, it was a bookstore. It was something Leone didn't expect Akame to take an interest in other than food. "Bookstore huh? What's good here?"

Akame chuckled at the question. "Some interesting reading material. Blake was the one who showed me this. Follow me."

They entered the bookstore and already Leone felt a bit overwhelmed by seeing the numerous books on the shelves. She laughed nervously. "I don't know Akame. You know I'm not so good with books." That became apparent when they were studying for the first time. Akame basically had to help her girlfriend try to get through it. However, those were school books.

Akame walked over to one section of the store. "That's why I think you'll enjoy something more like this." She presented a small book to her.

Leone took it from her and observed it closely. "What's this supposed to be?"

"From what Blake told me, it's something called manga. From what she told me about them, they're highly stylized comic books telling epic tales. I believe this one is very popular. It has to do something with magic and dragon slayers."

The Faunus girl really liked the sound of that. "Really now?" She opened the book and flipped through the pages. It really was a different kind of book. Leone stopped at one page where she saw something that caught her interest. "Huh. Wow, I never knew this kid would pack a punch."

Akame went by her girlfriend's side to see the character she was talking about. She had seen this character before. "Oh yes. Blake also said something about this one. She is a dragon slayer as well but with a different power. Apparently, she has the magic to heal others."

Leone couldn't help but laugh at that. "Healing magic huh? That would've been useful back where we came from." She could only imagine the differences inside her mind. "It would've been pretty cool being friends with her." A question popped up in her mind and turned to her girlfriend. "Hey Akame, what books do you like from this place?"

That was an easy answer for her as she randomly held a book in front of her. "Cookbooks. They provide so many ideas of how to prepare different kinds of dishes and they all look so good."

And Leone laughed at that. _"Of course, she would like that the best. Akame's appetite may have gone down but apparently, her love for food hasn't gotten any smaller."_

They both spent some time in the bookstore reading the different kinds of books the store had for them. Open book reading was allowed and if they like the book, they could purchase it. However, that wasn't their main interest now. After they had their fill, the two girls left the store. There was one more place Akame wanted to go but had to confirm something. "What time is it now?"

Leone brought out her scroll to check the time. "Well if you're referring to the movie, it'll start soon so maybe we should get a move on." That was something Akame could agree upon. This time, Leone took the lead and walked over to where the movie theater was. She was thankful for Weiss for showing her where the movies were. They soon arrived and it seemed the lines weren't too long. The two girls stood in line until they were up front. Leone held up two fingers. "Two tickets please for the 4:30 show." They received their tickets and entered the building. The lines seemed to be a bit longer for the concessions. "So you want popcorn or are you good?"

Akame mulled over the decision. "Popcorn would be nice. We can share one together."

The Faunus girl was glad to hear that. "Alright but don't eat all of it okay?" Her girlfriend giggled at that. They waited in line again to order their popcorn and a large drink. They were thankful for the allowance they were given attending Beacon. Once they were given their popcorn and soda, they headed for their theater. The two girls came into their theater and saw the different people and Faunus sitting in their seats. They decided to sit close to the big screen to experience this as much as possible. "Okay then. All that's left is for the movie to play. What do you think Akame?"

She felt rather excited for this as well. "I look forward to seeing this. Thank you for this Leone."

Leone smiled at her girlfriend and looked at the screen. "No problem. Now let's see what this horror film has in store for us."

**B**

The people were leaving the theater with Akame and Leone among them. Judging by the look on their faces, they seemed to have enjoyed the movie. "Man, that was really cool. Who knew a fight between a guy with burn scars wearing a sweater fighting against a guy wearing a hockey mask would be so fun to watch."

Akame agreed to that as she had her own thoughts on the movie. "It was interesting to watch."

"Alright, we'll talk about the movie later. Say like…over having a bite to eat?" Leone suggested.

That was something Akame would like. The popcorn and the soda were good but having some actual food would be better. "Hey there." They suddenly heard a voice behind them and turned around to see a random guy smiling at them. "I haven't seen you around here in these parts before." He was walking up to Akame which triggered Leone's animal instincts. "I would remember someone as cute as you." And he placed his hand on Akame's shoulder which only made the Faunus girl angrier. How about you and I get to know each other better? Oh, and you can bring your friend along. The more the merrier I say."

Before Leone could bash the guy's skull into the wall, Akame gently held his hand. "Thank you for the kind offer but…" She suddenly grabbed the guy's hand tightly and removed it quickly while forcing his wrist up causing him pain. He was suddenly down on one knee. "I'm not interested in you. Also be careful who you approach because you might never know they'll hurt you." She released the guy's hand and began walking away while he was cringing in pain.

Leone chuckled at what happened and walked along with her girlfriend. "Nice one Akame. You sure showed him." The other girl didn't reply as she suddenly wrapped her arm around Leone's and intertwined their fingers together. The action confused the Faunus girl. "Uh, what are you doing?"

Akame rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. "I just want everyone to see that we're together and that we have no interest in anyone else." After saying that, she kissed her girlfriend on the cheek.

Leone smiled at the idea. Sure she had no idea how people would respond of two girls being a couple and a human/Faunus one at that but she could care less about that. Hell, she was an assassin before and had no problem setting anyone straight if they said anything about what they were seeing. "Sure thing." She kissed Akame back on her cheek and continued walking. "How about we get that something to eat now." Her girlfriend couldn't agree more to that. They did get some looks and some of them didn't look all too pleased but Leone was more than happy to deal with them. With Leone taking the lead again, she took her girlfriend to a café that Leone heard suggested by Weiss. It even had some outdoor tables in front of it. "Here we go. Weiss told me about this place. Apparently, the food is good here at a reasonable price."

Akame loved hearing that. They decided to sit at one of the outdoor tables and waited for someone to take their orders. One girl came up with them with menus. "Hello, and welcome to our café. Here are our menus. Take your time and see what catches your eyes"

The two girls looked at the choices of food and drink they could have. For Akame the choice was clear. "I'll have your strawberry chocolate cake with sweet iced tea." The waitress wrote down the order.

Leone made her own choice. "I'll have that chicken bacon sandwich with milk."

They handed the menus back to the girl and smiled at them. "Coming right up." She turned around but stopped to look back at them. "You know, you two make such a cute couple." With that said she walked away from them.

Leone couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'll have to tip her for saying that." While they were waiting for the food to be prepared, they decided to talk about the movie they saw. "So what your thoughts on the movie Akame?"

The other girl thought about it for a few seconds. "I thought it was good. It made for an interesting fight. One who kills by dreams and one who can't supposedly die. They're interesting ideas, to say the least."

That was something Leone could agree on. "Yeah that's true but the burn guy was kinda boned when he was dragged out in the real world. Still, he was kinda unique in his own way. Although we can both agree we don't like him because you know, he killed for the hell of it." Then again those kids aren't really the type of people we used to protect."

Akame nodded in agreement to that. "Indeed. I wonder what other movie we should see next." It was then she noticed her girlfriend giggling a bit which made her curious. "What's so funny?"

Leone continued to giggle a little bit longer. "Just…look at us. We're here talking to each other about a movie waiting on our food. For once in our lives, we actually look like…normal people. Well, a person and Faunus but still."

Now that her girlfriend mentioned it, she was right. This was the very first time Akame was doing something normal for a change. She was on a normal date with Leone, did normal things, and now they were talking about normal subjects. It was a feeling that she loved and it spread throughout inside of her. _"Is this how it feels? To finally have a different life other than the ones we were forced to live?"_

The Faunus girl giggled again as she knew what Akame was thinking about. Now that they were alone, she decided to ask something. "So Akame…"

Her words snapped the other girl out of her thoughts. "Yes?"

This question had been in the Faunus girl's mind for a while now and always wondered about it. "Were there any others you liked before you met me? Anyone that caught your eye?"

That was a question Akame had to think about for a bit and sighed. "Yes, there was. Two of them back in my old team." Leone was taken a bit back when she heard that. As long as she's known Akame, not once had she spoken anything about her previous team before Night Raid so this was a pretty rare chance.

She was interested to know more. "Oh really? Who were they?"

It was probably best to talk about it. It was about time she would say some of these that had been held in for a very long time. "The two girls I liked before were Cornelia and Tsukushi. I guess in Cornelia's case, it was more like I had a crush on her."

Leone chuckled at that. Not once she had known or heard of her girlfriend having a crush on someone else. "She must be something else if she caught your eye."

Akame smiled in agreement. "She was. I guess you can say she was like the big sister to the team. In fact, you reminded me a bit of her when we first met."

And already Leone liked this girl. "Wow really? Must be our good looks and charm."

Her girlfriend giggled at the joke and decided to continue. "I admired of how skilled and how beautiful she was. Of course, that admiration turned into something else and I never saw her the same way again. In my old team, I was ranked seventh while she was third."

Now that was something Leone didn't expect. "Wow, so she was better than you? That's hard to imagine."

Akame nodded at the question. "Yes. In fact, she taught me a few moves that I still use today. She was…an incredible person that I was lucky to have known her."

Leone loved how Akame was gushing over someone but she also knew in her line of work, something must've happened. "Did you ever tell her?"

The other girl shook her head. "No, I didn't. These feelings were new to me and I didn't know how to act upon them. Those same feelings are the ones that hurt me when I found out that she was…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

The Faunus girl knew what she was going to say and reassured her. "I see. It must've been hard on you huh? What about that other girl you liked? Tsukushi was it?"

Again Akame nodded at the question. "Yes. Tsukushi was a very kind and cheerful girl. Of course, I knew she saw me more as a friend and I was the same to her as we spent the most time together."

Leone was glad that her girlfriend was telling her all of this. She couldn't imagine how long she had to keep this bottled up. "So did you make a move on her?"

And again Akame shook her head. "I didn't have that choice. In my previous team, relationships were forbidden. Of course, Gai ignored that a lot as he kept hitting on Cornelia." Hearing that made the Faunus girl laugh a bit since it reminded her of Lubbock. "Of course like Cornelia, I lost Tsukushi as well and the rest of my previous team."

Now that made Leone a bit sad. It was probably the closest Akame had to a normal life back in their world. Now there was one more question she had to ask. "Was there anyone else who liked you back in your old team?"

Akame giggled at the question and smiled. "Yes, that would be my teammate Green. Of course, he first had feelings for me in the most unusual way."

Leone was almost going to regret asking. "What would that be?"

"My armpits."

And there was silence between the two girls until Leone spoke up. "Well…weird but okay."

"Here you go. Thank you for waiting." The waitress came back with their orders and placed their food in front of them. "Will you need anything else?"

Akame marveled at the food before her. That was all Leone needed to know. "We're okay thanks."

That was all the waitress needed to know. "Alright then. Please enjoy." She left the two girls and enjoyed they did. Akame loved how the cake tastes and Leone enjoyed her sandwich. She also couldn't help but snicker a bit as she drank the milk. Maybe because she was a cat. Still, they enjoyed their food and each other's company.

**B**

The two girls finished their food and Leone paid for it including tip for the waitress. It was well into the evening now and the moon began to appear. Now that the Faunus blonde thought about it, she wondered how it ended up with pieces around it in the first place. They felt like the date was almost done but there was one more thing Akame wanted to do. "Do you have those tickets I gave you?"

The Faunus girl took out the two big stacks from her back pockets and presented them to her. "Yeah, right here. Why?"

That was an answer only Akame knew. "You'll see what I mean soon enough." Once again she took the lead. The two girls arrived at the arcade Akame was at before. "We're here."

Leone was curious about the place before her. "This is the arcade place you went to before?"

Akame nodded at the question. "It is. I believe one of the tropes of a date is to give your significant other a gift."

That was something the Faunus blonde would like and smiled at the thought. "Oh really? I wonder what you'll give me."

The other girl thought to tease her on that. "You'll just have to see for yourself."

They entered the arcade and Leone already liked what she was seeing. Other than Akame of course. "Wow, this place looks fun." She already saw some games she would enjoy.

However, that would have to wait as Akame took the tickets and approached the prize counter. The guy behind instantly recognized her. "Hey aren't you that girl from before with those other girls?"

Akame nodded at his words. "Yes, and I would like to exchange these for some prizes."

The guy took the tickets. "Okay, what do you want?"

While Akame was busy getting the gift for her girlfriend, said girlfriend was walking around the arcade looking at the different games the place had to offer. One game caught in her interest in particular and that was the punching game Akame was doing earlier. She saw the score and smiled at it. _"Nine thirty huh? Bet I can beat that."_ The blonde saw there was a slot to insert a coin. Luckily she had one and inserted it into the slot. The game started up and the punching back dropped down. She smiled at the opportunity.

The counter guy handed Akame her the prize she wanted. "You sure you don't want anything else? You still have a lot of tickets left."

Akame held the prize close to her. "That's alright. This is all I wanted anyway." As she took the prize, both of them heard a loud noise and looked over to the direction where the noise came from. They and anyone else that was in the arcade at the time went over to the noise as Leone looked away feigning innocence. They saw the punching machine destroyed and the scoreboard read nine hundred ninety-nine blinking with the scoreboard cracked. The counter guy was speechless at was he was seeing. That was their cue to leave. "Thank you for the prize."

The two girls ran out of the arcade quickly before anything else happened. Once they were far away from the place, Leone laughed at what just happened. "Well, that was something else. I guess that machine really couldn't take it huh?"

For once in the date, Akame shook her head. "You didn't need to hit it that hard."

Leone laughed nervously at that. "Yeah, you may have a point there. I don't think we'll be going back there for a while." She suddenly saw that Akame was holding something. "What's that you're carrying?"

Akame giggled at the prize she had and offered it to her girlfriend. "It's your gift. When I saw it the first time, it kinda reminded me of you."

The Faunus blonde observed the gift closely. It was a Grimm lion plushy and had a cute expression of roaring. She laughed at the prize. "Well, it's something I'll give it that." She took the gift and held it close to her. "Thanks."

Her girlfriend was happy that Leone like it. "You're welcome."

Now it came to this, Leone had one more thing to do. "You know what would be a good way to end this date?"

Akame shook her head. "What would that b-" She was quickly silenced by Leone pressing her lips onto her own with her eyes closed while wrapping her other arm around the girl she loved. Akame was caught off guard by this but closed her eyes as well and soon returned the kiss. It was the perfect way to end the date. A loving kiss under the moon shining onto them.

**B**

Lunch came by again in the academy and Yang and the others noticed something a bit different about the two transfer students. "You two seem a bit more chipper than usual today. Mind telling us what it is?"

The other blonde laughed happily at the question. "We were just having…a good time. That's all."

Yang wondered what it was but decided to ask later. Speaking of having fun. "Well, that's cool. Hey, maybe we can have some fun of our own if you're not too busy later on in the week. I've got to show you this place I know and I want to freak out the owner for the funnies."

Again Blake growled quietly at what her partner offered. Every time she talked to the other Faunus or even mentioned her, Blake couldn't help but feel a small pain in her chest that kept growing bit by bit. "So what did you two do huh? Come on tell us. Give us the juicy bits!" Nora really wanted to know.

The two girls looked at each other for a bit. They were thinking about finally telling them they were a thing and maybe now was a perfect time. "Hey there." A new voice spoke out to the group.

And that opportunity was ruined when two guys approached them. Ruby seemed happy to see them. "Sun! Neptune!"

Akame and Leone saw these guys around the campus but never really talked to them so this was their first meeting. Sun waved at the group. "Yo, how's it going?"

Neptune smiled at the rest of them. "What he said." He saw Akame and Leone in the group and smiled at them. "You two must be the new transfer students we've heard about. Nice to meet you."

The young leader looked between the two and thought to introduce them. "Oh yeah. Leone, Akame, this is Sun and Neptune. They're friends of ours."

They seemed to be good people to them. Leone smiled back at them. "Hiya!" She noticed something moving behind Sun's back and looked at it more closely. Turned out it was his tail and that made her curious. "Hey, is this real?" She made a sudden grab at it and Sun screamed. That made her let go of it. "Holy crap it is!"

Sun held his tail carefully in his hands and glared at the other Faunus. "What the hell! You don't just grab other Faunus' tails you know!"

Leone laughed awkwardly. "Sorry about that." She did miss having her tail. So did Akame but only because the tail was Leone's weak point whenever they were together in bed while Leone was in beast form.

Neptune laughed at his friend's misfortune and looked at the group. "Right so back on topic, rumor has it that you two really gave Blake and Yang a hard time."

They both remembered that. Akame just took another bite out of her food. "You can say something like that."

Leone was less subtle about it. "Yeah that's about right but it was fun."

After the pain went away, Sun looked over to Blake. "Right so about why we're here. Blake, I was wondering if you would-"

And a sudden noise interrupted him. "Will the students Akame Night and Leone Wild please come to Professor Ozpin's office immediately? I repeat. Will the students Akame Night and Leone Wild please come to Professor Ozpin's office immediately?" And then they heard it cut off.

Said girls looked at each other again but this time wondering what the announcement was about. "I guess we'd better get going then. Can't keep the big man waiting."

"Agreed." Both girls stood up. "Please excuse us." They left the table and headed out the exit.

Now everyone was curious about what the announcement was about. "Why do you think they were summoned to Professor Ozpin?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha had the same question. "I don't know but it must be important."

Now that Sun had a closer look, he thought of something. "You know now that I think about, Leone kinda looks like she could pass off as-"

"We know." Ren interrupted him.

**B**

Akame and Leone were walking toward Ozpin's office still wondering why he needed to see them all of a sudden. "So what do you think he wants us for?"

Her girlfriend was still was trying to figure that out. "I'm not sure but we'll find out soon enough." They approached the doors leading to Ozpin's office and Akame knocked on the door. "Hello? This is Akame and Leone. You wanted to see us?"

They waited a few seconds before the doors opened up before them. The two girls walked through the doors and entered the room. Ozpin was sitting at his desk while there was a girl with her back turned they haven't seen before. Check that, a person Leone hasn't seen before but Akame was feeling a sense of familiarity. Ozpin smiled at their arrival. "I'm glad to see you two have made it. I am pleased to tell you that the person in front will be part of your team from now on. Why don't you introduce yourself to them now?"

The new girl turned around Akame's eyes widened at who it was. The long blonde hair the hoop earrings she was wearing. Her heart almost stopped for a second. _"It can't be…"_

The new girl smiled at them cheerfully. "You two must be my new teammates. It's so great to finally meet you. My name is Cornelia and I hope we can get along well." And that hit the nail on the head for Akame. Everything around her quickly faded into black and she fainted onto the floor.


	10. A Face from the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Ten: A Face from the Past

Akame's eyes started to stir and soon opened them only to see a clear open blue sky. She sat up and placed her hand on her head. _"What happened to me?"_ She noticed that she was sitting on top of a hill somewhere.

"Hey, glad you're awake." Akame gasped when she heard a familiar voice. She looked to the side to see her old teammate Cornelia smiling at her. "How did you sleep?"

Akame was having trouble trying process what was going on. Now that she took a look at herself, Akame was wearing her old outfit from when she was part of the Elite Seven. She couldn't quite understand what was happening. _"How is this even happening?"_

"Hello? Earth to Akame?" The other girl looked back at her former teammate. "Man you're really out of it today."

Akame was trying to find the word she wanted to say to the blonde. "Cora…"

Cornelia laughed at her. "And she speaks finally. You must've had some dream huh?"

The other girl was confused by what she heard. "Dream?"

The blonde nodded at the question. "Yeah. You were talking in your sleep saying some weird things. What was it about?"

Akame looked away trying to make sense of what was going on. _"It didn't feel like a dream."_ This whole situation was becoming stranger and stranger.

"Come on; tell me what your dream was."

Akame decided to play this out. She looked back at the other girl again and smiled. "Alright, I'll tell you." She looked up to the sky. "I was dreaming that I was in another world unlike our own."

Already Cornelia was interested in this. "Oh really? What's it like?"

The other girl closed her eyes to remember the details. "It was much more advanced than our own with many different people that used unusual weapons."

"Unusual how?" The blonde asked.

Again Akame tried to remember the details clearly. "They're unlike the weapons…father…" She really didn't expect to say that again. "And we use. They're not Imperial Arms or Shingu but they were powerful. They also had a gun feature to them."

Cornelia marveled at the idea. "Wow really? That's kinda hard to imagine trying to put a gun into another weapon. What else can you tell me about it?"

Akame thought about it a bit more. "Well, it had a moon that had pieces around it." She smiled at the next part. "And…you were in it. You were going to join a team of mine."

That was something blonde loved hearing. "Oh really? You and me on a team huh? I bet we'll kick some serious ass together huh?"

The other girl opened her eyes and looked at her teammate once more. "I would believe so. What would you think of the idea of you being in another world?"

This time, Cornelia thought about the question. "I guess it would be pretty cool. If you were in it too, that would be even better." She looked up to the sky as well. "Whether it's this world or another one, I'm sure we'll still be great teammates no matter what." She looked back at the other girl. "Don't you think, Akame?"

Akame nodded at the question. "Yes, of course. Always…Cora." Suddenly a bright light surrounded the two girls.

_D_

Once again Akame started to open her eyes only to see a white ceiling. She closed her eyes momentarily while groaning. _"What happened?"_

"Oh good, you're awake. I was worried when you just suddenly fainted like that."

Akame instantly opened her eyes to look over to see the one person she thought she would never see again. "Cora…" She was sitting on a chair next to the bed.

Cornelia giggled at the nickname. "That's strange. I don't think I recall telling you my nickname before."

The other girl sat up from on the bed. Now that her focus was back, she noticed that she was in the school infirmary. Akame rubbed her eyes with her arm and looked back at the blonde. "I'm sorry. It just…slipped out."

The blonde smiled at her. "It's alright. I really don't mind it. So what happened? Why did you just faint like that?"

Akame just looked away from the other girl. "You…reminded me of a friend I knew once a long time ago."

That seemed simple enough to Cornelia. "Oh, is that so. Was this friend important to you?"

The other half closed her eyes. Everything about the girl next her was hitting Akame like a tidal wave. The looks, the voice, it was almost too much for her. "She was. We were…very close." She still couldn't believe that her former teammate/crush was here talking to her, in this room, in this world. It was almost too surreal for her. Akame had to know something immediately. She looked back at the blonde. "Cora I…do you remember anything about me? Who I really am?"

Cornelia tilted her head in confusion. "Sorry, I don't know what you mean by that. Far as I know, this is our first time meeting each other."

Akame was somewhat relieved but saddened at the same time knowing this. "I see. I'm sorry to have asked you that."

The blonde waved her hand nonchalantly. "It's okay. In any case, I should probably introduce myself again. My name is Cornelia King and I'll be part of your team from now on."

Akame smiled at the other girl's introduction. She may be not the Cornelia she knew once but Akame would gladly take the chance to know her former teammate again. "It's…nice to meet you too. I'm Akame Night."

Cornelia smiled sweetly at the name. "Akame huh? Nice to meet you as well."

Now that the introductions were done with, Akame did have a question. She looked around the room. "Where is Leone?"

The blonde knew the answer to that. "Oh, you mean that Faunus girl? She ran off somewhere saying something about telling the others. I stayed behind to look after you."

Akame was slightly confused by that. "Others?"

The door suddenly opened and said Faunus girl walked in. "Hey, how's she-Akame!" Leone was happy to see her girlfriend awake again and quickly rushed over to her side. "Great, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

The other girl smiled at her. "I'm feeling fine."

Leone was glad to hear that but there was something she had to discuss. She turned to the other blonde. "Hey…Cornelia, was it? Can you give us some time alone? We need to talk about something."

Cornelia wondered what they had to talk about it but went with it. "Okay then. Take your time." She headed to the door and left the room.

Now that she was gone, Leone wondered what happened earlier. "What the hell happened Akame? You just fainted on the spot. Also, that girl, is she the same girl you told me before?"

Akame lowered her head while her bangs covered her eyes. "It's her Leone. Her voice, her looks, the way she smiles. It's really Cornelia. I can never mistake that."

Leone crossed her arms under her breasts. "But how is that possible? You told me she was killed and now she's on our team? Does she even remember you?"

Her girlfriend shook her head. "I don't know how and I don't care. To be honest, I'm happy to see her again and that what matters to me. However, it would seem she doesn't remember me at all. Perhaps that is the best concerning our past and mine beyond that. From what I can guess, this could be a different Cornelia raised in this world. If that's true, then the one I know is different than the one here."

That seemed to make the most sense here. "I guess you're could be right on that. Still, it's kinda creepy." She uncrossed her arms and smiled at her girlfriend. "But, if you're happy to see an old friend then I'm happy too. Plus I can actually get to know her now. I do have a small problem about this."

Akame looked over to the Faunus girl. "What's that?"

This was something Leone was worried about. "What does this mean for us? I mean Cornelia was a former crush of yours and we're together now so…"

Akame knew where Leone was going with this. She got out of bed and pulled the other girl in for a loving kiss. Leone didn't expect this to happen but she wasn't complaining about it. Akame broke off the kiss and smiled at her girlfriend. "I know I still have feelings for Cora even after what happened to her but you're the one I love now. You don't have to worry about anything complicated."

Hearing that was a huge relief for the Faunus blonde and sighed. "That's good to know. I was worried this would be some cheesy three-way school romance."

Her girlfriend giggled at the joke. "No, it won't be anything like that." Both girls giggled together.

While they were having their private discussion, Cornelia pressed her ear against the wall eavesdropping on the conversation. Already she had a lot of questions and found out a few things about her new teammates. _"Okay, so apparently they're a couple. I really don't mind that but what was Akame talking about? World? Our and my past? Different Cornelia?"_ She wanted to ask them what they meant by that but decided to do that when the time was right.

"Hey there!" Cornelia screamed and jumped away from the sudden shout. She turned around to see a group of people. Ruby giggled awkwardly. "Uh, sorry about that. Are you new here? I've never seen you around before."

Cornelia sighed as she placed her hand on the top of her chest trying to calm down her heart. She looked at the group in front of her. "Yeah, I am. I just arrived here and I'm…part of Akame's team."

And just like that Ruby was all over the blonde as she was squealing. "You're really part of Akame's team!? That's so awesome! Where are you from?! What's your name?! What weapons do you use? Is it awesome because I totally bet it is!"

Weiss grabbed her leader's collar and separated from the other girl. "Sorry about that. She tends to overreact a bit."

Cornelia giggled nervously. "No it's alright but to answer some of the questions, my name is Cornelia King and I do have a pretty awesome weapon." Ruby really wanted to see her weapon now. Seeing the group in front of her, she wagered a guess. "I suppose that all of you are Akame's and Leone's friends?"

Yang smiled at the question. "Yep, you got it. I think you're really going to love them as your teammates."

Speaking of them, the door opened and out came Leone and Akame. The Faunus blonde smiled at them all. "Hey, glad all of you could make it."

Pyrrha smiled back at her. "Same here. Are you feeling alright Akame? When Leone told us you've fainted, we tried to come here soon as possible."

Akame just closed her eyes. "I'm feeling fine so don't worry about it." She opened them back up and looked over to Cornelia as she smiled at her. "I'm just glad to have a new team member."

Leone just remembered something as she hit her fists into her other hand. "Oh, that's right. Speaking of team members, before we had to carry you to the infirmary, Ozpin said he found our fourth team member but it'll be a while before that person arrives here. He did say something…cryptic about this person."

Her girlfriend wondered what it was. "And what would that be?"

The Faunus girl leaned against the wall. "He said that our fourth teammate only fights with their sembalance."

That raised question marks all around everyone. "What? How can someone just fight with their sembalance?"

For once, Weiss had to agree with Jaune. "That doesn't even make any sense."

Blake was trying to imagine that. "It does seem unusual. That's like saying Weiss only fights with her glyphs and I only fight with my clones."

They haven't even met this person yet and already there were so many questions they needed to answer. Cornelia clapped her hands to attach their attention. "Alright people, that's enough." They all looked at her. "We can wonder about this mystery person later. Right now I want to know more about my teammates. So what do you say Akame?" She smiled at the other girl. "Care for a friendly match?

Everyone was surprised hearing her suggest that. "You want to fight me? What for?"

Cornelia had a very good reason why. "In my papa's words, you can know someone a lot better through a fight. I want to see what you can do."

First thought Akame had was when Cornelia said papa, she was reminded of Gozuki. However, even though she hated to admit, the blonde was right. Plus this would be a good time to see how this Cornelia fights. Akame smiled at the challenge. "Fine then. It would be a good opportunity for the both of us."

While this was good and all, Leone had a question. "Wait can you even fight each other after school hours?"

"It should be fine as long as we can find a teacher to mediate the match." Ren answered.

Nora cheered. "Yeah! Let's go and get this party started!"

**B**

Akame and Cornelia were on the arena used by Glynda's class while team RWBY, JNPR, and Leone were sitting in the bleachers. Akame observed closely at the other girl. _"Her outfit when fighting hasn't changed. It's the same one she wore back in the old days. What's different, however…"_ She eyed two weapon holsters, one on each leg around the thighs. _"Cornelia's weapon back then was called Pulverization King. An arm brace that would grant the user superhuman strength. The drawback, however, was that if used incorrectly, it would harm the user as well."_ Seeing Cornelia using a different weapon was strange for Akame.

Both girls heard a throat being cleared and turned to the teacher the group could find to look after the match in short notice. "If you two young ladies are ready, you can begin immediately."

Leone couldn't help but laugh quietly at who was looking over the match. _"Professor Port huh? I have to admit he's the funniest guy I've known."_

Akame drew out her sword first and Cornelia was impressed by it. "Nice weapon you have. What's its name?"

The other girl flicked her sword. "Yatsufusa."

The blonde smiled at the name. "Cool name. Let me show you mine." She pulled the handles out of the holsters and presented them to everyone as she held each in her hands. Something about them seemed familiar to both Akame and Leone. The Faunus blonde recognized them. _"Those look like…"_

Akame recognized them as well. _"Those weapons look like the Double Bladed Axe: Belvaac."_ Indeed the two axes did look like the Imperial Arms except they looked a bit more mechanical in the handles and body.

Cornelia knew her new teammate was looking at her weapons. "Pretty cool huh? These are my weapons of choice. I call them Twin Knight." Well judging by the name, it wasn't an Imperial Arms. "So, like the teacher said, shall we begin?"

Akame didn't need to say another word as she rushed over to where her former teammate was. Cornelia did the same and the two girls met in the center. Akame's sword clashed against one of Cornelia's axes and Akame felt something going through Yatsufusa. Not long after, her sword suddenly defeated from the blonde's weapon. Akame's eyes widened in surprise by this. _"How? My guard couldn't be broken that easily."_

Cornelia smiled as she saw her opening and kicked Akame in the stomach. Everyone was surprised to see her aura gauge drop. Blake certainly was. _"No way. She was able to hit her directly."_

While Akame was recovering from the attack, Cornelia decided to keep the flow going and ran toward the other girl. She swung the ax in her right hand down to Akame but she was able to block it successfully. However, like before, she felt something going through her sword and the intimal impact caused her to jerk Yatsufusa upward. Again the blonde saw the chance and swung her ax in her other hand to the other girl. Akame jumped back to avoid the attack but saw something unusual at the top of the handle. That was when she gasped. The blonde smiled as she fired a shot from the top of her handle. Akame had no way to dodge the shot and it struck her directly. Leone immediately stood up. "Akame!"

The shot pushed Akame back a bit and now there was a distance between her and the other blonde. "I'm fine." Of course, her weapon had a gun function and if one of the axes had it, chances are the other did as well. During their brief exchange, she knew something was up. _"Her attacks, every time one of her axes comes into contact with my sword, I would feel_ _something going through it. A slight shaking sensation."_ She didn't know what the sensation was but it was disrupting her guard.

Cornelia rushed over to where the other girl was and attacked her by swinging one of her axes down. Akame had no choice but to guard once again and both of their weapons clashed once again. This time, however, she didn't feel the strange moving sensation again so she deflected the attack this time. That however made Cornelia attack with her other ax right at her. Akame saw the next attack and blocked that one as well. It was then she felt the moving sensation from the next attack and Akame's sword rebutted again. Cornelia knew she had her teammate on the ropes now. She started to relentlessly attack the other girl. Akame brought back her sword to parry off the attacks since blocking them wasn't the right choice of action. The two girls exchanged blow for blow for a bit. Akame still felt the sensations each time her sword would come into contact with the blonde's axes. To counter this, she maintained a stronger grip on her sword as it would jerk back each time the sword clashed against the axes. During the exchange, after their weapons hit each other once more, Akame took the opportunity to roll by the blonde's side and then knelt down while swinging her sword at her opponent. Cornelia turned around as well and intercepted the attack with the ax in her left hand. She loved how the fight was going so far. "Not bad. You're doing pretty good."

Even with what just happened, Akame smiled at her former teammate. "You as well." She jumped away from the other girl and turned around while she assessed the situation so far. _"Her fighting style is different than the Cornelia I knew once. She's doing something with her axes."_ She swung her sword around while pressing the switch to make the blade separate. _"I have to be careful."_

The blonde marveled at what Akame's sword could do. "Segmented sword huh? That's pretty cool."

Akame sent whipped the extended blade at the blonde. Cornelia saw the attack coming and deflected the attack from her with one of her axes. Akame redirected her movements from her sword and whipped it down onto the blonde again. Again Cornelia struck it to deflect the attack. That didn't deter Akame and she kept up her attacks onto the other girl while the blonde kept deflecting the attacks. While doing so, Akame steadily moved in closer to Cornelia while keeping up with her attacks and in turn, the timing between the attacks became shorter. Cornelia decided she had enough of this as deflected the next attack and used the brief opportunity to jump into the air. When she did, the blonde combined the two separate axes into one double-bladed ax and then extended the handle for her to use both of her hands. That was something Leone didn't expect to see. "What the hell? Two axes that turn into some weird ax/staff combo weapon?"

Ruby had stars in her eyes seeing the weapon transform. "That's so cool!"

Cornelia twirled her ax staff around and raised it above her head. "Try this one on for size!"

Akame retracted her sword back and was about to use it to wrap around her opponents until she noticed something odd. _"She's going to hit the floor instead."_ She was right. Cornelia's staff hit the ground in front of Akame. However, even if the weapon missed Akame in front, she was still knocked back for some reason. Her aura gauge went down once again and everyone was wondering what just happened. Akame including as she was starting to stand back up. _"What was that? What did she do?"_

That was the same question Yang was wondering about. "Anyone know what just happened? She missed Akame but was still sent flying."

Pyrrha was trying to figure it out but wasn't having any luck. "I'm not sure. She must've done something."

As Akame stood up once again, she put the pieces together of what happened before. _"I felt those strange sensations again but this time on the ground headed for me."_ She observed the other girl closely who was smiling. Akame finally figured it out. "I know what you did. In fact, you've applied the same technique to your weapons every time before our weapons came into contact with each other. What you were doing before, it's your semblance isn't it?"

Cornelia grinned at the answer. "Yep. You got that right. My sembalance is vibration. I can apply it to my weapons and mess up my opponents guard pretty good and I can send them to my opponent hitting them even if I missed. Pretty cool huh?"

It was more like dangerous to Akame. If she could apply her sembalance to her weapon and the same way every time she would miss, that would make her quite the opponent. Add that to the fact now she has a ranged weapon. Akame already took several hits from her former teammate while she hasn't landed on hit. This scenario kinda reminded her of some of the sparring matches she and Cornelia had before. _"I couldn't land a hit on her back then either. It seems some things never change."_

Cornelia twirled her ax staff and held it behind her. "What do you say we move on to the next round?" She launched herself right the other girl with Twin Knight ready. She swung the ax staff to the side and Akame blocked the attack. The vibrations from the initial impact from the two weapons were suddenly stronger and Akame felt them going through her arms. Cornelia withdrew her weapon momentarily and spun her body around while spinning Twin Knight above her to attack from the other side. Akame blocked the second attack as well but the vibrations from the second attack felt stronger than the last one. The blonde took this chance and pushed the other girl back along with her sword. She spun her ax staff once again over her head and swung downward at the other girl. Akame held her sword up to block the oncoming attack but as soon as the attack came, the strength behind it caused her to take a knee.

Leone couldn't believe what she was seeing. _"No way. She actually has Akame pinned down."_ Blake had the same reaction. Considering how their match went, it was strange seeing the same girl who she was having trouble before being the same position the Faunus girl was in.

Akame did struggle a bit but managed to push the attack up away from her and started to counter attack. She attacked with her own flurry of sword swings at the other girl but the blonde was blocking them all. The two girls were equal for a time both of their weapons clashed against each other once again but this time, neither of them moved. It was a stalemate between them. Cornelia smiled at how the match was playing out. "Not bad. You have some good moves."

Akame returned the smile with her own. "You as well." The stalemate would only last a few seconds longer until either of them broke it. During all of this, Akame remembered something about one of her earliest sparring matches with the blonde.

_F_

A young Akame was groaning in pain as she was lying on the ground with her bokken lying next to her. She sat up while rubbing her head. "Jeez Cora. What was that you just did?"

Cornelia laughed as she offered her hand to the other girl. "Pretty good huh? That's one way to catch your opponent off guard. If you want, I can show you how to do it." Akame looked up to her and marveled how beautiful Cornelia was with the sunlight hitting her at the right angle. Apparently, the blonde saw the look in her teammate's eyes. "Something the matter?"

Akame shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine and I would like to know that move you did to me." She took Cornelia's hand and the blonde brought her up.

_F_

_"It seems I may have to use that move now."_ The conditions were right and it was a bit risky but it would guarantee Akame the most out of the fight. The timing just had to be right for it to work.

Before Cornelia could first break out of the stalemate, Akame suddenly let go of Yatsufusa. Seeing the action made her gasp. _"She let go of her weapon?"_ Everything after that seemed in slow motion. Without an opposing force against her, the blonde started to move forward without control while Akame moved to the side. She suddenly grabbed Cornelia's arm with both of her hands and lifted the blonde over her and slammed her former teammate onto the ground while her weapon dropped to the ground. Cornelia gasped in pain as a result. Akame then grabbed the handle of her sword and spun around before until she was above Cornelia. She sat on top of her with all of her body weight and switched the holding position of her sword underhanded as she stabbed the floor next to the blonde and put her elbow on the top of her chest. Everyone went silent after seeing that display. Cornelia was still trying to process what just happened.

For Akame, it was clear what happened. "I believe this is match."

After hearing those words, Cornelia couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright alright. I'll accept the loss here." Port clapped his hands at what he saw and so did the team members from the two teams. The blonde laughed at her defeat. "Got to hand it to you, that was some move you did. Where did you learn how to do that?"

Akame chuckled at the question. "Someone I knew taught me how to do it."

Cornelia smiled at the answer. "I see. That's cool and all but…"

The other girl blinked a few times in confusion. "But?"

The blonde observed the position the two girls were in. "Can you get off of me now? This kinda seems a bit awkward."

Akame blushed a little and immediately stood up. "Sorry!" She offered her hand to the other girl and Cornelia gladly accepted it.

As she did pull up the blonde, Professor Port walked up to them. "Bravo. Well done. You two showed off what fellow huntresses in training can do. Although may I point this out Miss King is that the use of firearms is not allowed when sparring with another student."

Cornelia laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oh is that right? It won't happen again."

The professor nodded at her words. "Excellent. I hope this brought on an even closer understanding of the team member you'll be working with from now on."

The blonde nodded back at the advice. "Yes, sir." With all of that said Professor Port had done his job and started to leave.

As he left, Leone rushed over to her girlfriend. "Akame!" Akame looked over the Faunus girl as she stopped in front of her.

Not soon after, team RWBY and JNPR arrived as well. Ruby was certainly ecstatic about the match. "That was so cool! Your weapon is really awesome and-"

Weiss covered her leader's mouth with her hand. "Alright, we get it." She looked to Cornelia. "Still I have to agree that's a bit of unique weapon you have."

Cornelia picked up her weapon and returned it to its short ax form and then separated the two before putting them back into her holsters. "Yeah, you can say that. It gives me plenty of options for attacking along with using my sembalance." She looked over to Leone. "So what do you think of me now?"

The other blonde smiled at her new teammate. "Pretty good if you were able to give Akame a run for her money."

Everyone knew the situation was heading off at this point. "Well…" Yang stretched out her arms. "We'll leave all of you to spend more time with each other. Thanks for the show and Leone, remember we have that night out I promised you."

The Faunus blonde was looking forward to that. "You got it."

Blake gritted her teeth when she heard that. "You coming, Blake?"

Her partner's voice managed to snap the Faunus girl out of it and looked over to her. "I'll be right there." She looked over to Leone one last time before walking away with the rest of her team. The pain in her chest grew slightly as she held it. _"Why? Why am I feeling this way? Why does my heart ache every time she looks at Leone that way?"_ She had hoped to come up with an answer soon but it didn't look like it was coming up anytime soon. One thing Blake did know, was that whatever she was feeling wasn't jealousy but something else entirely.

**B**

The door opened to Akame and Leone's room as the three girls entered it. Cornelia looked around the room and smiled. "So this is our room now huh?"

Leone chuckled at the question. "You got that right. Make yourself at home."

Cornelia set her bag with her belongings and sat down on the bed across the one Akame and Leone used. "This is nice and all but I can't help but feel this room is a little bit bare. Ever thought of spicing up the place like with a poster or something?"

The two girls looked at each other and then back to Cornelia. "Not really. Leone and I are kinda used to this look." Akame replied.

The second blonde shook her head at the words. "Now that simply won't do. Now that I'm here, things are going to change in this room." In more ways than one according to the two other girls. Now that they had another person in the room, they really couldn't sleep in the nude together in the same bed. "What's that over there?" They looked over to where Cornelia was looking at and it turned out to be Murasame leaning against the wall next to their bed. "A sword?"

"That would be mine." Akame quickly replied. It seemed she didn't recognize it right away that it was an Imperial Arm.

Cornelia looked over to the other girl wondering about the extra sword. "So you have two swords then? Why don't you use it?"

Akame lowered her head while looking away. "It's…not so good when it comes to sparring matches. Let's put it at that."

Cornelia already knew there was more to it than that but will leave it alone. For now at least. At the moment, she stretched out her arms and reached into her bag to take out her pajamas. "Think I'll have a shower after that match we just had. Hope you two don't mind." She headed toward the door leading to the bathroom. Before she reached the knob, the blonde stopped suddenly and turned to her new teammates. "Oh, and the two of you have some explaining to do." Both girls stiffened up a bit when they heard that and they knew what she meant by that. The only question was how did she know? "Don't worry. You don't have to tell me right away. Just promise me you'll tell me eventually when you're ready okay?"

Akame nodded at the conditions. "Yes, of course."

Cornelia smiled at the other girl. "Good." She turned back to the door and turned the knob. As she opened the door and started to walk through it, she stopped again and looked back at the two girls. "One more thing. If you two are going to have sex while I'm not around, please put a sock on the handle or something. The last thing I need to see are two of my teammates on top of each other in bed naked." With that said, she closed the door.

They really had no idea had to react to that. The only thing Leone did was just laugh nervously. "Well…on the bright side, at least we don't have to tell her that we're together."


	11. Twinning Out

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Eleven: Twinning Out

Yang stretched out her arms as she was glad classes were done for the day. Now all she had to look forward to was the weekend. "Now that classes are over, there's nothing ahead but good times ahead. Can't wait for the fun to start."

While the blonde was happy about this, Blake was feeling the opposite feeling entirely. During the rest of the entire week, she felt that stinging pain grow more and more. It always happened when Yang was talking to Leone and she was approaching the breaking point. At first, it was tolerable but now it was almost unbearable. _"How much longer do I have to bear this?"_ She finally had to come to the truth about all of this. Yang was interested in Leone much more than a friend and by how the other Faunus girl was acting toward her, it seemed she was the same way to her partner. Probably the one thing that hurt Blake the most was that this one girl who any of them barely know of was taking the only person the Faunus girl held the closest to her heart. Right now the two were planning to go out to Vale later on today. It may not be a date but to Blake, it sure looked like one.

"Hey Blake, are you feeling okay?" Speaking of the blonde devil, her words managed to snap the Faunus girl out of her inner turmoil of thoughts and looked at her. Yang may be an optimist at most times but when it came to her teammates, especially her partner, she couldn't help but worry.

Once again Blake had to lie to conceal her pain. "I'm fine Yang. Don't worry about me okay?" She gave her partner a fake smile.

Even if she said that, Yang wasn't buying the whole farm. She knew better than anyone else when it came to her partner. She wasn't stupid as she knew Blake was hiding something and it was worrying her. The thing is that subjects like this would be a little difficult to talk about with the other girl. The most she could do now was just roll along with Blake's words. "Okay but you know you can talk to me or the others about whatever is on your mind. You don't have to bear whatever it is that's on your mind on your own."

Of course, Blake knew that but what can she can say since her problem revolved around the blonde beauty that was in front of her? The only thing the Faunus girl could do was nod at her partner's advice. "Of course Yang." Yang was going to let this go for now but sooner or later they would have to talk about whatever was keeping her partner down. For now, she had to prepare for the night ahead with Leone.

**B**

Akame was spending some time with her new and once former teammate Cornelia or Cora by studying next to each other on the bed wearing their pajamas. Akame was wearing her original pink ones while Cornelia was wearing a white shirt and blue shorts with white stripes on the side. Leone, however, was in the bathroom getting ready for her night out with Yang. Said girl came out of the bathroom wearing the outfit she was wearing for tonight. "What do you two think?"

The Faunus blonde was wearing a short-sleeved tan shirt with a black animal paw print located on her left breast with black pants and her usual combat books. Akame liked what she saw. "You look great Leone."

Although Cornelia could agree with her teammate, she did have a question. "You sure it's a good idea to go out? We have a test coming up on Monday."

Leone just waved her hand like it was no big deal. "Relax. It's only for tonight. I'll be sure to hit the books tomorrow so don't worry. Besides…" She walked over to Akame and leaned in closer to her ear. "I'm sure you'll want to spend more time with Cora." Her girlfriend slightly blushed at the words and Leone backed off from the other girl. The other blonde wondered what the Faunus in their group told her teammate. They suddenly heard knocking on their door and Leone went over to it. She opened the door to reveal her human double wearing her other outfit. "Hey there Yang."

The other blonde smiled at her friend and waved at her. "Hi there. You ready to go?"

Leone nodded at the question. "You got it. Can't wait to see what you have in store for me." She walked through the door and looked over to her two teammates. "Catch ya later you two!" She closed the door and left the two of them alone.

Already Cornelia had a bad feeling about this. "You sure it's a good idea for them be out on their own?"

Akame didn't seem too worried. "It's not a problem. There isn't anything Leone can't handle."

Well if her teammate had that much confidence in the Faunus girl, Cornelia would have to take her word for it. Now that they were alone, there was something she was curious about the other two girls. "So Akame…how long have you and Leone been a thing?"

The other girl was a bit surprised hearing the question but decided to answer. "We've known each other for a long time but we've only recently gotten together."

Cornelia seemed to accept the answer. "I see. So what's it like dating a Faunus?"

Akame just shrugged. "Not that different from a human I suppose. Why do you ask?"

Her teammate just looked up to the ceiling. "Well it's just that…human/Faunus couples are sometimes looked down upon. Add that since you two are girls-"

"We don't care about that." Cornelia looked over to Akame who had a serious look in her eye. "Leone and I have dealt with far worse than people's perspective of what they think. If they have a problem with us, we'll let them know how we think of them." She narrowed her eyes at that last part.

Something about the look in the other girl's eyes made Cornelia somewhat uncomfortable. It was like she was staring into the eyes of a killer. Still, she had to admire the girl's defense of her relationship with the Faunus girl. "Well if you say so. As long as she makes you happy, that's what matters the most."

The look in Akame's eyes softened and smiled. "She does and I'm the same for her." Now that was out of the way, Akame turned to her book. "Let's refocus on the task at hand. When Leone comes back, we'll make sure she studies for the test."

Cornelia giggled at that. "That's for sure."

**B**

The roar of a motorcycle could be heard out on the streets. Yang was riding on her motorcycle, Bumblebee, with Leone holding onto her from behind by wrapping her arms around the other blonde's torso. Again Yang felt the Faunus girl's breasts being pushed against her back. It was a little distracting to her to be in fact. _"Even if she's wearing a bra, I can still feel those things."_

They traveled on the motorcycle just a bit more until they arrived at their destination. Yang took off her helmet and shook her head to move her hair a bit. "And we're here."

Leone got off the motorcycle as well and felt the effects of sensation she was briefly feeling. "Aw man, that was a rush. What's this thing called again?"

Yang put her helmet on the motorcycle. "Bumblebee and she's my pride and joy. I guess judging by your reaction, this was your first time riding a motorcycle."

The Faunus blonde nodded at the guess. "Yeah, you can say something like that. Man, that thing is fast." In her opinion, she didn't think she could outrun the contraption even in her beast form. She looked at the building in front of them. "So what's this place?"

That was the question that brought a smile to the other blonde. "It's a night club. It's not open until later but I happen to be…er friends with the owner. I thought it would be pretty cool for you to meet him."

Leone was up for it even though she had never heard of a night club before. "Cool. Let's go inside."

They walked up to the front entrance but it was blocked by a large muscular man wearing a suit. He saw the two girls and stood in their way. "Sorry girls but we're not open now. Plus, you two don't look old enough to go inside."

Yang ignored his words and walked up to the guy. "Did you already forget me and what I did you last time?"

The bouncer lowered his sunglasses and gasped. "You're that blonde chick from before!"

The blonde smiled at him. "That's right and if you want a repeat of last time, I suggest you let us in." She pointed to Leone who just waved at him. Not wanting to relive that again, the bouncer stood aside to let the two girls in. "That's more like it." Both blondes walked past him.

Leone had to admit she was rather impressed Yang had her way. "What did you do to the guy? He's like bigger than you."

Yang chuckled proudly at that. "Let's just say I knocked him out into next week one time." She opened the doors and the two walked inside the building.

Once they were inside, the interior was not unlike anything Leone had seen before. "Again, what is this place?"

The other blonde thought she should explain a bit more. "Like I told you, it's a night club. It's where people come here to dance, eat, drink, and have a good time. Sometimes people do leave together if you know what I mean."

That was something Leone could make sense of. "Oh, so it's like a fancy bar or something like that." It's been far too long since the Faunus girl was in a bar drinking her usual booze. Of course, she can't drink now due to her age. Then again she was tolerating enough of not getting her next hit.

It was an interesting comparison, to say the least. "Yeah, something like that but a bit more high class." They walked down the stairs and toward the bar. They took their seats and saw the bartender who was really the owner of the club cleaning some of the mugs with his back turned to the two girls. "Hey there Junior! How's business?"

Junior stopped his cleaning and let out an all not too happy sigh. "Oh great, it's you again blondie." He started to turn around. "What do you wan-what the hell!?" It was like a nightmare to him when he saw another girl who looked similar to Yang.

His reaction was everything Yang imagined it would be. "What's wrong Junior? You seeing double?"

He just groaned in response. "No, no, no, no, no. One of you is a giant headache enough. I don't need two of you to make my life a living hell!" He took a closer look at Leone and noticed a subtle difference. "Are those cat ears?"

Leone wiggled her animal ears a bit. "Yep and they're lion ears."

Yang got her fill and smiled. "Junior, this is a good friend of mine Leone Wild. She's kinda new around these parts and I decided to show her this place."

That didn't make him feel any better. "Just get to the point why you're here? If you're here for info, I don't got any for you."

The blonde just held up her hand. "This visit is purely pleasure so don't worry. How about a Strawberry Sunrise. Two in fact. One for me and one for my friend."

Well, that was somewhat better but Junior was still a bit uncomfortable with the blonde in his nightclub. "Fine. Two Strawberry Sunrises coming up." He walked away from the two girls to prepare their drinks. _"Great. Just what I needed. One that's a monster and the other an animal."_

Leone was curious about the order Yang just made. "What's a Strawberry Sunrise?"

Yang smiled at the question. "It's something really good. Don't worry, it'll be non-alcoholic. Junior may be a sleaze sometimes but he knows better not to serve alcoholic drinks to minors." While they were waiting for their drinks, Yang's expression changed. "Hey, Leone. Have you…noticed anything different about Blake?"

It was a strange subject to bring for her. "Not really. Why?"

The other blonde sighed. "I think she's hiding something from me. I thought being her partner and all, she would open up a little more to me. I want to help her with whatever she has a problem with but how can I when I don't know what her problem is in the first place. I'm worried about her and…" She sighed. "I don't know."

Leone noticed something very peculiar with the blonde's words. "Sounds like you really care for her huh?"

Yang smiled at that. "More than you know. She's the most incredible girl I've known in my life. She's strong, pretty, and someone I can depend on. I want to help her in any way I can."

The Faunus began to giggle at her words. _"Wow. We're more alike than just in the looks department."_

The other blonde wondered why Leone was laughing. "What's so funny?"

Leone continued to laugh a bit more until she stopped. "Well, I'm no expert in this but if I had to guess, I'd say you think of Blake more as your partner. Am I wrong?"

Yang blushed at the statement and looked away. "W-What are you talking about? Sure I think Blake is pretty, beautiful even but-"

Again the Faunus girl laughed as her human countertop was digging herself a deeper hole. "Come on, be honest. What do you really think of her?" The brawler tried to find the words to answer that but couldn't find any. That was all Leone needed to know. "Uh-huh. That's what I thought. So why haven't you made a move on her yet?"

That was a question Yang was trying to figure out as well. "I don't know. Maybe because I'm scared." The blonde closed her hands tightly when she said those words. "Yeah, I said it. I, Yang Xiao Long am afraid of being rejected by the girl she cares for just as much as I do for Ruby. I would fight a horde of Grimm without a second thought and yet I'm afraid of what Blake would say to me if I ever told her what I really feel about her."

Leone had to admit she was in the same position as Yang. "So when did you start seeing Blake differently?"

Yang thought back on that question. "Well, I kinda liked her when we were first made partners but after a certain…incident, I never left her side for a second. I guess you can say after that is when I started to have these feelings for her. I wanted to be by her side for as long as I can."

The Faunus blonde smiled at the description. "I never knew you were such a romantic. I think most girls would go for that."

The other chuckled awkwardly at that. "You really think so?"

The Faunus nodded. "I know so. Look, I may not know what Blake's deal is and I'm not exactly the best person to discussing this kind of thing but I do know one thing. It's better to talk to her about what's going on in her mind like the good partner that you are. While you're at it, let her know how you feel about her. If she rejects you, hell it's her fault for missing out on one hot babe. But in the off chance, she does…" She winked at the other girl. "Make sure not to make too much noise and break the bed if you know what I'm saying."

Yang laughed at that. It was what she needed. "I guess you're right on that. Still, I'm kinda nervous about how it'll go. I mean if she does reject me, it'll be a bit awkward since we're both on the same team."

Leone just waved her hand at that. "Eh, I wouldn't worry about it. Just take your time but don't wait too long. You might regret it sooner or later."

That much the brawler knew. "I hear that."

"Here you go." Junior came back with their drinks and set them in front of the two girls. "Two Strawberry Sunrises, non-alcoholic. Enjoy." He left them alone.

After talking about her feelings, Yang did felt a bit thirsty. "Well…" She grabbed her drink. "Drink up." Leone grabbed the drink as well and took a sip from the straw. The other blonde let a refreshing gasp. "As good as I remember it." She looked over the Faunus girl. "What do you think?"

Leone had a different opinion about it. "Eh…it's alright I guess if you like fruity stuff like this." She had much stronger drinks from before. Still, it wasn't bad for something non-alcoholic. As the two blondes enjoyed their drinks together, one of Leone's lion ears perked up and her eyes shifted to the side. _"Looks like we got company."_

"What are you doing back here?"

Yang heard a familiar voice as she looked back and was happy(?) to see some more familiar faces. "Oh hey! You two are those twins I fought from before."

Hearing that caught Leone's interest and looked back as well to see indeed a pair of twins. In her opinion, they were wearing some gaudy outfits. Also, they may be twins but there was a difference in their hair styles. The one in white had long hair while the one in red had shorter hair. Judging from the looks on their faces, they didn't look too pleased. "So who are these two?"

The twins saw Leone next to Yang and they weren't all too thrilled. "Since when did you have a Faunus double? Are you trying to copy us?" The one in white asked.

Already Leone didn't like their attitude. Yang still smiled, though. "Oh her? Her name is Leone and yeah I guess we do look alike huh? I guess that makes us the same don't you think?"

The twin in red narrowed her eyes at her. "No, it does not. You have some nerve coming back here after what you did."

Yang laughed nervously about that. "Yeah, sorry about that. That's all water under the bridge now so why can't we all just be friends?"

They didn't seem content with that. "You expect us to be friends with you after what you pulled?" The twin in white spoke out.

Junior who was busy resuming cleaning his glassware sighed. _"Well, I knew Melanie and Miltiades would want to settle their score with blondie sooner or later."_

"I think that's enough out of the two of you." Leone stood up and confronted the twins. "How about you two leave before things get a bit too rough."

As much as Yang loved a good fight, she also knew when not to fight when it came to certain situations such as this. "Hey, come on now Leone. It's not that big of a deal. What happened before is in the past."

The Faunus blonde didn't seem to care about that. "Maybe but I'm not going let some twins with some weird fashion sense giving some crap about what happened before. I think they need a second course of getting their asses kicked."

The twins didn't seem threatened by her words. "If you want to fight us, that's fine. It doesn't matter if it's you or the girl next to you." Melanie stated.

Already Junior had a bad feeling about this. _"Great, déjà vu all over again. I just hope this chick doesn't cause the same kind of damage as blondie did."_

After that, Leone was standing across the two twins from the other side while Yang sighed as she took another sip. _"Guess I'll just hang back and watch."_

Miltiades brought out her claw weapons while Melanie moved one of her legs a bit. "Shall we teach this girl a lesson, Melanie?"

Her sister nodded at the question. "Indeed. We won't make the same mistake twice."

Leone flicked her wrists and Lionel appeared. "You two are going to regret messing with a lion when I'm done with you."

Melanie didn't seem too worried. "Any last words before this goes downhill for you?"

The Faunus smiled at the question. "Yeah. This isn't the first threesome I had before."

And Yang raised an eyebrow when she heard that. _"Did she just make a sex joke?"_

The twins had enough and rushed over to the Faunus girl. They serpentine around each other to confuse Leone which seemed to work. _"Damn, they're fast."_ Melanie was the first to reach to her and proceeded to kick her with one of her bladed heels. Leone managed to block it but the white twin continued to deliver a series of kicks which Leone continued to block with her gauntlets. Miltiades appeared from the side of her sister and started to attack the blonde as well with her own claw weapons. The two girls exchanged blow to blow with their claws until with the last hit, Miltiades ducked one of Leone's attacks and spun around slashing the Faunus girl's torso with her claws. Leone winced at the sudden pain and held her stomach. "Son of a…"

She gasped when she saw both of the twins coming at her from both sides and tried to defend. The Faunus girl first defended against Miltiades' series of attacks before switching to defending against Melanie's series of kicks and sometimes in between both of them. Melanie saw an opening while Leone was busy defending against her sister's attacks and kicked strongly at her mid-section. That, in turn, disrupted the Faunus girl's defenses and Militades took a swipe at her. Leone put her arms up to block the attack and it slashed both of her arms across in a single swipe. Leone stumbled back a bit and growled at the twins. _"Damn, they're annoying when they attack together."_

Yang had to admit they were doing pretty good. "Wow, they've gotten better since the last time I've fought them."

"That's because they haven't forgotten how badly you beat them before." The blonde turned to see Junior watching the fight as well. "Ever since then, they've been training nonstop wanting to have a rematch with you but it seems your Faunus double is getting the brunt of their payback."

Yang looked back at the fight and smiled. "I see but Leone isn't me. She has a few tricks up her sleeve."

Leone flicked her arms and growled. That was a good sign to hear for Melanie. "Getting a little frustrated are we?"

The Faunus girl narrowed her eyes at the twin. "Oh, just you wait until I get my hands on one of you!" She jumped up into the air while spinning and tried to deliver a kick to the twins.

They jumped back to avoid the attack and the kick struck the floor again which was partially destroyed. Something Junior wasn't happy about it. "Hey, don't destroy my dance floor!"

The twins rushed at the Faunus blonde again at either side again. Seeing this made this made her scoff. _"Tch, this tactic again?"_ The first to reach her this time was Miltiades and swung her claws at her. Leone, of course, blocked the attacks and continued to block the oncoming ones after that until they briefly had a standstill. "Not a bad pair of claws you have." Miltiades didn't reply to that as she broke the stalemate and continued with her attacks. Not soon after her sister started to join in and Leone was blocking both of their attacks. She was very thankful that's she still had her beast form's enhanced eyesight to keep up with their attacks. While the twins were keeping their opponent preoccupied with their attacks, Melanie already found a weak point and kicked one of Leone's legs. The Faunus blonde winced at the low blow and that left her open for the next attack. Miltiades took this opportunity and stabbed Leone in the left shoulder which caused her scream in pain. The red twin then jumped while her sister spun around and kicked the Faunus blonde together. Miltiades pulled out her claw weapon out of Leone as a result of kicking her with both of her heels. Leone flew away from them and hit the floor.

Yang was immediately worried. "Leone!"

Miltiades brought up her claw with the Faunus blonde's blood on it. "Had enough now?" Both twins thought they had this in the bag since their opponent's fighting style was similar to how Yang fought.

Leone groaned in pain as she slowly started to stand up. She held the place where she was stabbed with her other hand and glared at the twins. "Why you little…"

The fight was going better than what Junior expected it to be. "Your twin seems to be having trouble."

While was worried about her friend, that worry soon went away when saw the look in Leone's eyes and smiled. "That's about to end soon enough." Junior didn't know what she meant by that.

Leone growled deeply at the twins. "Okay, I've had enough now." She removed her hand from her injury and took up her usual stance.

Both the twins and Junior were surprised at what they saw. Miltiades' eyes widened at what she saw. _"The wound I gave her earlier, it's already healed? Not only that but the injuries we gave her before has healed as well?"_

Yang leaned back against the counter while swishing her drink a bit. "There's one thing you should know Junior…"

Leone's eyes turned feral as her aura started to rise and bared her fangs at the twins. "I'll show what happens when you piss off a lion!"

The twins suddenly felt a chill going down their spines when they saw the look in the Faunus blonde's eyes. Being in the business they were in, they knew all too well what the look meant. _"She can't be serious, right?"_ Melanie took a step back.

"I may be pretty strong but that girl…" Yang pointed at Leone. "Not too long ago, she beat me in a fight. Not only that but she was able to recover easily from the same attack I gave you before."

That was all for Junior to leave his mouth open. All he could do was stare in horror about what was about to come next. Leone launched herself at Miltiades with her claws ready. The red twin was caught off caught of how fast her opponent suddenly was. She raised her claw to block the incoming attack but as soon as the Faunus blonde stuck the claw with her own, she easily cast it aside which led Miltiades open. _"Her strengths increased."_ Leone spun around and kicked the red twin to the side which sent her away.

"Miltia!" Melanie was worried about her sister's well-being but that would have to wait for now. She rushed over Leone and tried to deliver another one of her kicks but the Faunus blonde easily blocked it without budging at all.

Leone instantly grabbed her leg with her other hand spun around as she threw her. "Why don't you go join your sister?!"

Miltiades started to stand up while holding her side. She winced at the pain coursing through it. _"Damn, that freaking bitch hits hard."_

"Miltia look out!" The red twin looked over just in time for her sister to crash into her back to the floor. Both sisters groaned in pain and started to stand up once again. Both of them knew they can't pull back their punches anymore as they stared down their opponent. "We're done holding back now."

Both twins charged at their opponent again while they serpentine around each other again. This time, Leone was ready for their incoming attacks. The twins attacked the Faunus blonde together once again but this time, they put in more effort into their attacks as they were faster now. However, that still wasn't enough as Leone was blocking them all successfully one after another. Melanie decided to use the same trick again by attacking the Faunus blonde's leg again with her right leg. That, however, failed when Leone responded it with a kick of her own to the attack with her left leg. "Like I'm going to fall for that again!" She jump spun around and delivered a powerful kick of her own with her other leg right to the white twin's side. The attack sent her away but that left Leone open for Miltiades' next attack. Leone saw the attack coming and swiped at the red twin's claw with her right claw. That resulted in Miltiades' own claws being destroyed and the pieces scattering everywhere.

Miltiades gasped at what she just saw. _"She destroyed my weapon?"_

Leone took this chance and pulled back her left arm while closing her hand tightly. "Looks like my claws are sharper than yours." She then struck Militades to her torso and a loud boom appeared. The attack sent her all the way to the wall where she crashed into it. She was clearly out of it as a result of the attack and dropped to the floor.

Melanie stood up just in time to see what just happened to her sister. "Miltia!"

The Faunus looked away from her defeated opponent. _"Be grateful I held back or that would've killed you. As much as you piss me off, that isn't grounds enough for me to kill you."_

Leone heard Melanie scream and turned to her only to see that she was angry now. "How dare you hurt my little sister!?" Melanie rushed over to the Faunus blonde and when she was close enough, the white twin spun around and attempted to kick her with her heel blade. Everything stood still for a few seconds. Melanie did feel her attack connect but something didn't feel right. That was when her eyes widened in surprise and gasped at what she saw. "W-What the?" Leone was holding onto the blade heel with her teeth.

Yang and Junior were surprised by this as well. _"Okay, last time I checked Faunus shouldn't be able to grab a blade with their teeth."_

Leone bit through the blade which caused Melanie to lose her balance and fell down backward. She leaned up with her arms to see the Faunus blonde looking down on her as she crunched the remainder of the blade and spit out the pieces left behind. For once in Melanie's life, she was afraid. The look Leone was giving her was something akin of she was about to end her life. The Faunus blonde raised her claw and started to attack the downed twin. She closed her eyes as she awaited her inevitable end but it never came. Melanie opened her eyes to see the claw near her face but stopped. Leone withdrew it and stared her down. "You lose." And hearing those words made Melanie fall back onto the floor. She may have lost but was lucky to still be conscious. Leone turned away. "A little rest and your sister should be okay." She started to walk away. "Coming, Yang?"

And that was the other blonde's cue to leave as well. She dug into her pocket and laid down some money on the counter. "Thanks for the drinks." Yang hopped off from her seat and ran over to where the other blonde was. She stopped momentarily in front of Melanie who was still lying down. Yang couldn't help but smile at her. "Sorry about all of that. Maybe next time, we can be like, I don't know, friends or something. I do like you two."

Melanie closed her eyes and sighed. "Just go."

Yang understood and went on her way. As the blondes left, Junior sighed at what just happened. _"Well, at least it wasn't like last time. Still, blondie may be a monster but that Faunus chick of hers is a freak of nature."_ He saw the condition of the twins and shook his head as he had to take care of the twins…again.

Outside of the nightclub, as the two girls neared Bumblebee, Yang had to speak out her thoughts. "Hey, Leone…"

The Faunus blonde stopped and turned to her human counterpart. "Something to say?"

At first, Yang smiled at the other girl. "Thanks for not clocking out Melanie. That was…well, kind of you."

Leone just turned away. "She was already done by the time she landed on the floor. No sense of beating someone that already lost." Another reason was that she had no reason killing the twins.

Yang was glad to hear that but she had to ask her next question. "Also about what you did earlier, when you…bit that heel blade with your teeth, how did you even do that? Your reaction speed would've been insane. I've never seen other Faunus do that."

That was something worth smiling about for Leone. "I guess that means I'm stronger than your average Faunus."

Yang was trying to make sense of that. Sure Leone was about one of the strongest people she's known but she couldn't help but think there was something off about her friend. _"She's really strong and has a strong sembalance to boot. How are you supposed to beat a combo like that?"_

Leone was already on Bumblebee. "Can we head back to Beacon now? I'm going to have a hell of a time explaining the bloody spot on my shoulder to Akame and Cora."

Yang walked over to her motorcycle and put on her helmet as she got on Bumblebee. She revved up the motorcycle and the two drove off back to Beacon. As they were, Yang still had questions about her new friend. _"Just who are you really Leone? More importantly, what are you because any normal Faunus shouldn't be able to do that."_ These were questions that Yang would have to ask later. For now, she was trying to enjoy the ride back while dealing the softness that is Leone's breasts pushing up against her back once again.


	12. Catfrontation

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Twelve: Catfrontation

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon for the three members of team RWBY. Ruby and Weiss were doing some last minute studying while Blake was reading her book. However, that seemed to fail as her mind kept going back to what Yang had said before she left the room.

_F_

Ruby tilted her head in confusion. "A massage?"

Her sister nodded at the question. "Yep. It's Leone's way of thanking me for taking her out on the town. To be honest, I've been meaning to get one for a while now. I heard she's a really good masseuse." While the blonde was going over how good Leone was with her hands, Blake was having entirely different thoughts about the matter. Her reading of a certain book allowed her to imagine "certain" scenes in her mind. The book she was reading now wasn't helping either as her grip on it tightened.

Weiss had some concerns about this. "You sure this is a good idea? I know the two of you are girls but wouldn't it be a bit…awkward?" For once the Faunus girl had to agree with Weiss.

Yang didn't seem to mind, though. "Relax. Her two teammates will in her room too so it'll be okay." And that didn't make things any easier for Blake. Again, her mind was racing through a scene where Leone, Cora, and Akame were doing all sorts of things to Yang, alone, in their room. She slammed her book against her face. The action caught Yang's attention and looked at her. "Is everything alright Blake?"

Her partner removed the book and looked at the other girl. "I'm fine. It's just…the character in this book just did something stupid, that's all." Yet another lie she had to tell. How much more would Blake say before the burden became too great for her?

Ruby had another question for her sister. "So how's this massage going to work if you're going to wear your regular clothes?"

The blonde brought up her top and shorts as an answer. "Relax. I'll wear these during the massage." Again that did not make things any easier for Blake.

Now she can't stop imagining Leone touching Yang's perfect body, her hands gliding over it until they reached her brea- "No!" Again her team turned her wondering what her deal was. Blake tried to come up with an excuse. "No, the…situation just got worse for the character." For some reason, she felt like that character the Faunus girl just described.

Yang bought it but thought it was a little strange. "O…kay then. Well, I'll be back soon and I'll tell you my review about it. Don't wait up on me." She opened the door and left as she closed it behind her. While Ruby and Weiss went on studying for their test, Blake was left with her overactive imagination of what could be happening inside of Leone's room.

_F_

That was over an hour ago and each minute felt like torment to the Faunus girl. Her imagination hasn't become any better since then either. Ruby asked a question that made her feel even worse. "I wonder how Yang's massage is going. I bet it feels pretty good having some like Leone looking after her."

The Faunus girl glared secretly at her leader. _"Not helping Ruby."_

Ruby stretched out her arms. "Maybe I can ask Leone for a massage too. All of this studying is making my shoulders sore."

While the young leader was complaining about her sore shoulders, Weiss noticed something about Blake during the time they were waiting for their teammate to come back. "You've been pretty quiet for a while Blake."

The Faunus girl set down her book and looked over to her teammate. "Maybe because I've been reading this entire time."

The heiress didn't buy that. "No, you haven't. You've been on the same page for the last hour. Clearly, something is on your mind. What did we tell you about keeping secrets from this team?"

Blake just looked away. "It's not a secret. It's…just a problem I've been having with."

Ruby couldn't help but feel worried about her teammate. "What problem is it? Maybe we can help you with it."

The Faunus was grateful for her leader's help but she just sighed in response. "I'm fine Ruby. Don't worry." That was a complete lie. The truth is that no one could help her with this problem.

Weiss was quickly becoming tired of this. "Can you at least tell us what this problem is?"

That question made the Faunus girl a bit hesitant to answer. What was she supposed to say? _"My problem is that I don't like how Yang talks about Leone all the time and I feel so much pain in my chest because of it and I don't know why."_ Maybe they could help, maybe they couldn't. All she knew that in the center of this was her partner Yang.

The door suddenly opened and the girl that has been plaguing Blake's mind walked in. "Hey, everyone! I'm back!"

Everyone turned to the brawler and Ruby smiled at her sister's return. "Welcome back Yang. How was the massage?"

Her response was Yang rolling her neck around and doing different kinds of stretches until she was done. "It…was…awesome! I've never felt so limber before." Wrong choice of words in Blake's department. "It's like everything in my body was smoothed out perfectly. I'm telling you that girl has some magic fingers on her." And that comment was just enough to bring Blake to the edge of how much she could take of Yang talking about the other Faunus girl. "I'm telling you that girl is something else. She's so good. I'm kinda glad we're friends with someone who can make you feel so much better after a hard day and…" There she goes again. Talking about how great Leone was. Something about the blonde always praising the other Faunus girl always bothered Blake and didn't know why. What she did know was that whenever the two blondes were together, they always seemed to hit it off so well and that's what probably bothered Blake the most. In some way, she envied Leone about how open she was and how she was the exact opposite of the other Faunus girl. Not that Blake could blame her. The Faunus girl's entire life was built upon shadows and secrets of the White Fang and did some things that she regretted. Seeing the one person who actually saw her for who she is. Not a former member of the White Fang, not a Faunus, not even a member of team RWBY. Yang saw Blake for who she truly is. A person who wanted to be accepted by someone who would understand her. But now, that same person that brought so much light into her world of shadows was being taken away from her and that's what hurt Blake the most. Her heart had reached the breaking point. She closed her book and stood up from the bed as she walked over to her partner who was still talking about Leone. Yang noticed the Faunus girl walking up to her. "Uh, hey Blake."

Blake didn't say anything in return as her bangs covered her eyes. What she did next shocked everyone in the room. A loud smack echoed throughout the room as there was a large red imprint on Yang's left cheek. Blake had just slapped Yang. Ruby and Weiss just stared at what they saw and didn't say anything. The Faunus glared at her partner with tears starting to come out of her eyes. "If you like her that much, why doesn't she become your partner instead!?" She ran past Yang without looking back and out of the room.

"Blake, wait!" Ruby tried to chase after her not wanting a repeat of what happened last time. However, her teammate disappeared by the time she arrived in the hallway. All she could do was sigh. "Not again."

Weiss finally broke out of her trance and shook her head. "What was that all about?!"

Her question didn't reach Yang as she was still trying to process what just happened to her. She had taken a lot of hits from all kinds of fights but that one slap from Blake seemed to have hurt the most to her. She could still feel the sting of the Faunus girl's hand as Yang touched it. Suddenly, a sickening feeling was spreading in her chest. _"Blake…"_ The blonde ran out of the room as well to find her troubled partner to set whatever she did wrong right again. She really didn't want to lose the one she cared for just as much as Ruby.

"Yang!" Ruby tried to reach out to her sister but she was already long gone as well. She groaned again as this was just like last time.

The door across from them opened and Jaune along with the rest of team JNPR saw Ruby in the hallway. "What's with all the noise outside?"

The young leader turned to all of them with a worried face. "It's Blake. She ran off again and this time we don't know why."

That was all they needed to know. "It'll be okay Ruby. We'll help find her." Pyrrha reassured. "Is there anywhere she could've gone?"

Weiss walked up to her partner and crossed her arms. "Well, I doubt she'll go all the way to Vale again like last time so chances are we'll probably find her around the campus grounds." She brought out her scroll and began texting. "I'll send the word out to Neptune and chances are Sun is with him to help look for Blake."

Ren nodded at the idea. "Right. In the meantime, we'll split up. We'll have more of a chance finding her."

Nora cheered for the search. "Yeah! Let's go find ourselves a lost cat!" Everyone but Ruby went their separate ways.

Hearing about Weiss' idea gave Ruby an idea of her own. She pulled out her scroll and began texting. _"I hope they can help us too."_

**B**

Leone was washing her hands to get the oil used from the massage she gave Yang earlier. She enjoyed the experience and it has been a while since the Faunus blonde gave a good massage. Cornelia and Akame were there to witness it all. "You know one day I would like to have a massage from you too Leone judging by how Yang was reacting to it."

Akame wasn't all that surprised. "I think you would like it, Cora. Leone is very good with her hands."

Leone came out of the bathroom drying her hands with a towel. "Akame should know. She's thoroughly experienced the best massages I've given her." She spoke in a sultry voice.

Her girlfriend blushed at the blonde's words while Cornelia really didn't need to know that. "TMI Leone."

The Faunus girl tilted her head in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sometimes the other blonde wondered how Leone managed to get this far. "It means too much information." Akame's scroll suddenly started to vibrate and she took it out to check what it was. Both blondes looked over to her. "Who's it from?"

Akame read the message and her eyebrows furrowed. "It's from Ruby. She said that Blake ran off all of a sudden and they're trying to find her."

That struck as a bit unusual to Leone. "I wonder what happened."

Her girlfriend put her scroll away and stood up. "Whatever it is, we need to help. Let's go to their dorm." Both blondes nodded to that.

**B**

The three girls rushed over to RWBY's dorm fast as they could and they saw the young leader standing next to the doorway waiting for them. Ruby saw them and was glad to see them. "Thanks for coming over. We need all the help we can get."

Cornelia smiled at her. "It's no problem. Like my papa always says. Help out those in need and they'll be a friend indeed." Akame seriously wondered if that was the same Gozuki. "So what happened?"

Even Ruby was unsure what happened but decided to explain the best she could. "I don't know. Yang just got back from her massage and started talking about how good the massage was. Then Blake just walked up to Yang and slapped her saying something about making Leone her partner instead. She ran off after that."

Leone thought it was weird Blake would say that but decided to wonder about that later. "Do you know the places she could've gone?" Akame asked.

Ruby tried to remember the details. "Well, the library for one since she likes to read or maybe some of the empty classrooms because she likes her privacy. I just hope she doesn't go into Vale like last time."

Now that was something Leone could wonder about. "What do you mean by last time?"

The young leader thought she shouldn't say anything more. "It's nothing. Can you help us?"

All three girls smiled and nodded. "Of course, in any way we can." Akame spoke.

Ruby smiled at that. "Thank you. I'll be looking for her now. Let me know if any of you find her." She ran past the group.

The three girls looked at each other wondering what their next course of action should be. Thankfully, Akame had already thought of something. Cornelia on the other hand… "I'll go to the library and see what I can pick up then search around there. Is that okay with you?"

The opportunity couldn't be better. Akame nodded at the suggestion. "Go on Cora." The blonde nodded and ran off to where the library was. Since it was just her and Leone now, they could start finding Blake. "Leone…"

"I know." The Faunus blonde walked into RWBY's room and over to Blake's bed. She kneeled down next to it and took in a few sniffs to familiarize with the other Faunus girl's scent. If anything, she'll be able to locate where Blake was wherever the scent led her to. Leone stood up and closed her eyes as she sniffed the air again. She opened her eyes. "Got her."

Akame was thankful Leone still kept her enhanced senses from Lionel. "Good. Judging from what we know, you seem to be involved in this. Find Blake, confront her, and see what this is all about. I'll pretend to look around for her. You understand that?"

Leone smiled at her girlfriend. "Crystal clear. I'll find her in no time. Leave it to me." That was all Akame needed to hear and smiled back at the Faunus blonde before leaving the room. Leone smiled at how easy this already was and left the room as well.

**B**

Blake was sitting underneath a large tree on a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. She was contemplating of what she did to Yang and was feeling bad about it. What she was feeling inside was even worse. It was like her heart broke in two. The Faunus girl brought up her knees to her face and wrapped her arms around. _"I really am a horrible person. I don't deserve someone like Yang."_ Just thinking about the blonde's name made her heart ache. Blake wondered what she should do now.

"Hi there Blake!"

And the Faunus girl screamed as she jumped up and grabbed ahold of the branch above while being in a state of shock. She looked down to see the last person she wanted to see. "Leone?"

The other Faunus girl laughed at what she did. "That was hilarious. You should've seen your face!" Leone was clutching her sides while laughing.

Blake got over her scare and glared at the Faunus blonde as she dropped down to confront her. "Why are you here? In fact, how were you able to find me so quickly?"

Leone settled down and smiled at her. "I have my ways." Her smile was replaced by a serious look. "Your friends are worried about you. Mind telling me what was with the stunt you just pulled? From what Ruby told us, you slapped Yang for some reason and I have a feeling I'm part of that reason. So, spill it."

Blake looked away from her while grabbing her arm with her other hand. "You want to know? I'll tell you what's on my mind." She looked back at Leone and glared at her. "All Yang talks about now is how great you are. How you're strong, beautiful, a great masseuse, and I'm sick of it! I've waited a long time for someone like Yang to accept me for who I really am and then you show up and it feels like I'm losing her to you!" She was letting out all of her frustration and anger out on the other Faunus girl she kept inside all this time. "I know how the two of you get along so well and how you look at each other. Every time I see that look in Yang's eyes talking to you, I could feel a pain going in my chest and it continually hurts me."

Honestly, Leone was happy she was hearing this from the other girl. It also gave her a pretty big hint about something. While Blake was continuing to rant about the Faunus blonde, Leone swiped quickly the top of Blake's head. That stopped Blake's ranting and wondered what just happened. It was then she saw a very familiar black ribbon in Leone's hand and gasped. Leone smiled at she was seeing. "Ah ha! I knew this ribbon of yours wasn't for show. You're a Faunus too and a cat one to boot."

Blake took a few steps back while fear was creeping up inside of her. Her ribbon was a way to hide who she really was and now she was exposed again. "H-How did you-"

"Know?" Leone finished. "I knew something was up with you the first time we met. Hearing about you ranting about me along with Yang kinda sealed the deal. You would be surprised what you can learn in Faunus only classes. A person, more specifically, a cat Faunus doesn't get this angry without reason. The truth is you already decided Yang would be your mate huh?"

And Blake didn't know how to respond to that. "My mate?"

Now Leone was glad she paid attention to this subject in her class. "Yes, your mate. The thing is that you haven't claimed her yet. That's why you're acting the way you are now. When two cat Faunus are together in the same place and one of their mate of interest is there with them, they would fight it out trying to claim her. It's kinda like animal instinct. You feel threatened that I might swipe Yang away from you. Am I wrong?" Blake was trying to find a way to counter that but couldn't find the words. It did, however, make a lot of sense of why she was feeling this way. Her silence was all Leone needed to know. "Like I thought. Tell me this Blake, what do you really think of Yang? Be truthful and don't hold back."

The other Faunus girl tried to make sense of the question and tried to think of the reasons why. She just spoke what was on the top of her mind. "Yang is…Yang is…." For once she could talk honestly about her partner. "Yang has become the most important person in my life. I'm lucky to know someone like her and to be her partner. She's…I can't even find the words to describe what a wonderful person she is. She never left my side when I came back after something happened." As Blake was talking true about her feelings, the pain in her chest was lessening more and more and something else was spreading throughout in her chest instead.

Again, that was all Leone needed to know. "Then freaking act on your feelings damn it. What's stopping you from doing it?"

That answer was obvious. "It's you. I keep thinking you'll take away the one person I…care about the most." And hearing that just make Leone laugh which confused Blake. "What's so funny?"

Leone laughed a bit more until she stopped. "That this has been one huge misunderstanding. Let me clear this out of the way. I'm not taking Yang away from you. I just view her as a fun person and not just because we look the same. Hell, I'm already with someone else so no worries."

Now that was something Blake didn't expect to hear. "Wait, you're already with someone?"

The other Faunus girl nodded at the question. "Yep, so Yang is all yours for the taking. Speaking of which…" She glanced back a bit and Blake saw what was behind her.

To her surprise, Yang was walking toward them which surprised the Faunus girl. "Yang?"

The first thing the blonde noticed that Blake didn't have her ribbon on but she didn't care about that now. All she cared about was that she was happy to see her partner again. Her being here was Leone's cue to leave. She walked over to the other blonde and put her hand on Yang's shoulder. "She's all yours." Leone gave Yang Blake's ribbon. "You're welcome." She left the two girls alone. The Faunus blonde was glad she was able to send Yang that text before she spooked Blake.

Now it was just the two of them alone. Both girls didn't know what to say. "Blake/Yang I-"

Both of them spoke at the same time and stopped. The blonde rubbed the back of her head. "You go first."

Blake sighed as she had to be true to her feelings. "Yang I'm…sorry I slapped you and what I said before. I wasn't thinking clearly. The truth is I didn't like how you were talking about Leone all the time and I thought she would take you away from me because you're…special to me."

Yang felt her heart thump when she heard that and just smiled. "Is that right? I'm sorry I didn't notice how you were feeling about this the entire time. Some partner I turned out to be huh?" She laughed awkwardly at that.

Blake shook her head at the words. "No, you're a great partner. The best one I could've hoped for! I couldn't have asked for someone better than you. I love how you laugh, I love how you're protective of your team, and I love how much of a caring person you are. I love yo-" she stopped midsentence at that and realized what she was about to say and blushed.

That was enough for Yang to catch on. "Go on Blake. Say it." She really wanted to hear those three words.

Never has Blake felt her heart beat so hard before. She gulped as there was no going back now after saying these words. "I love you, Yang. More than as a partner and as a friend. I truly love you. I can't say it enough to express these feelings to you." Tears started to come out of her eyes once again as she shut them.

If she hadn't, Blake would've seen how happy Yang was hearing those words. She used this opportunity to walk over to where her partner was. "You know what I think?" Yang cupped Blake's cheek just in time for the Faunus girl to open up her eyes. Her eyes widened in surprise at what happened next. She felt a pair of lips pressed against her own as she saw Yang close her eyes. It soon dawned on her that Yang was kissing her. Suddenly, that feeling she felt before exploded in her chest and it was a loving warm feeling. Blake closed her eyes as well to enjoy the kiss as long as they could and wrapped her arms around Yang's waist. The blonde did the same and brought their bodies closer to share this feeling together. Both girls were reluctant to break the kiss and Yang looked at her partner with loving eyes. "You have no idea how happy you made me when you said that. I'm glad to know how you feel about me and I feel the same way. What I'm trying to say is that…I love you too Blake." And there it was. That was Blake needed to hear and happiness overtook her once again. This time she kissed Yang and pushed themselves to the grass without breaking the kiss. For once Blake hoped they would continue this uninterrupted for a while longer.

**B**

While Ruby was having no such luck in finding her teammate, she received a text in her scroll and pulled it out to see what it was. The young leader smiled when she read the text from her sister. _"I found Blake and we made up. You can call off the search now."_

Ruby giggled at the text. "I'm glad you were able to find her Yang." She then proceeded to text everyone else.

**B**

A day and a test later, everyone was enjoying their long-awaited lunch. "WHAT!" RWBY and JNPR tried to process what they just heard.

Jaune was the first to speak. "Did I really hear that right?"

Ruby was the same. "You two were a couple all along?!"

Leone flashed a peace sign while Akame nodded at the question. After Yang and Blake came back and declared they were a couple now, the other human/Faunus couple decided to finally tell their friends. Needless to say, they expected their reactions. "Yep. You got that right."

Akame took another bite out of her lunch and carried on like their announcement was no big deal. "We apologize for taking this long for telling you this but yes. Leone and I are together."

Now Blake understood what Leone meant by her being with someone else yesterday and smiled. In return, Akame and Cornelia were filled in about Blake's Faunus heritage. Now that everything was out of the way, Nora sighed. "Now can I say it?"

Ren just took another bite out of his lunch as well. "Yes, Nora. You can say it."

That was something else Leone wanted to know. "Say what exactly?"

Nora smiled at the Faunus blonde. "Has anyone told you that you kinda look like Yang and Blake's daughter?"

And Leone was speechless when she heard that. "Wait, what?"

The other girl loved the other girl's expression. "Yeah I mean you have Blake's kitty ears and her eyes and you have Yang's looks and her boo-"

"That's enough Nora." Ren interrupted.

Now that Leone thought about it, the resemblance between all three of them was very uncanny. In fact, she smiled at the thought. "Daughter huh?"

Yang and Blake knew why she was smiling like that. Akame did say Leone never did know her birth parents. That was when the other blonde declared something. "Alright then. From this day on, you're going to be our daughter, Leone."

Weiss facepalmed at that. "You can't be serious." Still, she was happy that they found each other. She looked past them to see her leader still smiling. _"_ _Maybe I should do the same what they did."_

The smile on Yang's face was her answer. "I sure am. Akame, I expect you to take good care of our daughter and I want grandkids."

Blake thought her new girlfriend was pushing this a bit too far. "I think that's asking a bit much Yang."

While on the subject, Ruby thought up of a question. "So if Leone is your daughter, does that mean I'm the aunt? I always wanted a niece." Weiss couldn't believe how far this was going. "One more thing. Who's the mom and who's the dad?"

And a record scratch could be heard among the group. Leave it to Ruby to ask the important questions. Yang tried to think about that. "Good question. I guess I can be the mom and Blake can be the dad." She turned to her Faunus girlfriend. "What do you think?"

Blake just shrugged. "I'm okay with that."

While all of this was going on, Leone felt another kind of happiness she hasn't felt before. Sure it may pass off as a joke but she wouldn't mind having these two as her parents even though they're the same age. Well, physically. On the inside, Leone was still in her early twenties. "I like the sound of that."

With all of that said and done, Yang leaned onto her girlfriend. "So Blake, since we're together now, want to go out with me to the dance?"

Blake calmly took a drink of her milk and set it down. "Sorry but I can't."

That was an answer the blonde didn't expect to hear. "What do you mean you can't!?"

"Sun asked me out first and I said yes. This was before we confessed to each other." Blake replied.

Yang hung her head in defeat. "Damn it." Jaune felt her pain as he kept striking out asking Weiss out to the dance.

Pyrrha laughed at her friend's reaction. "Maybe next time Yang."

Leone was laughing as well until she caught what her 'mom' said before. "Wait. What dance!?" Akame and Cornelia wondered the same.

Weiss and the others looked at them. "There's our school dance coming up. You seriously never knew that? Haven't you been checking your notifications?"

Before they could answer that, another bell rang throughout the cafeteria. "Will the students Akame Night, Leone Wild, and Cornelia King please report to Professor Ozpin's office? I repeat. Will the students Akame Night, Leone Wild, and Cornelia King please report to Professor Ozpin's office? That is all."

The three girls looked at each other and had a pretty good idea what that announcement was about. "Hey, do you think-"

"Could it be-"

"Our last teammate is here!" All three girls stood up quickly and waved at their friends goodbye. "Later! We've got to meet our new team member." Cornelia and the other two girls left the table.

Ruby was waving back at them. "Let us know how your new teammate is!" She stopped waving when they left the cafeteria. "I hope their new member is really nice."

**B**

The three girls couldn't rush any faster to Ozpin's office to finally meet their last new member. All of them were quite curious. "So what do you think our new teammate is going to be like?" Cornelia asked.

Leone wondered about that as well. "Beats me. I just hope this person isn't a total ass."

Akame couldn't see that happening. "I don't think the Professor would do that. In all likelihood, we'll get along well with our new member." They approached Ozpin's office and Akame knocked on the door. "We're here sir."

The doors opened up before them and they walked in. As they did, all joy Akame and Leone had from before suddenly vanished and was replaced by fear and terror. There was no mistaking the silhouette that was standing in front of Ozpin's desk. Ozpin didn't seem to notice their reactions. "Good to see you again. Allow me to introduce you the last member of your team.

The person turned around and faced the three girls. Akame's and Leone's fears were confirmed true and couldn't say anything. _"No way. She's our new teammate?"_

Akame was staring in horror at the person in front of her. _"It…can't be…"_


	13. Enemy Yesterday, Teammate Today

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Thirteen: Enemy Yesterday, Teammate Today

_"_ _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…"_

_A young girl wearing a simple light blue dress continued to watch the other children play jump rope from sitting on a bench. She hugged her doll Ursa and decided to work up the courage. She jumped off the bench and carefully walked over to the group of children playing. They stopped as they saw her coming to them. The young girl stopped as well and hugged her doll closer to her as she felt a bit shy. "C-Can I play with you?"_

_The children didn't reply and they walked away from her. The young girl felt sad when they left her. She suddenly felt a hand on her head and looked up to see her father smiling. "Don't worry. Someday, you'll find those who'll come to accept you."_

_The young held on to those words a long time. As time passed, the young girl grew up but the looks she received from other people haven't changed. She was walking through the hallway of her school and heard whispers of the other students. "That's her? She's the one that took down a Nevermore on her own?"_

_"_ _That's her. She's the one with the weird freaking semblance."_

_"_ _She never uses a weapon at all."_

_"_ _I heard she brought down a Death Stalker too."_

_"_ _What a freak."_

_These kinds of words she had gotten used to but it didn't make the pain she felt any less hurtful. Sometimes she wondered why she was cursed with this power and often wondered why she had this power in the first place. She shook her head at the thoughts. "No. I will show them what I can do with this. I'll prove them all wrong."_

_Time passed again and she was well in her teenage years. She was walking home after another day of school and the talking behind her back. She wouldn't let their words discourage her as she still kept her father's words close to her heart and will prove everyone that said anything bad about her wrong. She opened the door to her home. "I'm back father."_

_Her father walked up to her with a letter at hand. "This came in the mail for you today."_

_His daughter took the letter and recognized the insignia. "Wait. Is this-"_

_"_ _It is." Her father smiled. "It seems your talents have been recognized."_

_She laughed as she continued to look at the letter. "I can be a hunter like you father."_

_He laughed at his daughter's words. "Well almost. This is truly a great chance for you."_

_This was almost like a new start for her. "Finally, I can truly show what I'm truly capable of."_

_After a few days of preparation, she was ready to be off. After reading the letter, she learned that there is an open spot on a team and would like to be part of the team. She couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about being on a team_ _but hopefully would like to get to know them better. She waved her father goodbye. "I'll make you proud father!"_

_Her father waved back to her. "Take care of yourself and don't forget to write. I know you'll do great!" After that brief exchange of words, that was the last would see her father for a long time._

_B_

And so here she was. In the office that belonged to the headmaster of Beacon and the three girls standing in front of her were her three team members. If she had to be honest, she was half nervous and half terrified about this whole ordeal. Speaking of terror, that was exactly what Leone and Akame were experiencing right now. They were trying to make sense of what they were seeing. _"You got to be kidding me. How is she even here? This has to be a nightmare."_ Leone started to have bad flashbacks.

Akame was the same. _"How is this possible? How is she even here?"_

Ozpin continued to smile at his students. "Girls, allow me to introduce you to-"

"That won't be necessary sir. I want to introduce myself." She took in a deep breathe. _"Okay. Make a good impression."_ She smiled brightly at the group of girls. "My name is Esdeath Partas. It's a great pleasure meeting all of you." She felt rather proud of that greeting. _"That should show them I'm friendly."_

It had the opposite effect to Akame and Leone. In fact, her name proved their suspensions. The girl in front of them was indeed the former strongest of the Empire. However, what struck them as strange was that the Esdeath in front of them was much younger, around their age no less. Her outfit was a bit different as well. She was wearing a nomadic style tan shirt with tribal markings over it, black shorts that stopped above her knees with fur boots. To top it off, she was wearing a black headband over her head that had her trademark symbol back in the empire. Strangest of all was that Akame's markings weren't reacting the same way they were when she was near Cinder. Cornelia on the hand smiled back at her new teammate. "Hi there. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Cornelia." She looked over to her teammates who still had their expressions. She elbowed Akame to snap her out of it. "Don't be rude. This is our new team member after all."

That may be true but Akame can't forget everything the woman in front of them had done. She straightened herself up. "Hello. I'm…Akame."

To Leone, she wasn't sensing the powerful bloodlust or anything similar when she tailed her that one time back in the Capital. Something about this seemed strange to her. The Faunus girl decided to play along. "And I'm Leone."

Esdeath smiled at her new teammates. "It's nice to meet you all, Cornelia, Akame, Leone." Something about her smiling seemed so wrong to the former assassins. It was…not like Esdeath. This cheery personality was also off-putting. Akame could tell when someone is faking but the weird thing is that this Esdeath wasn't faking at all. It wasn't the sadistic smile the old Esdeath would make. She truly was happy to meet them. And that's what bothered her the most.

Since every member of the team was in one room, Ozpin decided to move onto the next step. "Well, now that everyone has gathered, it's time to move on to the next step."

Leone was confused when she heard that. "What next step?"

Ozpin folded his hands in front of him. "Your team is complete but there is one more thing that has to be done. It's the choosing of your team leader. As you may know, every team in Beacon has a leader that's responsible for them. If you want, I can give you some time to think it over of which one of you will take up the position."

It was an easy enough step and Leone already had her answer. "If all we need to do is select a leader for the team, then I think Akame should lead us."

Her girlfriend looked over at her in surprise. "Leone…"

"I can agree with that." Akame looked over to Cornelia next.

It was two out of four now. Ozpin heard of their choices and looked over to Esdeath. "Well, Miss Partas, what do you think?"

She looked over to Akame quickly and quickly thought it over. "I'm fine with Akame being the leader. Truth be told, I don't think I would make a very good one. I…kinda get nervous if I'm ever in charge of something." She laughed nervously.

That was something Akame and Leone didn't expect to hear. Not that she voted Akame to be the team leader but the fact she actually said she wouldn't be good as a leader. _"The old Esdeath would never have said that. She was confident in her abilities to lead others. Hearing her say that is…it sounds so unnatural."_

That was all Ozpin needed to hear. "Then it's decided." He looked at each girl closely. "Akame Night, Leone Wild, Cornelia King, and Esdeath Partas. From this day forward, the four of you are now a team. The team name I will assign you will be called team ALCE led by Akame as the leader."

Leone raised an eyebrow at the name. "Alice?"

Cornelia giggled at the team name. "Hey, just like the character from that one story."

Akame and Leone looked over at her in confusion. "What story?"

Cornelia was surprised by their question. "You haven't heard of it? It's a popular story that tells the story of a girl called Alice arriving in a strange new world. My papa used to read it to me all the time." With a description like that, the team name would fit perfectly for Akame and Leone.

Ozpin nodded at the explanation. "Miss King is correct. With all of that said, you may take the rest of the day off to know your newest team member. I'll let your teachers know." The two former assassins looked over to Esdeath who were still wary of her.

**B**

The walk back was a bit awkward. At least for Akame and Leone. For Cornelia, she was having a fun time talking to their former enemy. "That's such a unique outfit you have. Where did you get it?"

Esdeath giggled at the question and looked at her outfit. "This? Well, this was my mother's outfit from before. I'd hope I would make a good first impression. I do have another one for combat. I'm still feeling nervous since I've never been on a team before."

The blonde smiled at her new teammate. "I'm the same way so we're in the same boat."

While they were having a good time, the other two members kept their distance. "What the hell is going on? She's the last person I want a team." Leone whispered to her girlfriend. "I thought you-"

"I did as well but here she is." Akame whispered back. Seeing a friend from Akame's old team was one thing but their enemy? The former strongest of the Empire who had done unspeakable things to thousands of innocents? She couldn't even fathom Esdeath's existence right now.

There was something that made the Faunus blonde worried. "What about your markings? Did you feel anything when you saw her?"

Akame shook her head. "That's what strange about this. I felt no reaction at all from her."

Now Leone had to ask the big question. "You think it's because this is a different Esdeath then the one we knew? I mean Cornelia was in your old team and she doesn't you know in this world."

That seemed the most plausible in this case. Still, just because someone who was their enemy before that didn't know them now doesn't mean they forgot what they had done back in their world. They still had to be cautious around her. "Excuse me." Speak of the devil herself; they looked in front to see Esdeath looking at them back. "Leone, was it? I have a question."

The Faunus blonde was hesitant to ask what it was. "And that would be?"

Esdeath stopped as did the rest of the group. She then walked toward Leone who was on her guard. They held them back so far from killing others but the girl in front of them might change that. Esdeath observed the Faunus blonde closely. She then suddenly clapped her hands together. That action caused both to girls to react. "Can I touch your ears?"

And that question managed to stop them cold. They weren't quite sure if they heard that right. "Uh…what?"

Esdeath kept staring at Leone's lion ears and marveled at them. "Can I touch your ears? I've never known a Faunus before so I wanted to know what their animal ears felt like. So…can I touch them real quick?"

Leone didn't know how to respond to that. She just kept staring at their former enemy blankly. "S-Sure." She unconsciously replied.

Esdeath smiled at the answer and rubbed Leone's lion ears for a bit. She seemed pleased by it while Leone was just weirded out. "Aww. They're so soft and so cute too." She removed her hands from the Faunus blonde's ears. "Thank you." She turned around from her two team members. "Shall we go to our dorm now?" Esdeath started walking with Cornelia not far behind.

Akame and Leone just stood still trying to process what just happened. "So…that was something."

Akame couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Yes." She narrowed her eyes at her former enemy. "We still need to be careful around her." That was something her girlfriend could agree on as well.

**B**

They reached their dorm room and as lackluster as it was, Esdeath was actually excited about it. "So this is our dorm room? It's quite quaint. I like it so much and I love the positions of the beds."

The more she said these kinds of things, the more they couldn't believe that this person was once a cold-hearted sadist. It was like her personality was turned one eighty. Her bags were already delivered to the dorm and were placed on the bed in the furthest corner. "Let's help you get settled in okay?" Cornelia was the first walk over to the bed and unzipped it. She and Esdeath started to bring out her clothes. Akame and Leone helped (reluctantly). It was during this that Cornelia spotted something interesting. "Hey, what's this?" Esdeath gasped to what the blonde was about to grab and swiped it away from her. She kept the object of interest close to her. Everyone wondered what it was that was important to her. "What's that you have there?" Esdeath turned around to them with an embarrassed face and showed her teammates what it was. Cornelia squealed at what she saw. "Oh my god that is so cute. Is that your doll?"

The other girl nodded at the question and brought it up to her. It was rather quite old as it had a few stitches and patches on it but Esdeath loved it all the same. It was a small doll of an Ursa Major. "It is. My father made this for me when I was a little girl. I call him my Teddy Ursa and I've had him ever since."

Hearing that only made Cornelia squeal some more. "That's so adorable." She then remembered something. "Hey, you know Akame has a plushy of a Grimm lion. It's on her bed right over there." She pointed at said plushy that was lying next to Akame's pillow.

Esdeath looked over to it and loved how it looked. She walked up to the bed and put her doll in front of the plushy. "Look, you have a friend here too." She smiled at their meeting. The more Akame and Leone saw the way this Esdeath acted, the more they couldn't believe that this person was once their enemy. It was then she noticed something across and saw Akame's sword Murasame leaning against the wall. "What's that?"

Akame's eyes widened with worry. Thankfully, Cornelia was there to save her. "Oh, that? That's Akame's other sword. For some reason, she doesn't use it because it's not very good when it comes to sparring."

Leone sighed in relief for the save. Esdeath just looked at the katana for a few more seconds and turned away. "Oh, I see." Once everything was put away, Esdeath changed in the bathroom and walked out wearing the school uniform while the headband remained on. She just stood awkwardly while blushing a bit. "So, how do I look?"

Cornelia clapped her hands together and smiled at the other girl. "You look great." She turned to her two other teammates. "Don't you think so too?"

Leone just faked a cough while Akame was looking away. "Yeah, looks good on you."

Cornelia had noticed they were acting very strange ever since they've met Esdeath and continued doing so. "What's wrong with you two? You've been acting weird for a while now."

They knew they couldn't outright tell them that Esdeath was a sick sadistic bitch who lived and breathed war and bloodshed before. So they went with the next best thing. "It's just that…now that we're a team, it's going to take some getting used to." Akame lied.

Leone nodded to back her up. "Yeah. I mean it's been Akame and me for a long time so…"

The other blonde seemed to have bought it. "Oh, that's right. You two have been partners longer." That brought something else and turned to Esdeath. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. One thing you should know about them. They're…well they're together."

That took a few seconds for Esdeath to process. "Say what!? Y-You mean like…together together?" The three girls nodded at the question. That added to the list of something she didn't expect. "Oh wow. First I'm on a team with a Faunus and now I know you two are dating." She suddenly smiled. "This is such a great first day!" Well, it seemed she didn't have any problem with her leader and teammate dating so that's a bonus. "So what should we do now?"

Cornelia already had the answer to that. "Now we show you the rest of the campus. We do have the rest of the day so why not spend it showing you around?"

Esdeath nodded at the suggestion. "I would like that."

**B**

The good thing about having a free pass from classes was that there wasn't anyone around to interrupt them. Right around this time, they should've been in Glynda's sparring class. Instead, they were showing Esdeath around the campus. She seemed to have enjoyed it. While showing her around, Akame and Leone continued to observe their new teammate's behavior and so far there wasn't any trace of the old Esdeath they knew. It was still creepy for them to see her smile happily and laughing without a care in the world. It…almost seemed unnatural to them. One thing they have yet to see what was she could actually do. "So how do you like Beacon so far Esdeath?"

The other girl looked around the school and smiled. "It's…a lot bigger than the school I used to go to. It's a different experience altogether."

That was something Cornelia wondered about. "What was your old school like?"

The question made Esdeath stop and everyone one else stopped as well. They saw her head lower with her bangs covering her eyes. Esdeath quickly raised her head and smiled at her teammates. "It was…nice. Let's put it that way." That raised some flags for the two former assassins. Cornelia checked her scroll to see what time it was. "Hey, Miss Goodwitch's class is almost over. We should probably drop by and say hi to everyone else."

Esdeath had two questions when she heard that. "Who's Miss Goodwitch and what class?"

That was something else Cornelia needed to explain. "Oh yeah. Miss Goodwitch is the teacher for the sparring class. This is where you get to fight a member of another team."

Already Esdeath was interested in it. "Sparring class huh?"

Akame knew she had to ask. "Do you like fighting?"

The other girl turned to her and smiled. "I do. I used to spar all the time with my father." It appeared some things have never changed. How far it went has yet to be seen.

Cornelia started to walk ahead of the group. "Come on! Let's go say hi and it'll be a great way for you to meet them all." Esdeath couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. Meeting a few people was fine by her but a whole group. She really hoped that she wouldn't screw this up.

**B**

The team made it just in time where the students were leaving the room. Among them were eight certain people. Cornelia was the first to wave and call out to them. "Hey!"

They heard her cry and turned to see the missing members plus one more girl they haven't seen before. Ruby smiled as she ran up to them. "There you are. Where were you? You missed class."

Everyone else caught up with the young girl. "So what was up? You finally decided to ditch class?" Yang asked.

Pyrrha decided to ask the obvious question. "Who's the new girl with you? Is she your-"

"Yep. She's our newest member." Cornelia stepped aside for everyone to see her. "Everyone, allow us to introduce you to Esdeath Partas. With her, our team is now complete and our team name is Team ALCE with Akame as our leader of course."

Yang was the first to clap to congratulate them. "Hey, that's awesome you guys and I like the name too."

Esdeath couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the attention she was receiving. This was the most people had developed an interest in her. While Yang was clapping, Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Esdeath? That's a strange name you have."

Nora just laughed. "I like it! It's like she has the name of death!" She had no idea how close she was with that description.

Esdeath laughed nervously. "Yes, I know my name is a bit strange but it was one my mother picked for me." Her name was a bit of an enigma but she learned how to cope with it.

Ruby didn't care any of that. She was just happy to meet someone new. "Is it true what we heard? You only fight with your semblance?"

The question made Esdeath's eyes widened for a second but regained her composure. She nodded at the question. "Yes, that's right."

The young leader smiled brightly at her. "That's so cool. I hope can see what it is."

Esdeath gasped quietly when she saw the younger girl's smile. Something about it entranced her. _"She has such a…wonderful smile."_ She smiled back at her. "I'm sure you will. What is your name?"

Ruby had forgotten about and laughed nervously. "Oh sorry about that. I guess I should've introduced myself. My name is Ruby Rose, the leader of Team RWBY." She turned to her sister and teammate. "These are my teammates Weiss, Blake, and my older sister Yang."

Ruby Rose. The name fitted her perfectly. "That's a lovely name you have, Ruby." She waved to the rest of the team. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Yang waved back at her. "Same to you. Hope we get to see this semblance of yours. It must be pretty good for you not to use a weapon."

Esdeath nodded at the statement. For once there were those who wanted to see her power. "You'll have the chance soon enough."

While they were exchanging pleasantries, Weiss couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Moreover, the way Esdeath was looking at Ruby shortly before. "Is something the matter Weiss?"

The heiress looked over to Blake. "Nothing is the matter. Just thought I saw something that's all."

"Hey, what are we? Chopped liver?"

Everyone turned to Jaune and his team. Ruby giggled in embarrassment. "Sorry." She turned to Esdeath. "This is Team JNPR lead by Jaune. The other members are Pyrrha Nikkos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren."

Pyrrha raised up her hand. "Hello there." Ren did the same but didn't say anything.

So did Jaune but awkwardly. "H-Hi."

Nora on the other hand. "Hey there! Welcome to Beacon! Hope you enjoy the stay!"

Again Esdeath laughed nervously. "Thank you." They were very nice people to her but evidently, their opinion of her will change once they see what she can do. She hoped that they wouldn't ridicule her like the ones before. This was a new start for her and didn't want to mess things up now. Especially with Ruby.

**B**

The whole day seemed to pass quickly for the new Team ALCE. The girls were getting ready for bed with Cornelia reading off her scroll on her bed while Leone was wearing a black shirt and white underwear and Akame was sitting on their bed. The only one who wasn't in the room yet was Esdeath who was still in the bathroom. The door opened to reveal said girl wearing her pajamas. The three girls looked over to see what their new teammate was wearing. Needless to say, they were speechless. "Why is everyone staring at me?" The reason why they were staring was because Esdeath was wearing a pajama top and pants with chibi dragon patterns all over them. They didn't expect her to wear such a thing.

Cornelia laughed awkwardly. "That's…an interesting choice of pajamas."

The other girl looked at her outfit. "You think so? I do like dragons a lot and I kinda dreamed of having one."

That comment brought Leone back to that dragon slayer manga she read from before. _"I wonder how she'll react if she saw that one dragon slayer girl."_ She tried to imagine that and shook her head. _"Then again, that's one huge difference of an age gap."_

Akame sighed as she lay down on the bed. "We should get some sleep now. Tomorrow is our first day as an official team."

Leone lay down next to her. "Well, she's right on that. Who knows what's going to be in store for us." She then pulled the covers over them. That was something Esdeath would have to get used to. While they were going to sleep, they had their evaluation of this Esdeath. She was the total opposite of the woman they knew but she still loved fighting. Maybe to a lesser degree but they'll know how much tomorrow.

Cornelia walked over to the light switch and turned it off. "Good idea. Like my papa always said, expect tomorrow's surprises whether they are good or bad." She walked over to her bed and pulled the covers over her.

Esdeath was the only left and went over to her bed. She went under her covers and hugged the Teddy Ursa close to her with a smile. _"Tomorrow huh? I look forward to it."_ The last thing that went through her mind was the image of Ruby's smile.


	14. A Curse to Live With

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Fourteen: A Curse to Live With

"There's a school dance coming up?"

Team ALCE was in the cafeteria having their breakfast before their classes could start. The topic of the dance coming was something Cornelia sprang up on. "Yeah, we just learned there's going to be one soon. It's kinda short notice if you ask me since we just arrived."

Leone took a bite out of her bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. "Well…if it's a dance, I know who I'm asking out." She looked over at Akame who was eating a croissant.

That seemed fine and all but Cornelia had a question for the Faunus blonde. "So I guess that means you two know how to dance?" And that question made Leone freeze up and Akame stopped eating which would be considered virtually impossible. Their reactions were all that she needed to know. "I thought so. Haven't you two been to a dance before?" Now they just looked away as if they were trying to dodge the question. "You really haven't huh."

Leone was the first to look at the other blonde. "Let's just say we didn't have time to learn how to dance."

Akame was the next to look. "I'm the same."

Cornelia couldn't help but sigh at the predicament they were in. "So you want to go to a dance but you don't know how."

The Faunus blonde groaned. "Yeah yeah yeah, we get it. We just think it's pretty cool we get to go to something like this."

Esdeath raised her hand. "It'll be my first dance too so…"

Cornelia hung her head in despair. "Don't tell me you don't know how to dance too."

The other girl shook her head. "No, I do know how. It's just that I've never been to a dance before. I can guess you know as well?"

That question brought the blonde's head back up again. "I do. In fact, my papa that told me to take up dance lessons as a hobby." And a light bulb popped up above Cornelia's head. "That does it! Esdeath and I will show you two how to dance. It'll have to be quick since the dance is right around the corner."

The other two girls didn't know how to react to that. Sure they can pinpoint all the places where they can kill a person (Akame mostly.) but they certainly weren't expecting this. Well as Akame mentioned before, a new world meant new experiences. She certainly smiled at the opportunity. "If you say so, Cora."

Leone put her hands behind her head. "I guess. I mean how hard can dancing be anyway?"

There was one more question Esdeath had to ask about the dance. "So with a school like this, do you think we'll need to wear formal dresses?"

And again Leone froze on the spot when she heard that. She grabbed her head tightly. "Oh, crap!"

It was a problem that also worried Akame. "That's a good point. I don't think anyone has formal wear for this."

Cornelia didn't seem too worried about it. "Relax. I'm sure the school has that covered for students who can't afford the dresses so we'll rent them."

That seemed to ease Akame but Leone was still freaking out. "Come on. Dresses, really? I have a hard enough time with the freaking skirt! Now I have to wear a dress?!" She slammed her head on the table.

Akame couldn't help but chuckle at her girlfriend's predicament. It was something else seeing the Faunus blonde wearing a skirt aside from her usual outfit never had she imagined what Leone would look like wearing a dress. "I think you would look lovely in a dress Leone."

Her girlfriend turned her head to the other girl. "You really think so?"

Akame nodded. "Yes, I do. In fact, try imagining me in a dress."

Leone tried her best imagining her wearing a dress. The first thing came to her mind was the white dress but seeing her in something a bit fancier than that, it was kinda difficult. Still, she wanted to see that. "I'll look forward seeing you in another dress then."

Now that was settled, Cornelia clapped her hands together. "Great! All that's left is to teach you. I just hope it won't be impossible with the two of you."

Leone faked laughed at it. "Very funny. Let's just try to get through the day first." Esdeath couldn't help but be a bit worried. Moreover because of the sparring class. She would be openly displaying her power to all kinds of new people. She could only hope it wouldn't be like where she was from.

**B**

Esdeath was waiting outside the locker room for her other teammates to come out. Since she was the only one without a weapon, all she had to do was change into her fighting outfit. It wasn't any different then her other world's counterpart outfit except it was sleeveless and was zipped all the way to her collar. She still kept on her headband as well. She brought her hand up to her and stared at it. _"This is it. There's no turning back now."_

"What's with the serious look on your face?" Esdeath turned to see her teammates already in their battle outfits along with their weapons. Cornelia smiled at her. "It's only a sparring class so lighten up a bit."

The other girl smiled at the blonde's optimism. She then noticed the weapons they were carrying. "I don't believe I've ever seen your weapons before."

Cornelia smiled as she took out one of her axes. "Pretty cool huh? Mine is called Heavy Knight. Leone's is Lionel, and Akame's is…Yatsu…"

"Yatsufusa." Akame finished.

The blonde snapped her fingers. "Yeah, that's it. Since you don't fight with a weapon at all, I guess we'll just see what you can do with your semblance." Esdeath looked away from her team which made them curious. "What's wrong?"

Esdeath just smiled sadly. "It's nothing. I'm just hoping things will go right this time." Now they wondered what she meant by that. She noticed the look on their faces and waved her hands in front. "D-Don't worry about it okay? No need to concern yourselves." Esdeath turned away from them. "So…should we get going now?" She started to walk away from them. The other members didn't feel all that reassured by her words. In fact, it only made them that much curious as to why she was acting this way when it came to her power. Akame and Leone already knew what power she has but the thing is that the Esdeath they knew was proud of her power and didn't hesitate to show off all the while brutally killing her opponent. So the question on their minds now was: why was this Esdeath so concerned about hers? That was a question that would be answered soon enough.

**B**

The sound of weapons clashing each other could be heard in the arena. It was Cornelia's turn to fight but her opponent proved to be a bit more difficult than she thought. Maybe because she wasn't used to her fighting style. "Come on Weiss! You can do it!" Ruby was cheering on her partner.

"Come on Cora! Kick her ass!" And that was Leone's way of cheering. This time it was team RWBY's turn to pick their opponents. Weiss, of course, decided to challenge Cornelia as a way of avenging her team's losses against Leone and Akame. Since they had a full team now, it was time to even out the score.

So far the match was pretty even despite Cornelia's display against Akame when they first met. She swung one of her axes at the heiress but it was blocked off by one of her glyphs. The blonde tried using her semblance to break the glyphs but it seemed to have no effect on them. That was all Weiss needed and smiled. "Looks like your semblance doesn't work on my glyphs."

Cornelia gritted her teeth. "How about I add more force to it!" She swung both axes at the glyph but seemed it didn't change much.

Weiss used this opportunity to jump over the glyph and had it shatter to disrupt Cornelia's flow of attacks. Another glyph, yellow this time appeared and went straight down to the blonde. Cornelia saw the attack coming and blocked the attack in time but was it much stronger than what she was expecting. This was exactly what the heiress needed. She began to thrust Myrtenaster repeatedly at Cornelia and the blonde tried to parry them all with her two axes. Weiss turned her body around and attacked from below while Cornelia blocked it successfully but the chamber inside rotated and ice started to come out of the rapier along with another yellow glyph appearing underneath and sent the blonde into the air while leaving a trail of ice behind the attack. The blonde flipped through the air few times before coming to a stop. Another glyph appeared underneath Weiss and it launched her into the air as well. However as she went into one direction, she would create another glyph to change course. This happened repeatedly as it looked as she was zigzagging over to where Cornelia was. The heiress came up from behind the blonde and struck her in the back. Cornelia was sent back down onto the ground. Her aura bar dropped significantly to the yellow.

Weiss landed back on the floor and Glynda raised her hand. "That's the match. The winner is Weiss Schnee of team RWBY."

Cornelia groaned as she stood up. She really wasn't used to Weiss' style of combat. The heiress walked up to her. "Good fight."

The blonde turned to her and smiled. "Yeah, it was. Although, those weird sigils of yours are annoying."

The other girl sighed. "They're called glyphs." They went back to their respective teams.

Ruby couldn't help but hug Weiss for her win. "That was so great Weiss!"

The heiress couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed while blushing at the same time. "Well…it was still a difficult match." She felt the hug go on a bit longer. "Can you let go of me now?!"

Her leader did just that but continued to smile at her. "Sorry but it's still great that you won."

Yang laughed in agreement. "Yeah. We just need one more to even out the score."

Meanwhile, Cornelia just sighed. "Sorry, I lost that one. I don't fight against others using rapiers that often."

Akame put her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "It's alright. Just take it as a learning experience."

That was good comfort to Cornelia. She looked past her leader to see Esdeath looking at something. She turned where her teammate was looking at and it was Weiss and Ruby. "Is something the matter Esdeath?"

It may seem like Esdeath was staring at Ruby but it was actually Weiss. Not because she was jealous that Ruby was close to her but what she did before with her weapon. "The girl in white, how did she use the ice from before?"

Leone looked over as well. "She has some weird rotating chamber in her weapon that uses dust. Nothing too special."

Esdeath lowered her head when she heard that. _"So it's not the same."_

Everyone heard Goodwitch clear her throat and turned to her. "We shall move on to the next match. Which member of team RWBY shall be the next to fight and who will you chose?"

Ruby instantly raised her hand. "Me! I want to be next and I want to fight Esdeath!"

Akame and Leone gasped quietly when they heard that and turned to their newest teammate. She stood up. "I accept." Already they had a bad feeling about this.

Both girls walked down to the arena all the while Esdeath heard the comments. "She's seriously fighting without a weapon?"

"Is that even allowed?"

Cinder, which was overlooking the fight for kicks, couldn't wait to see what this match had in store. _"Let's see what the little girl can do against this opponent. I'm also interested in what this new girl can do. She must be something else if she's allowed to fight without a weapon."_ She licked her lips.

Esdeath and Ruby stood across from each other and their images appeared with their aura gauges below them. The young leader took out Crescent Rose and transformed it into its scythe form. Esdeath was amazed by what she saw. "That's quite the impressive weapon. I didn't expect you to wield such a thing."

Ruby smiled at her. "You like it? I call her Crescent Rose and she's my pride and joy. So what are you going to use?"

Esdeath presented her hands to the younger girl. "These should be enough. I can't wait for what you can do with that scythe of yours."

Glynda observed the new student closely and couldn't help but feel something was off. _"Ozpin must have something planned for her. She's the only one who is allowed to fight without a weapon."_ She would have her answer soon enough when the match starts. She raised her hand. "Now, Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY vs Esdeath Partas of team ALCE. Let the match…" Glynda brought down her hand. "Begin!"

Ruby didn't waste any time jumping into the air with Crescent Rose ready. Esdeath just stood still but there was a slight change in her eyes. The young leader swung her scythe to the side but in a sudden upset, Esdeath caught the blade with her left hand with moving. Everyone was astonished by the action and wondered how someone could stop a weapon like that. Ruby had the closer look and saw how it happened. The sight before her was a bit strange as there was ice not only covering the palm of her opponent's hand and also on the blade as well. She had never seen such a thing before. In this position, she left herself open for Esdeath's next attack. Several icicles formed above her and were pointed right at her. Weiss stood up. "Ruby look out!"

**"** **Weiss Schenbal!"** The icicles dropped down right at the young leader. Ruby grabbed the handle of her weapon and fired off a round to separate from Esdeath and her attack missed.

She landed on the floor and wondered just happened. _"Where did those icicles come from?"_

Esdeath raised her hand and a large sphere of ice formed above her. **"** **Hagel Sprung!"** She threw her attack at the young leader.

Ruby's only course of action was to run toward the attack and slid under it to avoid the attack. The attack missed and crashed behind the young leader. Ruby immediately stood up and used her semblance to move around to confuse her opponent. Esdeath's response was to slam her hand onto the floor and in an instant, ice covered the entirety of the floor. Ruby slipped on the ice and fell down. She groaned a bit in pain. "Okay, that hurt."

Her team was trying to make sense of what they were seeing. "What the hell is going on? How is she doing that?" Yang wondered.

Weiss tried to make sense of it as well. "A semblance…of ice and of that caliber?" She had never seen anything like this before.

Blake saw the danger her leader was in now. "And she froze the floor. She already took away Ruby's greatest strength."

While they were surprised by this, Akame and Leone were not. Akame narrowed her eyes at her new team member. _"So her power is the same. Ruby, you never even had a chance against her."_

Cinder, on the other hand, was quite impressed by this display. "How interesting."

Ruby stood up while trying to get used to standing on top of the ice. "Aw man. This sucks."

Esdeath slammed her hand on the icy floor again. **"Grau Horn!"** A giant horn of ice suddenly sprang out of the floor and was headed right at Ruby. She dodged to the side and the attack struck Esdeath's previous attack but stumbled a bit when she moved. Esdeath placed another hand onto the floor and wind circled around her. **"Kaltes Tal!"** Two strong streams of ice suddenly came out from in front both of her hands and were aimed right at the young leader. The attacks came too quickly for her dodge and struck her. Ruby's aura gauge went down to a quarter of what it was before.

When the attack was over, Ruby was shivering a bit from it with pieces of ice sticking to her as one of her eyes was closed. _"That's really cold."_ She continued to look at Esdeath for a bit and was starting to get the picture of how strong her opponent was. _"So this is what she can do."_

Esdeath stood up as she crossed her arms in front and two ice swords formed in each of her hands. Yang was now worried for her sister. "Oh come on! She can create ice swords?"

The older girl quickly ran over to where Ruby was without missing a step while running on the ice. She swung down the first ice sword at the younger girl but Ruby swung Crescent Rose to deflect the attack. In turn, Esdeath attacked with her other sword but the young leader spun her scythe around and deflected the next attack. After that, it was a continued flurry of exchanged attacks both attacking and defending from both girls. However, Esdeath was quickly gaining the upper hand as her attacks were faster than Ruby could keep up. Add to the fact she was trying her best not slip on the ice while doing so. To break out of this, she swung Crescent Rose from the side and Esdeath jumped back to avoid the attack. Ruby used this chance to jump and swing her scythe downward at her opponent. Esdeath deflected the attack as Ruby landed on the ice not slipping up and turned around to attack again. The older girl deflected the next attack back but Ruby used the momentum from it to turn around again while spinning her scythe once again and swung it down upon her opponent. Esdeath brought up her swords to block the attack and they were at a stalemate. During this whole thing, Ruby had one question running through her head. _"I attacked those ice swords multiple times and yet they haven't broken at all. What's the deal?"_

That was a question on everyone's mind. Weiss was trying to figure that out well. _"A weapon like Crescent Rose should easily break through the ice and they haven't. Just what kind of semblance does this girl have?"_

While they were stuck figuring that out, Akame and Leone already knew the answer. In fact, they felt it. "You feel it, don't you Leone?"

The Faunus blonde nodded at the question. "Yeah. It's insane."

Cornelia didn't understand what they were saying. "Uh, would you care to explain?"

Akame observed the ice closely. "The ice Esdeath created is not normal. It has traces of her aura running through it. The ice is almost like it's an extension of her. It's similar to what you do using your power through your weapons Cora."

That was something blonde could understand. "So, what you're saying is that her aura is strengthening the ice she uses?"

"That's about it. That would explain how she was able to catch Ruby's first attack." Leone added.

Cornelia looked back to the fight not believing what she had just heard. _"Using aura through your semblance. That's unheard of."_

While the two girls continued their stalemate, Ruby lifted Crescent Rose from the contact of Esdeath's ice swords which came up due to the lack of force holding them down. The young leader flipped her control of the scythe again and swung to the side once again but this time the attack struck the older girl to the shoulder with the blunt side of Crescent Rose. The attack managed to make Esdeath slid along the ice away from the younger girl and her aura gauge dropped. The two former assassins had the same thought when they saw that. _"_ _She actually hit her."_

While it may have been impressive, Ruby was slightly out of breath. The cold around the arena was getting to her and didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. _"_ _I have to finish this quickly."_ Before she could make her next move, Ruby saw Esdeath lower her swords and brought up back on to her. She couldn't understand what the older girl was trying to do. _"_ _What's she planning?"_ That was an answer the young leader didn't want to find out. Esdeath was wide open and she needed to take the chance. Ruby leaped up into the air using her semblance to quickly reach over to where her opponent was.

Ice began to circle around the sword and Esdeath had timed the attack just right. As soon as the younger girl came close swinging Crescent Rose down on her, she swung her sword directly hitting the other weapon. That's when the ice grew in volume exponentially. **"Gefrorene Misery!"** A powerful blast of ice came out of the sword and not only overcame Ruby's attack but enveloped her as well and sent her hurtling over to the wall across. The blast hit the wall and ice scattered all around with Ruby on the wall as well before falling onto the floor. Her aura gauge dropped to the red.

Glynda had seen enough and raised her hand. "The match is over. The winner is Esdeath Partas and with that, class is over."

Soon as that was said, Yang and the other members instantly rushed over to their leader. "Ruby!" Yang was the first to arrive and picked up her sister. "She feels so cold. Ruby, wake up please."

While they were preoccupied with the younger leader, Esdeath sighed as she looked over to the crowd. Sure enough, their expressions told her what she needed to know. They were baffled and wondered how she could do the things she did. At least it was a step up from what she had originally thought they were going to think but somehow it didn't make her feel any better. She looked over to Ruby who still seemed to be knocked out. Even against someone like her, it was like Esdeath didn't know the meaning of holding back. She started to walk back to her team.

As she did, Ruby began to stir and slowly open her eyes. Her sister was beyond relieved seeing that. "Ruby, you're okay. How are you feeling?"

She was still trying to process that. "A little cold. Can I have some hot chocolate?"

That was all Weiss needed to know. "She's fine." She looked over to Esdeath who just joined her team. _"Just what kind of power does she have exactly?"_

When Esdeath joined back up with her group, Cornelia smiled at her win. "Hey, good job there. It was really cool seeing your semblance in action. I never knew you could do stuff like that." Esdeath wanted to smile at that but couldn't. This kind of behavior worried the blonde a little. "What's wrong?"

The other girl brought up her hands and stared at them. "I did it again." The other members had no idea what she meant by that.

"Your team is quite something I'll give you that." Everyone looked up to see Cinder and her two lackeys (That's what Leone calls them anyway.) behind her. The woman smiled at the team. "You have quite the selection of members. Skilled and with rare semblances." Akame just glared at the other woman but Cinder didn't seem to mind it. "I failed to say this last time but, I do love the color of your eyes. They're such an attractive red." Akame tightened her hands and felt the marks on her body beginning to burn.

That comment made Leone grit her teeth. "Why don't you take a hike already!?" Cinder just smiled as she turned away with her two cohorts smiling at them as well before they followed her. It was one thing to have a bad feeling about her but hitting on her girlfriend? That was a line no one should be able to cross. "Damn that freaking woman pisses me off.

"Is she bothering you again?" The team looked back to see Ruby being carried by the shoulder of her sister.

Cornelia shook her head at Blake's question. "Not really although she does kinda creep me out."

"Who was she anyway?" Esdeath asked.

Ruby thought she should answer that. "Her name is Cinder but that's all I know of her."

Akame took a closer look at the young leader. "How are you feeling?"

The younger girl giggled a bit as she smiled. "Just a bit cold but nothing a heater and something warm to eat wouldn't fix." Esdeath couldn't help but smile as well. She really did like the way Ruby smiled.

Yang just laughed. "Well, I got to say this. Weiss, I think your title of Ice Queen has been officially taken." Esdeath's expression quickly changed when she heard that.

Weiss just sighed at that. "How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me that!"

The blonde just continued to laugh. "Aw come on. If you think about it, Esdeath here is more an Ice Queen then yo-"

She was suddenly grabbed by the collar which made her drop Ruby and was lifted up near Esdeath who was giving her and murderous look. "Don't you ever, EVER say that wretched title to me!" Everyone was silent when they saw the sudden change in attitude. If Yang had to be honest, she was a bit scared. Never before had she seen a look like the one Esdeath had in her eyes before.

"Please put her down." Esdeath snapped out of her rage when she heard Ruby's voice and looked down to her. The younger girl was no longer smiling and looked very worried.

She just gritted her teeth and set the blonde down much to her relief but then Esdeath took a step back. "I'm sorry." She suddenly just ran away from the group.

Ruby instantly stood up back up. "Esdeath wait!" She decided to run after her.

Everybody had no idea what just happened. Weiss just crossed her arms. "Well, it seems Ruby is already feeling better. Still, I know Ice Queen isn't my most favorite title but that reaction was a bit much."

Blake tilted her head in confusion. "What do you think that was all about?"

Yang just stared at the exit. "Beats me but I'll tell you this. Suddenly, I really don't want to make that chick mad."

Akame had to agree with that. "That's probably for the best."

**B**

"Damn it!" Esdeath punched the wall out of frustration due to what happened earlier. She pressed her head against the wall thinking about what just happened. _"I did again. When will this ridicule ever stop?"_

"Esdeath?"

The older girl gasped when she heard that familiar voice and turned to see the last person she'd expect. "Ruby?"

The young leader took a few steps to her. "Are you okay? Why did you get mad at Yang like that?"

Esdeath just took a step back. "Stay away!" Ruby stopped walked walking wondering why the other girl would say that. Esdeath just looked away from her.

Now Ruby was worried. "Why?"

The older girl just closed her eyes. "Because I'm a monster, that's why." She opened her eyes and looked back at the younger leader. "This power that I have, for as long as I can remember ever since I was small, people avoided me. It made me different from the others. They would call me names behind my back such as Ice Queen and I hated it. Sometimes I've wondered why I was even born with this curse." She sighed sadly and looked away from the other girl again. "My father once told me, I'll find those that'll accept me. I still hold those words true and I still wait the day I can find those people."

"You already have." Esdeath gasped quietly when she heard that and looked over at Ruby who was walking over to her. "I don't really think you're a monster. People just really haven't gotten to know the real you. You're on a team who'll understand you if you gave them a chance." She stopped in front of the older girl. "You're surrounded by people who'll accept you. Not for the monster, you think you are but the girl who really wants friends." Ruby took Esdeath's hand which made her heart beat a little faster than normal. "I for one would like to be your friend. I think you're pretty cool. Ah, no pun intended. That's my sister's thing." The young leader gave Esdeath a loving smile.

Esdeath really didn't know what was happening to her. A strange new feeling was starting to swell up inside her and couldn't explain it. All the older girl knew was, she like this feeling a lot. "Ruby…"

The younger girl let go of Esdeath's hand who felt a bit saddened by that. "How about we head back now?" She turned back around and started to walk away from the other girl.

"Ruby wait!" The young leader stopped and turned around to see Esdeath with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. She slightly averted her eyes to Ruby. "C-Can I ask you something?" Ruby tilted her in confusion as to what Esdeath wanted to ask.

**B**

Weiss and the others were back at their dorm room waiting for their leader to return while Akame and her team stayed behind for their missing teammate to return. Yang brewed a cup of hot chocolate for her little sister to warm her up after her fight was waiting patiently. The knob on the door turned and the door opened to reveal Ruby walking in. The blonde was glad to see her. "Hey, there sis. How did it go with Esdeath?"

Her younger sister closed the door and smiled. "She's fine and she's back with her team." Yang walked up to her and handed the cup of hot chocolate to the younger leader. Ruby happily accepted it. "Thanks, Yang." She blew on the cup a few times.

Blake was lying on her bed reading a book as usual. "Yang here thought she should apologize to Esdeath about the whole Ice Queen bit."

Yang laughed nervously at her girlfriend's words. "Yeah, I didn't mean to insult her in any way."

Ruby let out a refresh gasp after taking a sip. "I think she'll be okay from here on out. That reminds me, I have something to announce."

Already Weiss couldn't help but have a bad feeling about what she was about to ask. "And what would that be?" The other girls wondered the same thing.

Ruby was blushing a bit while scratching the side of her cheek with her finger. "Esdeath…asked me out to the dance and I said yes."


	15. Dance the Night Away

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Fifteen: Dance the Night Away

Team RWBY was in the main hall decorating it for the school dance. Of course, they had enlisted some help to pick up the work. To Weiss' dismay, it was team ALCE. As she was setting the doilies on the table. However, they were placed a bit haphazardly. "Weiss?"

The heiress heard Ruby from behind and turned to her. The young leader pointed at the other girl's placement. "You're uh…are you sure those are necessary?" That wasn't what she wanted to say. Ever since she announced that Ruby was asked out, Weiss was acting a bit differently. She could see the change in attitude in her partner. What happened to the team a few days certainly didn't help either.

Weiss looked back at the doilies and scoffed. "Of course they are. They're a staple of any party no matter what it is."

They both felt the tension between them. Ruby decided to break it. "Weiss, are you still upset at me that I was asked out?"

The heiress was silent for a few seconds. "Whoever asks you out to the dance is none of my business. I'm perfectly fine." Ruby wanted to continue but left it at that. Still, she wanted to know what was bothering her so much, which the young leader knew was connected to Esdeath asking her out.

Things weren't any better over Yang's case. Her mind was continually preoccupied to her girlfriend who wasn't around. The only time they were able to spend time with each other was either in class or in their dorm room which the Faunus girl would just go to sleep. She sighed as the blonde knew that the event from a few days ago still bothered her. Leone could see it clearly. "Hey, Yang?" The other blonde turned to her supposed daughter looking a bit worried. "Are you feeling okay? Your team's been acting a bit out of it for the last couple of days. Is something the matter between you and Blake? Or should I just call her dad?"

That was a chuckled Yang needed and smiled at the Faunus blonde. "Only if you call me mom and…we're just going through a rough time that's all. It'll get better." She really hoped it would get better.

Leone would just have to believe that. "If you say so. Remember, it doesn't hurt to confront her. Try talking it out."

Yang nodded at the advice. "Sure. How's the dance practice going for you and Akame?"

The Faunus blonde looked over to her girlfriend who was helping Esdeath and Cornelia put up the banners on the second floor then back to her mother. "It's been a pain, I'll tell you that but we're getting good at it. I think we'll be good by the time the dance rolls around." That was good to know for the brawler. When she first heard that Leone and Akame didn't know how to dance, she was laughing hysterically.

Leone turned away from her mother. "Well, I'd better get going helping out the others. Can't keep a dance waiting you know?" The Faunus blonde walked away from Yang. The brawler waved goodbye and resumed her duties to finish up the hall for the dance. She would have a talk with Blake soon.

**B**

After the hall was fully decorated, team ALCE used the time remaining before the dance could start to practice. Cornelia was clapping her hands in a rhythm. "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four…"

Akame and Leone were following the rhythm as they danced to it. The two girls held their bodies close to each other with Leone wrapping her arm around Akame's waist and Akame wrapping her arm around Leone's neck while their other hands held each other. They were dancing very well considering they were awful when they first started. Akame would sometimes step on Leone's feet a few times while Leone would go off tempo and trip on top of her girlfriend. Those were a rough few days for them but they were becoming much better. "And stop!" Both girls stopped exactly at the command and stood still. Their faces were close to each other and gazed at each other with loving eyes. They suddenly heard a whistle and turned to see Cornelia tapping her foot. "Alright, save the looks for after the dance is over and remember what I told you about the sock handle thing."

The Faunus blonde just laughed as she separated from her girlfriend. "Right. So, how did we do?"

Her teammate was rating their performance and smiled. "Very good. I'd say you two are ready for the upcoming dance."

Leone cheered as she raised her arm into the air while Akame smiled. "That's what I'm talking about! This dancing stuff isn't so hard after all."

The other blonde chuckled at that. "Tell that to your first few days trying." Her teammate chuckled awkwardly at that. "In any case, we seem to be ready for the dance. We already know Akame and Leone are going together and Esdeath is going with…"

The other girl smiled gently at that. "Ruby. Although, I can't help but feel a bit nervous about it." She giggled nervously at the thought. When she first told her team, Cornelia was ecstatic about it but the other two girls had different thoughts. It seemed history was to repeat itself except instead of Tatsumi, it was Ruby. Unlike before, at least this Esdeath wasn't as batshit crazy about the target of her affections. They didn't know how to feel about this. Another thing that they learned was Esdeath's "curse" as she calls her semblance. Again it was the total opposite since the Esdeath they knew was proud of her powers, but this one seemed to resent it as it made her isolated from other people. Of course, Cornelia was the first to comfort her. Again Akame and Leone were reluctant since their teammate was their former enemy. However, over the course of the few days, they were getting more used to her. Still, it wasn't easy trying to live with someone who was a sadistic mass murderer in the same room.

Speaking of the dance, Akame had a question for her former teammate. "What about you Cora? Who are you going to the dance?"

Cornelia just smiled as she turned around from her team. "No one. I'm going by myself."

That answer surprised her teammates. "Seriously? If you don't mind me saying this but, you're a pretty girl and you haven't been asked out yet?" Leone wondered.

The other blonde turned around to face her team member. "It's not that. I've been asked out plenty of times but I turned them all down. I would rather go the dance by myself with friends. Like my papa always said, as long as you're with friends, you can have fun anywhere they are."

That seemed to be Cora's way of thinking. They moved on to the next topic of the conversation. "So, do you really think Jaune is going to wear a dress if he doesn't get a date soon?" Leone asked.

Cornelia giggled at that. "That would be funny and it would seem that's going to happen since he's failed at every attempt to asking out Weiss."

Akame closed her eyes and smiled. "Whatever the result, I'm sure this dance will be fun no matter what."

The blonde smiled at that. "Akame's right. The reason for this dance is to have fun."

Esdeath giggled as she put her hands together. "I can't wait for it."

Now that all of that was said, there was one more thing to do. "Right. All we need now are the dresses and we'll be set!"

And Leone dreaded Cornelia's words. "Dresses huh? Yay…" She cheered in a deadpan tone. The Faunus blonde was going to hate it.

**B**

The evening quickly came to Beacon and team ALCE was in one of the changing rooms. Luckily the school did have dresses for rent that the girls could use. Cornelia was the first to exit out wearing her dress. It was a semi-formal bright yellow dress that showed her elegance and was wearing black heels. The blonde giggled as she twirled around and looked at the other booths. "Come on! I want to see what the three of you look like."

There was silence for a few seconds. "No way in hell I'm going out like this!"

Cornelia giggled at Leone's words. "Oh come on now. What's not to like what you're wearing?"

"I'll tell you what I don't like!" The curtain was pushed to the side and out came Leone looking less than pleased. She was wearing a semi-formal dress as well, that was tan with a black ribbon tied around her waist and a pair of heels. "Me wearing this! The skirt was bad enough but this along with the heels?! There's where I draw the line!"

"I think you look lovely Leone." The curtain was pushed away from Akame's dressing room to reveal her dance dress. It was black with a red ribbon tied around the waist along with a set of heels as well. All Leone could do was stare at her girlfriend. The dress she wore before made Akame prettier than usual but the dress she was wearing now made her all the more beautiful. Akame liked the way the Faunus blonde was looking at her. "You're staring Leone and you look wonderful in that outfit. It looks good on you."

Leone was blushing a bit by that comment and looked away. "Well, if you like it then I guess I really can't complain about it huh?"

All that was left was one member. They all looked toward Esdeath's changing room. "Come on out Esdeath. You're the last one remaining." Cornelia spoke out.

The last member of their group peeked out from behind the curtain. "O-Okay. It's a little embarrassing, though. I've…never wore something like this before."

Cornelia thought it was cute how nervous her teammate was. "Come on now. Let's see it."

Esdeath nodded from behind the curtain. She closed it and opened it fully to reveal what she was wearing. The other three team members were speechless at what they saw. She was wearing a bright sky blue and white dress but with a furry black collar which extended to the shoulders. The dress really showed off her beauty. She was blushing a bit from everyone staring at her. "So…how does it look?"

The human blonde smiled at what she was seeing. "If you ask me, I'd say I'm jealous Ruby has someone like you as a date."

Her teammate seemed to smile at that. "You think so? What about you Akame? Leone?"

The other two girls just stared in silence until Leone spoke up. "Looks…pretty good on you."

Akame nodded in agreement. "Yes. What Leone said."

Hearing that made Esdeath feel a little better. "Thank you. I was a bit worried how I'd look wearing this. So, shall we go? I'm sure people are gathering in the main hall." The other three girls nodded and they were on their way.

**B**

It was now night time and team ALCE made their way to the main hall where they saw various other people in pairs. At the front of the entrance were two certain sisters. Leone was the first to greet them. "Hey, Yang!"

The other blonde saw the team walking up to them and smiled. "Hey! I like all of your dresses. Looking snazzy."

Leone smiled back at her mother. "Hey, thanks. You're looking pretty good too. So is dad in there?"

Yang nodded at the question. "Yeah, she's with Sun for the moment but I called dibs on being her first dance. Oh, and she's feeling a lot better now."

The Faunus blonde smiled at that. "That's good to know."

Ruby admired the dress her date was currently wearing. "You look…really good Esdeath."

The older girl looked over to her and smiled. "Thank you and you look great as well. I'm sorry it took a bit for us to arrive."

The young leader shook her head. "It's alright but if you ask me, I'm not a fan of the heels."

"Thank you! Something we have in common!" Leone spoke out.

Despite the complaint, Esdeath approached Ruby and offered up her hand. The younger girl smiled as she gladly took it and they entered the main hall together. Yang couldn't help but love the sight of her little sister finally having a date. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, though. "You know, she's pretty good to my little sister. I'm glad she asked her out. Me on the other hand…" The blonde sighed at the fact that she didn't have a date at all.

Cornelia couldn't help but laugh in agreement. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't have a date either. Is the rest of your team in there too?"

Yang nodded at the question. "Yeah, Weiss is in there but the weird thing is that she doesn't have a date either. Pyrrha too for that matter."

That was surprising to hear for the other girls. "Wow, seriously? An heiress to a company and a celebrity for some cereal don't have dates?" Leone was sure they were to be asked out in a heartbeat.

The other blonde crossed her arms under her breasts. "Yeah, I know. Still, it's a party so we're all here to enjoy. Once the rest of the people are in, I'm dancing with the girl of my dreams."

Akame smiled at that. "I hope it'll be enjoyable for the both of you."

Yang laughed happily at that. "It will. Now get in there and have fun. Don't forget to enjoy the food and drink too."

The other girls nodded at that and gladly entered the main hall. As they did, Leone and Akame were astounded by how the main hall looked. It was completely different than how they set it up from earlier today. However, that wasn't important to Akame. All she was interested right now was the buffet table. "Let's try out some of the food."

Her girlfriend chuckled at that. "Alright then."

Cornelia, on the other hand, had a different plan. "You two go on ahead. I'll just head over where all the other dateless people are."

Akame smiled at that. "Alright then Cora. Take care." The blonde waved goodbye to her teammates and left them. With her gone now, the two lovers made their way over to the buffet table. Akame really couldn't wait to know how the food tasted.

Cornelia made her way to where those who didn't have dates that were sitting on the chairs to the side just talking to each other. One girl caught her eye and made her way over to her. She approached a certain heiress and waved at her. "Hi there, Weiss."

The heiress looked up to the blonde girl and was surprised to see her. "Cornelia? What are you doing here?"

The blonde smiled and sat next to her. "Here to enjoy myself with my team that's what. What about you? I heard from Yang that you don't have a date, surprising as that is."

Weiss sighed at that. "Well, I tried asking Neptune out but he turned me down for some reason."

Cornelia thought it was strange for someone like Neptune to say no to somebody like Weiss. She had a feeling there was something more to it than that. The blonde then noticed that the heiress was looking off somewhere and looked to the same direction only to see Ruby laughing along with Esdeath who seemed to be enjoying themselves. She knew pretty well what was going through Weiss' mind. "Is there something bothering you about Ruby being asked out by Esdeath?"

The heiress sighed at the question as it was one she'd hope to avoid. "It's not bothering me one bit. It's just that, Esdeath just recently transferred here and already she asked out Ruby. She doesn't even know her that well."

Already the blonde could see right through the heiress and giggled. "Sounds like to me that you're jealous."

And that comment made Weiss blush and turned to her. "W-What makes you think I'm jealous? I am not jealous. Not at all."

Cornelia wasn't buying it. "If you're not jealous, you wouldn't be making a big deal out of it in the first place. Like my papa always said, jealousy is another form of envy."

That was something Weiss wanted to bring up. "There you go mentioning your father again. You do talk a lot about him."

The blonde giggled awkwardly at that. "I guess I do huh but I can't help it. He's a great father and…I'm grateful to him."

Weiss was curious about that. "Why is that?"

Cornelia smiled sadly as she lowered her head. "Well, the truth is that he's my adoptive father. He rescued me when I was little from a fire that my real parents died in. I was scared that I didn't know what to do now since I lost my family. He decided to take me in as his adoptive daughter and for that, he gave me a new lease on life. That's why I'm grateful to him."

The heiress was actually a bit touched hearing this story. "Is your father by any chance a hunter?"

The other girl nodded at the question. "He is. In fact, he was on his way back from a job when the fire happened. What about your father? What's he like?"

That was a very sensitive subject to Weiss and turned away. "That's something I wish not to talk about."

Cornelia gave the other girl a soft look. "I see. I can't imagine coming from a family like yours must be like. I won't push the subject anymore. So let's talk about why you're hesitant about Ruby."

That was another subject Weiss didn't want to talk about. "Do we really have to speak of this again?"

Cornelia wasn't going to let this subject slide. "Of course. Like I said before, your jealousy could be another way of how envious you are of Esdeath asking out Ruby."

Weiss just scoffed at the words. "I am not envious."

The blonde sighed as she couldn't believe how stubborn this girl is with her feelings. "If you say so but I'll tell you this and this is a quote from me. If you wait too long for your chance, someone else will take it from you." She stood up from her chair. "It was nice talking to you. I think I'll go somewhere else now. Take care." Cornelia began to walk away from the other girl. She may have left but her words stuck to Weiss' mind. _"If you wait too long for your chance, someone else will take it from you."_

The heiress closed her hands tightly as she gritted her teeth. _"Why am I so hesitant when it comes to Ruby?"_

Meanwhile, Akame was enjoying the food at the buffet table as she sampled each one. "This is quite good."

Leone was taking a drink out of the punch bowl. "With you eating like that, I wouldn't be surprised if you got your appetite back. Then again if it did, you would inhale the entire table in seconds flat."

Her girlfriend laughed at that. "I supposed that would be true." She then noticed something. "Leone, look." Akame pointed at a direction and Leone looked over to it.

The Faunus blonde smiled as she saw Yang approaching Blake and Sun. Her human blonde counterpart then took Blake away and made their way to the dance floor. Leone couldn't help but laugh. "I guess it's about time they have that dance. I'm happy for them." They continued watching the two girls enjoying their dance.

The party was well underway and everyone was having fun. Esdeath certainly was with Ruby. She was learning so much about her. "I see. So you've been accepted to this school two whole years earlier. I can certainly believe it with your skill during our fight."

Ruby giggled at the fact. "Yeah. You wouldn't believe how happy my sister was when she found out I was enrolling into Beacon."

Esdeath lowered her head when she heard that. "Your sister huh?" She then thought of up something about the two sisters. "How are you two related? You say that you're sisters but you two don't look alike." This time Ruby lowered her head while giving a sad smile. The older girl immediately regretted her question. "I'm sorry. If I said something that-"

"It's alright." The young leader looked directly at Esdeath. "The truth is Yang is my half-sister. We have the same dad but different moms. I don't know much about her but from what I know; she left my sister and dad for some unknown reason. Dad was heartbroken when that happened until my mom came into his life."

The older girl was a little interested in this. "And…what happened to your mother?" Her answer was Ruby's silence. That alone told Esdeath enough. "I see. Again, I'm sorry I brought something up that was sensitive."

Ruby shook her head. "It's okay. Yang took pretty much care of me when we were little. She's part of the reason why I want to become a huntress. What about you? What about your family?"

This time, Esdeath smiled sadly. "I've never known my mother that well to be honest. She passed at birth so my father was all I had. He tried his best to raise me as he could."

The young giggled at that. "I'd say he did a pretty good job considering how you came out."

Esdeath nodded in agreement. "Indeed. He's part of the reason why I've made it this far." Ruby was glad that her friend had such a loving, supportive father just like her own. This moment could've been better if it weren't for the fact that the heels she was wearing weren't bothering her.

The older girl noticed it as well. "Is everything alright?"

Ruby shuffled a bit more and groaned. "It's these stupid heels. I hate wearing them."

Esdeath thought up of a suggestion. "If you don't like wearing them that much, maybe you should go change out of them."

The younger sighed but liked the idea. "I was thinking of the same thing. That would be better. Wait for me while I change out of these stupid heels."

The other girl nodded and smiled. "Of course." With that said, Ruby began to walk towards the exit of the main hall. While she was gone, Esdeath placed her hand on her chest and felt that same wonderful feeling inside of it. _"I don't know why, but being with Ruby fills me with such…happiness."_

In another part of the dance, Yang was making her way to her supposed daughter and her girlfriend. "Hey, there you two. How are you enjoying the party?"

The two girls turned to her and smiled. "Going great so far. How did you like dancing with dad?"

Yang laughed at Leone's question. "It was great. Still sucks Sun asked her out first but in the end, she's still my kitty."

Akame noticed something else going on in the dance. "It seems Weiss is with Neptune now."

The human blonde was surprised to hear that. "Seriously? I was wondering when that was going to happen." Suddenly the group of girls heard laughter going on and decided to check it out. When they did see what the laughter was all about, they had different reactions. "Is that Jaune?"

"What the hell?!"

"Why is he wearing a dress?"

Jaune couldn't help but feel embarrassed by this but he was a man of his word. Pyrrha suddenly approached him and wondered if he was out of his mind. "Jaune?! Why are you wearing that?"

Her partner breathed in deeply. "I'm holding my end of the deal. You don't have a date so I'm wearing this."

Pyrrha thought he was just joking but here he was wearing a dress. "You didn't have to do this you know."

Jaune didn't care. "But I did. You know, I still can't believe no one asked you out not knowing what a great person you are." There was a bit of irony in his words.

Still, Pyrrha smiled at his words. His methods may seem unorthodox but he does mean well. She might as well enjoy this moment. "In that case, would you care to dance with me?"

Now that was something Jaune didn't expect to hear. "M-Me? Are you sure about that?"

Despite his question, Pyrrha already took his hand. "I'm positive."

Well, there wasn't any more room to debate. Jaune gladly took up the offer. "Alright then. Just try to keep up with me." The music suddenly changed and the two danced with each other. Not soon after, Ren and Nora joined as well.

While all of this was going on, Leone couldn't help but laugh. "Wow. I never knew Jaune had such cool moves."

Yang laughed in agreement. "I guess you learn something new from the people you know huh?"

Hearing that made Akame a bit worried. _"Something new huh?"_ She had been thinking about telling their friends the truth. The whole absolute truth about her and Leone. The one thing that she kept thinking about was what their reactions would be like. Would their relationships change? Would they think differently about them? It was these kinds of questions that bothered her for some time. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Leone giving her a comfortable smile. Akame smiled back. If they were going to do this, they would do it together.

The song and dance ended all too quickly for Pyrrha, and Jaune brought up her close to him. She really wasn't expecting him to be such a good dancer. "I had no idea you could dance like that."

Jaune chuckled at that. "Well, when you live with seven sisters, you tend to pick up a few things."

While everyone enjoyed that particular dance, another started up but it was a slower one this time around. That was team JNPR's cue to leave and the slow dancing to everyone else. With the music playing like this, it was suited perfectly for Leone and Akame. The Faunus blonde took her girlfriend's hand. That was also Yang's cue to leave. "Well, I'm not suited for this slow dance stuff so I'll leave you two alone. I'm going hang out with the others. See ya." She left the two girls alone and headed to the others.

Now it was just them. Cornelia was off somewhere and so was Esdeath with Ruby. Leone began to lead Akame to the dance floor. "Let's go."

Akame slightly nodded. "S-Sure."

They made their way to dance floor where other pairs were already dancing. Leone bowed to her girlfriend slightly. "May I have this dance?"

Her girlfriend smiled and nodded. "You may." The two brought their bodies closer to each other and like before, Leone wrapped her arm around Akame's waist and Akame wrapped her arm around Leone's neck while their hands held each other. They began moving to the slow pacing of the song. Akame couldn't help but fall under the spell of the settings all around her. She closed her eyes and lay her head on top of Leone's chest. "Uh, Akame?"

Akame had a content smile on her face. "It's wonderful isn't it?" Leone still had no idea what she was saying. "I never would've imagined, never dreamed that someone like me would be here now, with you."

Now Leone understood what her girlfriend was feeling and brought her closer. "I know what you mean. I can't believe I'm here also with you. It sometimes feels unreal that we're here now." She chuckled at that. "If it is, then I really don't want to wake up. I want to spend it as long as I can with you."

They stopped dancing but the song continued. They held each other closer until Akame could smell the fragrance Leone had. She had never noticed it before and it was wonderful. It smelled sweet like strawberries. Cornelia must've been in on this. For the first time in Akame's life, she truly knew what happiness felt like. "I love you, Leone."

Leone quietly gasped when she heard those three words. It wasn't the first time Akame had said those words as she said them plenty of times whenever they were in bed together after they've made love to each other in their dorm room. However, the words seemed to be more meaningful than they have ever before. Leone wrapped her arms around Akame and her girlfriend did the same. "I love you too, Akame." For them, it was like they were the only ones in the room. It was their perfect moment together.


	16. Truth and Sin

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Sixteen: Truth and Sin

A few days have passed since the dance and Akame and Leone has definitely been closer than they have ever been before. Cornelia and Esdeath certainly noticed it. Of course, when something good happened, something bad also happened. The day after the dance, Ruby was notified to go to Ozpin’s office. Everyone was worried about that and thought she was in trouble. Turned out she just needed to relay what she saw and knew about last night’s break-in at the CCT. It did explain why Esdeath hadn’t seen her for a while after she left to change her shoes. Something Ruby described to her friends made Akame a bit suspicious. _“I saw some weird woman wearing a mask and was doing something to the computer but didn’t know what.”_

That was on Akame’s mind constantly. _“What could someone want from the CCT in the first place?”_

“Akame?” Her train of thought was broken when she heard Leone’s voice and turned to her. The Faunus blonde looked a bit worried. “You’re having that face again. You’re thinking of something aren’t you?”

Nothing went past her when it came to Leone’s eye. As now, she and Leone were walking down the hall back to their dorm room where Cornelia and Esdeath were. Akame just sighed. “It’s about the break in Ruby told us about before. It’s too coordinated for something as simple as a break in. Something else is at work here.”

Leone knew all too well what that meant. “So you’re saying something is going on behind our backs?”

Akame nodded at the guess. “Yes, but what it is we have no idea. We may have to be careful.”

The Faunus just scoffed. “Great. We just had a great night and now we have to deal with some shady shit. Well, whatever it is, it can’t be much worse then what we had to go through before.”

That much is true. It’ll be kind of hard to trump a war that’ll change the fate of a civilization. “Zwei!” Both girls stopped when they heard a familiar voice and saw something running down the hall in their direction. It seemed to be a small dog that was an unusually energetic. The small dog approached them and stopped in front of them as it looked up at them curiously.

Leone and Akame lowered themselves to it. “Hello there little fella.” Akame smiled at the dog in front of them. She thought it was adorable.

The dog looked at Leone for a few seconds before looking at Akame. It was then the dog yelped in fear and ran away back to the opposite direction. The dog soon returned to its owner and hid underneath her red cape shaking in fear. Well, it was obvious who it the dog belonged to. Ruby and Yang approached the other two girls. “Oh, hi there.”

Leone waved back. “Hey Ruby. Hey Yang. So, what’s with the dog?”

Yang giggled at that. “Oh him? That’s our dog Zwei. Our dad mailed him for us to watch over while he’s out on business.”

The former assassins had one question about that. How does someone mail a dog? Apparently, that wasn't important right now as Ruby had a question of her own as to what just happened. “Thanks for stopping Zwei by the way. He tends to be a bit hyperactive sometimes but this is the first time I’ve seen him scared. What did you do you to make him act like that?”

Akame and Leone looked at each other wondering the same thing. Then it dawned on Akame that Zwei must’ve sensed how dangerous Akame was. More so then Leone’s half beast form state. Akame never thought an animal would’ve sensed her. They had to come up with an answer. “Well, you know, Akame has never been good with animals far as I’ve known except for me of course.” Leone laughed nervously at the lie she had just made.

The sisters look at each other whether or not they should believe the Faunus blonde. They decided to anyway. “If you say so. We’ll be heading back to our room now. Thanks for stopping Zwei. See you later.”

Leone waved at the two girls. “See ya!” As soon as they were gone, the Faunus blonde’s expression changed. “Akame.”

Her girlfriend knew what the other girl was about to say. “I know. It seems normal animals can sense how truly dangerous I am. Leone, don’t you think it’s time we finally tell them the truth? About whom we really are?”

The Faunus blonde sighed at that. She knew sooner or later this subject was bound to come up. “You may have a point. We can’t keep this secret of ours hidden forever. Sooner or later, they’ll find out and it would be better if we told them. The question is when do we? Also, how would Cornelia and Esdeath handle the truth about how we really know them?”

That was a question Akame would like to know as well. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let’s just continue on. We’ll tell them eventually. Is that alright with you?”

Leone nodded at the question. “Yeah, although I’m not sure what Yang and Blake would say when they find out that their daughter used to be an ex-assassin.”

**B**

The next day came and went as Yang stretched out her arms as she was happy that classes were over now and the team was walking back to their dorm room. “Finally. I thought class would never end.”

Her sister had to agree. “I know right? I can’t imagine anyone liking Professor Port’s grand stories.” She put up air quotes to the lasts two words.

Weiss scoffed at the sister’s nativity. “What did you expect? Now that the dance is over, we have a lot more to prepare. Like our team activity mission that’s coming up soon.”

Blake had to agree with the heiress. “Weiss is right. We’ll have to focus on that sometime.”

Yang didn’t seem too worried. “Ehh we’ll knock it out of the park.”

While talking about the mission, Ruby was wondering about something. “So where do you think Akame and her team are now? They kinda bolted out of the class a little quick.”

Her sister might have an idea about that. “Leone told me they’ll be going out on Vale for a bit to show Cornelia and Esdeath around like we did for them.”

Hearing that made the heiress unusually glad. Ever since the dance, she really hadn’t been able to get Cornelia’s words out of her mind when it came to Ruby. She kept quickly glancing to the young leader every now and then while having conflicting thoughts and confused feelings. “Now that you mentioned it…” Blake pulled out a notebook from who knows where. “They left in such a hurry, Leone forgot her notebook.”

Yang laughed at that. “Wow. That’s just like our kid huh?”

The Faunus blonde turned to her girlfriend. “She gets it from you I bet.” Ruby laughed at that. “We should return it to her soon as possible.”

Ruby took the notebook and went a bit ahead of the rest of her team. “I’ll bring it their dorm room. It’ll be easier that way.”

Her team wasn’t going to argue with that. “Alright then Ruby. Take that to their room and head on back okay?”

The young leader nodded at her sister’s words. “Got it. I’ll be back soon.” She ran to team ALCE’s dorm room with a spring in her step.

**B**

Ruby opened the door to team ALCE’s and entered the room. “Hello? Anyone home?” Obviously, there wasn’t. Now that the young leader thought about it, this was the first time she saw her friend’s dorm room. Ruby did like how the beds were positioned to the corners but other than that, the room looked pretty basic. She saw a desk nearby and set the notebook down on it. Ruby smiled at what she did. “Mission complete. Heading back to base now.” Before she could leave the room, a certain sword caught the corner of her eye. Ruby went over to the weapon and took a closer look at it. “This is the sword Akame used on those Grimm when we first met.” She looked around as if there were anyone around then back at the sword. “Well…I know Akame said that this sword is dangerous, but I want to see what this looks like. She won’t mind if I took a quick peek at it.” Ruby picked up the sword and drew it out slowly. When she fully unsheathed the sword, the young leader amazed by how it looked. Ruby whistled at it. “Now that’s what I call a katana.” Ruby brought the blade closer to her face. “The craftsmanship of this sword is unbelievable. This really is an awesome weapon Akame has. I wonder why she said it was dangerous in the first pla-” Ruby suddenly felt a strange painful feeling going through her arm and a black like aura surrounded it. “W-What is this?” The next thing that happened to her was that various voices were ringing out in her head and screaming. There were a few that stood out.

**_“Oh I love a good chit chat!”_ **

**_“The one kill sword can’t kill me if it can’t pierce the skin!”_ **

**_“You little bitch!”_ **

**_“How could you…refuse a last request…of a fellow katana user…?”_ **

**_“So…that must be Murasame. Just as the rumors say, it is indeed an ominous, sinister katana.”_ **

**_“It seems that I’ve lost.”_ **

Ruby gasped when she heard that last voice. _“That one sounded like…Esdeath.”_

There was one more the young leader heard. **_“I don’t want you to kill anyone else but me, big sister.”_**

Ruby dropped the sword and grabbed her head tightly with her head trying to drive out voices and screams. _“What’s…happen…ing...?”_  She dropped to the floor on her knees and fell down forward unconsciously. 

**B**

Weiss was tapping her foot impatiently while waiting for her leader’s return. It’s been over twenty minutes already since Ruby left to return Leone’s notebook and hasn’t been back yet. Yang was a bit annoyed by it. “Will you calm down Weiss? I’m sure Ruby is on her way.”

The heiress didn’t buy it. “It shouldn’t take her this long just to return a notebook.”

Blake was just reading her book as usual. “If you’re that worried about her, go and see what’s up?”

Weiss took a slight offense to that. “Who’s saying that I’m worried!?”

Yang laughed at her reaction. “It’s pretty obvious that you are Weiss. Come on, go and see if she’s goofing around. If she is, then you’ll be allowed to scold her. Got it?”

The heiress scoffed at that. “Maybe I will. I won’t forgive that dolt if I do find her just messing around.” Without saying another word, she opened the door and left.

Weiss may be putting up a tough girl act, the blonde could see right through it. “Yeesh. You think if Weiss was true to herself, it'd be a whole lot easier on her."

Her girlfriend flipped another page. “It’s hard to be true to one’s feelings when one continually denies them.”

Yang was impressed by the Faunus girl’s words. “Wow. Where did you hear that?”

Blake turned another page. “Off a book I once read.”

The blonde just chuckled at that. “Of course. Still, though, I’m kinda in the same boat as Weiss. I’m worried about Ruby too but who knows? Maybe she is doing okay and just goofing around. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

**B**

Weiss was making her way over to where Ruby was while having thoughts of her own. _“Honestly, what’s keeping that dolt? She should’ve been back in like, five minutes. Less if she used her semblance.”_ Although she would never say it out loud, the heiress agreed with Yang said about her. Weiss was honestly worried about her partner and it didn’t help that Cornelia’s words kept sticking to her mind. _“Why should I care who Ruby sees? I mean it’s not like we have that kind of relationship even though she’s honest. A little too honest but still and sees me more than some heiress to a multi-billion lien corporation and really cares for me more then I would like to admit and…”_ She shook her knowing where the thoughts were taking her. _“Enough already! Let’s just get Ruby and go back. Plain and simple.”_ Just as Weiss thought of that, she was approaching team ALCE’s dorm room. The strange thing though, the door was open. _“Ruby must’ve forgotten close it or something.”_  The heiress approached the open doorway.  “Ruby, are you there? I swear if you’re-” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as Weiss saw her leader on the floor not moving. “Ruby!” The heiress immediately went over to the younger girl’s side and kneeled down to her while shaking Ruby slightly. “Ruby, Ruby wake up. What’s wrong?” There was no response and that only made her more worried. She pulled out her scroll and decided to call Yang to tell what happened to her sister. While doing so, she saw the same sword Akame used laying on the floor next to Ruby.

**B**

Akame and her team were just returning to Beacon after spending the afternoon in Vale as they all seemed to enjoy their time together.  That is until Akame got a text from Yang saying that something happened to Ruby. Naturally, they were worried and wondered what could’ve happened to the young leader. Esdeath especially. They were making their way to the infirmary where Ruby was. “What do you think could’ve happened to Ruby?”

That was something Akame wanted to know as well. “I’m not sure but judging by the urgency of the text Yang sent, it must be serious.”

That much was true. The group of girls approached to door to the infirmary and opened it. They walked into the room to see Ruby's other team members along with team JNPR with Ruby lying on the bed. "Hey, we're here. So what happened to Ruby?" Cornelia asked.

Weiss turned to them and glared at Akame. “I found her unconscious in your room with Akame’s sword next to her.” Akame's eyes widened in surprise when she heard that. “I don’t know what happened to her but your sword is somehow connected as to why Ruby is out of it for some reason. So, care to explain?”

Everyone was looking at Akame who lowered her head with her bangs covering her eyes. She closed hands tightly and Leone could see how upset her girlfriend was. _“Akame...”_

The heiress was losing her patience. “Answer the question Akame! What’s up with that sword you used before?”

The other girl just sighed and looked at the group in front of her directly. This wasn’t the ideal way she had hoped but it had to come to this sooner or later. “In order to answer that question, Leone and I would have to tell all of you about who we really are. It’s about time that all of you know the truth about the two of us.”

That was something Weiss didn’t expect to hear. Yang was feeling a bit confused by the other girl’s words. “What do you mean the truth?”

Akame just turned around away from the group. “Come by our dorm later on when Ruby wakes up. We’ll tell you everything there. Cora, Esdeath, it would be best if you remained here with the others. Leone and I need to prepare.” With that said, Akame left the room with Leone not far behind. Now everyone wondered what they had to say about themselves and finally get to the bottom of which Leone and Akame really are.

**B**

A little after Akame and Leone left, Ruby woke up not hearing the voices and screams from before. Her sister was beyond glad that she was okay and filled in her what happened before. As the group made their way to team ALCE’s dorm room, Weiss, of course, had a few questions. “What happened to you Ruby? You had no idea how worried I was when I found you lying unconscious like that.” The heiress really didn’t care what she said out loud. All she cared about was what just happened to the young leader.

Ruby tried to recall the events from before. “Well…I returned Leone’s notebook like I was supposed to but then I saw Akame’s sword lying around and I thought it wouldn’t hurt if I took a quick peek. When I drew it out, suddenly, I was hearing all kinds of voices and screaming. I passed out soon after that.”

Already Jaune was creeped out by hearing that. “How does a sword do that?”

“We’ll know soon enough.” Ren spoke.

The group approached the door and Cornelia was the first to open it. When all of them entered the room, they saw Akame holding Murasame in its sheath with Leone standing next to her. Esdeath felt nervous suddenly. Weiss crossed her arms. “Alright, we’re here. So, tell us. What is it that we should know about you two?”

Akame just closed her eyes while Leone continued to look at them. The other took in a deep breath and sighed. This was it. There was no turning back after this. “First, let me say that we’re thankful to know people wonderful and kind as all of you. We were debating this for some time and now, the time has finally come for all of you to know the truth about us. The truth is…” Suddenly the group felt a bit on edge about what she was going to say including Cornelia and Esdeath. Akame opened her eyes back up and stared at her friends in front. “Leone and I, we’re former assassins.”

The whole room was silent for a few seconds. No one knew what to say. Except for Jaune. He just laughed. “Ha! Good one. You two assassins.” He laughed a bit more but then noticed that not everyone was laughing along. That alone told him about how serious this was. He looked back at the two looking shocked. “Wait, you’re serious?!”

The look in their eyes was enough to answer the question. Ruby was trying process this information. “Assassins? As in-”

“We killed other people? Yes Ruby. That’s what it means exactly. Hell, when Akame was your age, she probably killed more people then you killed Grimm.” Leone finished.

Yang tried to approach this carefully. “Okay. You’re assassins. That’s kinda freaky if you ask me and a little scary.”

It was more than scary. It was downright horrifying. For the past weeks, they knew these two; this was something all of them weren’t expecting. However, it did make sense to Blake. _“That would explain why Akame is so proficient when it came to fighting. She was already well trained as an assassin.”_

As if telling them they were assassins wasn’t enough, Akame had more to say. “That’s not all. Another fact you need to know is that Leone and I aren’t from this world.”

Nora was going say something about that. “No Nora. Akame and I aren’t aliens from a distant planet.” The other girl whined as her idea was blown out of the water.

Pyrrha was almost hesitant to ask her question. “What do you mean by that?”

This is part Akame had to explain everything to them. She just hoped they could handle it. “It’s I’ve said. Leone and I come from a world different than yours. It isn’t as advanced but it is more dangerous. You see, we hail from a place called the Imperial Capital ruled by the Empire.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow when she heard that. “Imperial Capital?”

Akame nodded at her. “Yes. Many people believe they could make a name for themselves once they arrived. However, the truth behind the Capital soon strikes them when it's too late. The Capital was overrun by greed, evil, and corruption. There were those who would exploit their profit and gain by any means necessary. The Empire was the guiltiest with officials that did whatever they pleased to those less fortunate and eliminated any that opposed them. The one who was responsible for all this was the Prime Minister of the Capital, Honest." Ruby gulped as this was much heavier than what anyone could've realized. "There was a group who opposed the Empire and its corrupt ways. They were called the Revolutionary Army and their main goal was to overthrow the Empire and make it just. That, of course, was easier said than done. That is when they decided to make a small group to go in and out of the Capital with ease and weed out those who tormented those who were weak, helpless, and couldn’t fight back all with the goal of killing the Prime Minister. That group’s name was Night Raid. A group Leone and I were once part of.”

Everyone else was trying to absorb the information as best as they could but still found it a bit too much to handle. They couldn’t believe such a place could exist. Much less in another world. Something Akame said caught Ruby’s interest. “Wait so when you said that you killed people…”

Leone smiled at the younger girl. “Yeah. You got it. Yes, we’ve killed people but it was those who deserved it. Those that harmed innocents just to get a kick out of their twisted sense of fun. From captains in the army that just killed innocent people for the hell of it to those who exploited profit for their own gain.”

That was something to ease up on. They were assassins that killed others but only to those who harmed others in different ways. That brought up some comfort to the young leader. “Oh, so you guys were like doing the right thing. Just a…little more extreme.” Leone just laughed at her words while Akame just looked away. Ruby was confused by this. “Did I say something funny?”

The Faunus blonde stopped laughed and looked at the younger girl. “Aw Ruby, let me tell you this. No matter what the reason…” Suddenly, she glared deeply at the other girl. “It’s still murder.” Blake hated to admit it but she was right. It wasn’t all that different from when she was still in the White Fang. They went by any means necessary to justify their beliefs.

Yang caught something else that Akame said before. “Wait, you said that you used to be part of this Night Raid group. That name, is that-”

“It is.” Akame replied. “I took up my last name from that because I didn’t have one.”

The blonde looked over to Leone. “And you?”

Leone just put her hands behind her head. “From Wild Hunt. A bunch of bastards that did unspeakable actions to a lot of people. Trust me; you really don’t want to know.”

And pretty sure they didn’t. Ruby still had more questions about their past. “So this group you two were in, they were assassins too?”

Akame nodded at the question. “Yes but all of us had the same goal in mind. We all wanted to bring in a new era to the Capital and make it just. Of course, being assassins, there also marks the danger that we would never make it to the end and that is true.” She lowered her head. “Sheele, Bulat, Chelsea, Susanoo, Lubbock, Mine, and Tatsumi. They were all of our friends and one by one, they were killed. Only me, Leone, and our boss, Najenda survived. I even almost lost Leone near the end. The only other member who survived was Mine but she was put into a coma after a major battle and hasn’t woken up since.” Yang couldn’t help but feel sorry for the two girls. They’ve lost people they cared about. She really couldn’t imagine the pain she would feel if Yang ever lost those close to her. “And they’re not the first people that I’ve lost. I’ve lost others before them.”

The group was surprised to know that. Leone thought she should elaborate. “You see, before Akame joined the Revolutionary Army, she was with the Empire.”

Her girlfriend decided to finish the rest. “I was first part of a team called the Elite Seven. They were seven people who had exceptional skill and fighting prowess and were ranked from weakest to strongest. I was ranked seventh. However, one by one those I was closest to were taken away from me.” She looked directly at Cornelia. “Even you Cora.”

The blonde was taken a bit back when her leader told her that. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

This was something Akame absolutely had to say. “Believe it or not, you were part of the same team I was. You were ranked third and…you were killed.”

Cornelia’s blood suddenly went cold. “So…that’s why you asked if I knew who you really were and why you fainted when we first met.” The thought of her being an assassin was unimaginable to her. Hearing her death only made it worse. There were a few blanks, though. "But if what you said is true, if I was killed then how am I alive? I've never met you before or heard any of this to begin with! This is all new to me and to be honest, a bit creepy!"

Akame already knew the answer to that. “To my best guess, you’re a different Cornelia then the one I knew from before. You’re this world’s Cornelia while I knew the one back in my world. The two of you are different and yet somehow the same. You couldn’t imagine how I felt when I saw you. It was like I was seeing a ghost and…I was happy to see you again.”

Cornelia would be touched by this if she still wasn’t creeped out by what she heard. She was killed in another world. How would someone be able to take that? Blake remembered something else. Something important Leone once told them. “What about your sister?” Everyone else looked over to her. “Leone said you used to have a sister. How did she fit into all of this?”

Akame’s response was one hand tightening the grip around Murasame while the other just close up tightly. “Kurome, Kurome was…”

Again Leone should explain for her. “After Akame left the Empire to join the Revolutionary Army, her sister stayed behind. In short, they were enemies.” That hit home the most with Ruby and Yang.

Akame calmed down and decided to continue on. “To start off, Kurome and I were as close as sisters could be. When we were sold off, we were suddenly placed in a forest where anything could kill you. We’ve spent a majority of the time protecting each other and made it out. That is, of course, they separated us. That was when I joined the Elite Seven while Kurome was put in another team. When I decided to leave the Empire, I wanted to take her with me but she refused. To her, leaving the Empire is the same as betraying those who were close to her. She never forgave me after that. Since then, her goal in life was to take the life of her older sister.”

Yang suddenly held her sister’s hand and Ruby held on tight to it. The blonde couldn’t help but feel nervous. _“I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like. Hell, I can’t even imagine Ruby and me in their shoes. I wouldn’t know what to do if we were enemies.”_

Ruby gulped as she was almost afraid to ask her next question. “W-What happened to her then?”

Akame just closed her eyes. “I was the one who took Kurome’s life. I killed my little sister.”

Silence came once again to the people in the room. Yang, of course, had her eyes turned red as she barged over to where the other girl was and grabbed her shirt. “YOU KILLED YOUR OWN SISTER!? HOW COULD YOU LIVE WITH YOURSELF DOING THAT!? YOU SHOULD’VE FOUND ANOTHER WAY INSTEAD OF WHAT YOU JUST DID!”

Her arm was suddenly grabbed by Leone who tightened her hold on the other blonde. Yang turned to her only to see a serious look on the Faunus girl’s face. “Calm…down and listen. Don’t you think that’s what Akame didn’t want? Of course, she wanted to save Kurome. Hell, that’s the reason why she joined the Revolutionary Army in the first place but you have no idea what her sister had to go through. How would you feel if someone pumped Ruby full of drugs, skinning her life away and making her dependent on them all the while wreaking her brain at the same time because that’s what happened to Kurome. Even if Akame wanted to save her, it was up to Kurome whether or not she wanted her help. In the end, what happened was unavoidable.

That still wasn’t good enough for Yang. “Then she should’ve found another way to resolve it!”

“If there were such a way, I would’ve gladly taken it!” The blonde looked back to Akame. “I didn’t want things to end the way they did!” Tears were starting to come out of her eyes. “How do you think I feel?! I protected Kurome from when we were little only for her to be taken away from me and I had to do it with my own two hands!” Her body began to glow and her markings started to appear. “Out of all the kills I’ve committed, Kurome’s the one I regretted the most. I wanted to save her but I couldn’t because there was no other way!”

Yang suddenly let go of Akame and took a few steps back trying to figure out what was going on. “What’s with her body?”

Leone was suddenly worried about the other girl. “Akame, your markings…” The markings on Akame’s body were on full display for everyone to see. She was panting heavily and glared at the rest of the group in front of her with her demonic looking black and red eyes.

While everyone was a bit afraid of this, Nora had to admit it was rather cool looking if not a bit scary. Akame just looked away. “So now you know. These markings on my body, they represent the sins I’ve committed using Murasame. All the people’s lives that I took while using it.”

Now it made sense to Ruby. The voices and the screaming she heard before, they belong to the people Akame had killed before. This was a question she had to ask. “Just, what is that sword exactly?”

Akame just brought it in front of the group for them to see. “Murasame is what it’s known as an Imperial Arms.”

Ren wondered what that was. “Imperial Arms?”

Akame nodded at him. “Yes. They’re known as legendary weapons, forged one thousand years ago by the order of the first emperor of the Capital. Forty-eight of them were created but five hundred years later when a civil war broke out, half of them were lost and the rest were scattered throughout the land. The Empire acquired most of them back however. Murasame is one of them and is called the One Cut Killer Sword. There is one more thing you should know about Imperial Arms. Whenever two Imperial Arm users fight each other, one of them is always killed in the end.” That left a very cryptic atmosphere having said that.

Jaune, of course, had to ask about something. “When you say one cut killer, does that actually mean-”

“It does.” The other leader replied. “Murasame’s main power is that whenever it cuts into the skin of the opponent’s, a powerful and deadly poison takes effect spreading quickly and effectively killing them. There is no antidote for it.” That explained why she said it wasn’t very good for sparring purposes. One cut from it and that person is pretty much dead. “Everyone in Night Raid possessed an Imperial Arms. Including Leone.” She turned to her girlfriend. “You want to tell them?”

The Faunus blonde just smiled. “Might as well.”

Blake couldn't help but feel a bit curious as to why her supposed daughter was smiling like that. “Tell us what exactly?”

Leone looked at the group directly this time. "You see, the truth about me is that I was once human. I became a Faunus when Akame and I arrived in this world. Try to imagine me without the lion ears and long hair and that's what I really look like. The Imperial Arms I used to have was called the Animal King: Lionel. What you see before you is me in a somewhat half transformed beast state. That's where my insane strength and my semblance came from. In fact, my semblance used to be my Imperial Arm's trump card. I was pretty surprised I regained the powers I used to have, to be honest." She laughed awkwardly at that.

Now that everyone was having a hard time believing and imagining. Especially for Yang and Blake. “There is one more Imperial Arm user all of you should know.” Everyone looked back to Akame. “The Empire we were fighting against had no shortage of powerful warriors at their beckoned call. However, one stood up on top and she was the most dangerous to the Revolutionary Army. Her strength and power were revered everywhere she went. She was a monster above anything else. This woman was a cruel, unforgiving sadist who despised the weak and killed them all the while satiating her appetite for war and bloodshed. She tortured those for the enjoyment of hearing their screams of agony. This woman was nothing more than a complete mass murder that cared little for anything else other than her interests.” Just the descriptions alone were enough to scare everyone. They couldn’t imagine someone like that existing. “This woman was the Empire’s strongest and her name was…” She looked over to her last teammate. “General Esdeath.”

Esdeath’s heart stopped for just a second while fear and confusion was clearly shown in her eyes. “H-Hold on. I…really can’t be all of those things you said before right? I mean…”

“Akame is telling the truth.” Esdeath looked over to Leone who was giving her the same look as Akame. “Back in our world, you were a terror among anything else. You even had an Imperial Arms that could manipulate ice at your command. Your semblance isn't all that different from it. Hell, you cut me into pieces and that still scares the shit out of me to this day.”

Esdeath just shook her head. “But I’m not this Esdeath you knew! I’m not any of those things! I want to help people damn it! Not kill them!”

“How do you think we felt when we saw you?” Leone spoke. “Our first thought when we saw you was how this godforsaken person was still alive? Akame was the one who killed you in the first place and put an end to your terror.”

Esdeath quietly gasped when she heard that and turned to Akame. “Is…that true?”

Akame just closed her eyes. “It is. In fact, I had to use Murasame’s trump card if ever wanted to stand a chance against you. If you were to gauge how powerful you were back in our world, it’s something like this. It would take a total of fifty thousand elite soldiers including ten Imperial Arm users, including myself to take you down.” Yang whistled at that.

Esdeath was trying to process that. “I was…that powerful?”

Her leader nodded at the question. “Yes, you were. However…” She opened her eyes once again. “Like Cornelia, you’re this world’s Esdeath. Someone entirely different than the one we knew from before. In fact, you’re the complete opposite of her. Well aside, a few things.”

Leone chuckled at that. “Yeah, like how you’re in love with Ruby just because she has a nice smile.”

Esdeath’s face went red with embarrassment while Weiss just had her mouth open. “L-Love!?” Ruby was having a hard time trying to take that in.

The Faunus blonde nodded. “Uh-huh. You were the same to a friend of ours, Tatsumi. Although you were a bit more extreme. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Esdeath was still trying to comprehend the whole love thing as was Ruby. Weiss, on the other hand, was now very worried. Akame let out a sigh as this whole ordeal was finally over. “So now, all of you know. About us and who were from before. I know all of it must be hard to believe but it’s the truth. Now the only remaining question is what will you do now that you know this?”

Everyone else was looking at each other. In a way, they were glad that they told them the truth about themselves. There was just one unanswered question left. “If what everything you said is true, then how did you come into our world in the first place?” Weiss asked.

That was a question both Leone and Akame wondered. “Let’s see. It was six months since Akame and I saw each other, we ran into each other in that forest and-” She gasped as the Faunus blonde finally realized something. “Holy crap. Akame!”

Apparently, her girlfriend must’ve figured something out. “What is it?”

Leone couldn’t believe it took her this long to figure out. “Remember what I told you about that forest we were in? That there was some deity or god that grants wishes for those who cry out for help? I think that’s what happened to us. You remember what you wished for right?”

Akame really had to think back on that one. “I believe I wished to start over and start anew somewhere else.”

Her girlfriend snapped her fingers. “That’s it! That’s why we were brought here in the first place! Akame, your wish actually came true!” The Faunus blonde laughed as she hugged the other girl.

The rest of the group really didn’t follow what was going on. “Uh…mind telling us for those who are lost?” Jaune pointed out.

The two girls looked over to him and separated. “Right. So here’s how it went down. Yes, the Revolutionary Army did win the war but as a result, it pretty much meant that Akame and I weren’t needed anymore. Tatsumi said at one time that us assassins would be out of the business once peaceful times came around and he was right.” She couldn’t help but smile. “Still, that’s in the past now. We’re here with all of you now, trying to become huntress and met so many people in this world. You have no idea how happy that made the two of us. Hell, Akame here gets to see a former teammate of hers still alive and kicking on her team and Esdeath, even if you were all the things Akame said before, we’re…actually kinda glad you’re on our side.”

Akame smiled at Leone’s kind words and her markings faded away. “Leone is right. We’re thankful to have met you all and showed us so many new things this world has to offer. I only hope that we…still have what we have even though you now know the whole truth about us. The only thing left now is to hear what all of you think of this.”

After hearing all of that, Ruby pretty much made up her mind. “I’ll tell you what I think.” She walked over to the two girls and hugged them both as she smiled. “I think we’re lucky to have met both of you.” She separated from the two. “I mean yeah, it’s kinda crazy how you two used to be assassins and all but that’s all in the past if you ask me.” The young leader turned to her team. “What do you think?”

Yang just crossed her arms under her breasts. “Well, I’m still not happy with what Akame had to do with her sister, I’ll give her that much. Still, at least I know you tried your best trying to save her. I would’ve done the same thing for my sister except a little harder you know. I am glad that the two of you told us all of that.”

Weiss just looked away. “Well, as for me, it’ll take some getting used to. At least you were honest to goodness assassins, as strange as that sounds and is.”

Blake just smiled at them. “In a way, I do sympathize with the both of you, knowing similar experiences and all.”

Team RWBY looked over to team JNPR to see what they thought of all of this. Jaune was the first to speak or rather sigh. “Well, you’re good people. That’s as much as I can think.”

Pyrrha smiled at him and offered a bit more. “What he’s trying to say is that we’re glad to have met people like you despite what you’ve done previously.”

Nora, on the other hand, was quite excited. “You two are more awesome in my book. It’s not every day you get to be friends with assassins! Hey, do you think you can teach me a few assassin moves? I so want to learn.”

Ren just sighed and he facepalmed at that. “That’s the last thing we need.”

Now it came down to the two most important people as everyone looked towards them. Esdeath couldn’t help but feel nervous again while Cornelia just sighed. “If you want my opinion, this whole thing has been weird. From you saying that you’re assassins, from another world, knowing that I’m practically dead which is the creepiest out of them all. Still…” She smiled at her two teammates. “From what I learned being with you two, I just see the girls whose team I joined and glad to know of and be part of. That’s what’s important to me.”

Now everyone’s eyes were set onto Esdeath.  She couldn’t help but felt like she was having stage fright. “W-Well, I’ll have you know I’m never going or will be the Esdeath you knew before. I just hope things won’t continue to be awkward between us. Even after everything you told us, I would still like to be friends with you, if that’s okay.”

And that was it. The fear Akame had from what the others had to say about them was completely gone. She felt Leone hold her hand and smiled. “Guess we got our answer huh?”

Akame smiled back and looked at the group in front once again. “Thank you, everyone.”

 


	17. Reason and Purpose

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Seventeen: Reason and Purpose

The day finally arrived for all teams of Beacon to choose their team activity mission. Every team was choosing their mission to do while a teacher from Beacon overlooked them. Cornelia was certainly excited about. "This is so great! This'll be our first mission as a team together!"

Leone understood what the other blonde felt and laughed. "Good thing we have a full team now to do this huh?" It was a big moment for all of them. Now that Akame and Leone have successfully fulfilled their conditions, they'll be allowed to partake in team missions now. They made their way to the nearest terminal and wanted to select their mission. They had hoped it would be something really cool. However, reality hit them hard as they've seen the conditions for each mission. "Aw man. Are you kidding me? The upperclassmen get all the good ones."

Although Akame was saddened by this, she still didn't mind which mission they would do as long as they were together. "Hello there ladies."

The team looked over to see where they heard the voice and found out who it belonged to. "Professor Ozpin."

The head professor smiled at the group of girls. "I see all of you are doing well. Tell me, Akame, how do you like your team thus far?"

Akame looked over to Cornelia and Esdeath and smiled. "They're wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better team."

Ozpin just smiled at her. "I only did half my part. The other was on your own." He walked past the group. "I do hope all of you continue to grow as a team and gain something out of it."

As he passed Akame, she decided to tell him something important. "We told them the truth."

Ozpin stopped walking and just closed his eyes. "That's good to hear. I was wondering whether or not you would tell them. I'm glad to know now that you told them. Trust is an essential part of being a team." He opened his eyes. "Remember that." Ozpin continued on his way.

Leone was a bit skeptical about her girlfriend's decision to tell him. "You sure that was a good idea telling him that?"

The other girl nodded at the question. "He had the right to know. Now that Cora and Esdeath know about us, there's no reason to keep it hidden from anyone else."

She had a point but still. "Alright but don't go announcing it to the whole school. Let's just keep it between our friends okay?"

"Ahem." They heard a throat being cleared and turned to said team members with Cornelia tapping her foot. "We're right here you know."

Leone chuckled nervously. "Right. Sorry about that."

Esdeath smiled at them. "It's alright. Shall we pick our mission then?" That was something the rest of the team could agree on. They selected a mission for the first years that seemed the most interesting to them. All that was left was to prepare for the mission and head out.

**B**

Team ALCE was making their way to the helicopter where their instructor was awaiting them. Along the way, they saw team RWBY and JNPR along with Sun and Neptune. "Hey everyone!"

All of them looked over to the other team and Yang smiled. "Hey! I'm guessing you're heading off to your mission too?"

Leone smiled at the question. "Yeah but it's pretty basic if you ask me." The Faunus blonde continued to look at her 'parents' and wanted to clear something about. "Listen, Yang, about what we told you before-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Yang just suddenly hugged the other blonde in a lovely motherly say. "It's alright. We're totally fine with it now. Besides, you'll still be my wonderful daughter no matter whom you are or who you were." She separated the hug and smiled at her supposed daughter. "Got it?"

The Faunus blonde smiled back at Yang. "Yeah. Thanks."

While this was a touching a moment, Sun and Neptune were completely lost. "Do you have any idea what that was all about? Why did Yang say that Leone was her kid?" Sun asked.

Neptune just shrugged. "Beats me."

Ruby also noticed something else that Akame was carrying. "You're bringing your other sword Akame?"

The other girl brought it for everyone to see. "Yes. I'm sure it'll be allowed since this is an actual mission. Of course, I will still be bringing Yatsufusa with me."

The other leader was still a bit unsure if Akame should bring along that sword but it was her decision. "Okay then. Just be careful with it." The other girl nodded to that.

Since they were all here, Esdeath had a question for the younger girl. "So, what mission did you choose?"

Blake decided to answer that question. "We're going to Mountain Glenn."

Cornelia recognized the name of that. "Mountain Glenn? Isn't that one of the missions for the upperclassmen? How did you get that?"

Yang just flashed a peace sign. "Being awesome, that's what." Somehow this just didn't seem fair to the other team. "So what mission did you end up getting?"

Leone sighed at their mission. "Going out into the deeper part of the Emerald Forest. It was the only one that seemed interesting to us."

Despite their cop out, Pyrrha smiled at the group. "Well, still good luck with it."

Ren was the same but he was still bothered by something else. "As for us, our flight's been delayed a bit."

The Faunus blonde laughed at that. "Wow. That sucks."

Akame checked the time on her scroll and narrowed her eyes. "We should get going now. Good luck on your mission."

Ruby nodded to that. "Same to you. Take care."

Akame was the first to pass to her but suddenly narrowed her eyes. "You should be careful. Something is going on from behind the shadows." With that cryptic messaged received, Ruby turned around to see the other girl walk away wondering what she meant by that.

The rest of team ALCE soon followed their leader and made their way to their helicopter. However, Esdeath stopped and looked back to the young leader. "If you don't mind me asking Ruby, why are carrying a large bag?"

The younger giggled nervously. "Oh, I just want to be prepared that's all. Don't mind it at all." Esdeath saw the bag slightly move and was all the more curious about it. She decided to let it go and catch up with the rest of her team.

As the team approached their helicopter, Leone had a few questions about the mission they were about to embark. Primarily, who their instructor was. "So who do you think is going to look after us?"

Akame was wondering about that as well. "I'm not sure. I think they assign a teacher at random depending what the mission is."

Cornelia saw the helicopter up ahead and saw someone standing in front of it. "Hey, someone is already here."

The rest of group looked ahead as well and Leone groaned. "Ohh. Not him."

The team approached the helicopter and their instructor, Professor Port. "Greetings ladies. I hope all of you are prepared for the mission ahead."

The Faunus blonde sighed. Her opinion of the teacher in front was split. He could be hilarious at one point but on the other hand, he would keep rambling on about his former heroic days as a hunter. The others had the same idea. All except one of them. "Oh, we have you as our instructor? That's nice."

And her team members just looked at her weirdly. "Nice?"

Esdeath turned to them and smiled. "Of course. I actually like the stories he tells us. I find them quite fascinating."

Port cleared his throat. "If all of you are ready, let us board the helicopter at once." He turned around and stepped into the helicopter.

Akame was the first to board the vehicle and sat down as she turned to her teacher. "If you don't mind sir, I'll be bringing my other sword, if that is alright with you."

Her teacher observed the sword closely. "As long as you're careful with it that is fine." The rest of the team boarded the aircraft as well. "Let us be off now!" The helicopter started up and lifted off the ground to their destination.

Being from a different world, Akame and Leone were beyond amazed that such a craft existed. The same could be said when they first boarded the airship with Ruby and the others. Their trip to their destination would be fairly short so they enjoyed it as much as they could. While doing so, Cornelia still had a few unanswered questions about Akame's weapon. "So…Akame…"

Her leader turned to her. "What is it, Cora?"

The blonde continued to eye the sword. "Could you explain why your sword attacked Ruby the way it did? It's still a little weird."

Akame looked at her Murasame closely. "What happened to Ruby was unfortunate but it was natural. You see, in order to use an Imperial Arms, it must have a good affinity with the user. They reject a person who has a poor affinity with it. In short, Murasame rejected Ruby since they were not compatible."

Esdeath had a question of her own. "And what of the name for your other sword? Since Leone's is named after the weapon she had, what's the reason behind it?"

Her leader looked back to her other sword and back to the other girl. "It was the name of the Imperial Arms that Kurome once used. In a way, it feels like we're fighting together once again."

Port heard part of the observation and stroked his mustache. "Now I understand why you're so confident as to why no one else but you can wield such a weapon Miss Night."

Both Esdeath and Cornelia looked over at their teacher. "Hold on. You knew about her weapon?" Esdeath asked.

Her teacher nodded at the question. "Quite right. Ozpin had told the teaching staff everything about these two young girls and their history. I assume they told you the truth about them as well?"

Cornelia nodded at his question. "Yes. They also told Ruby and her team, and JNPR as well. To be honest, it was a bit much at first but…" She smiled sweetly. "They're still our friends and teammates. Like my papa always said, don't judge a person solely by their actions but who they really are."

Esdeath smiled at that. "I'm the same way. Yes, what they did was a bit scary to me but to me, they'll still good people."

Professor Port took in the words of his students. "Well, first let me say that I must congratulate the both of you for sharing your dreadful past. However, what has happened in the past does not matter in today's moments but as long as you learn from your past experiences, you'll be able to use them to be become better huntresses toward the future."

That was actually insightful to the team. Leone even clapped to that. "Wow. Those were some pretty good words there Professor Pork."

"Port." Akame corrected her girlfriend.

The Faunus blonde chuckled awkwardly. "Right. Sorry."

In the back of his mind, Port was glad that these two girls trusted others to tell them of their past lives. That alone told them that they were learning to become better people than they were previously. Still, he couldn't imagine what his two students had to go through. Yes, he had heard about their struggles but it was still an unbelievable tale. Speaking of which… "Since now that we have all of that straightened out, let us pass the rest of our time recalling one of my many tales as a great hunter!" The three members of team ALCE groaned while Esdeath cheered.

**B**

The helicopter landed on a grassy cliff overlooking part of the Emerald Forest. The position was ideal so no Grimm would attack the group and was a great camping spot. The best part, however, was that they didn't need to hear more of Professor Port's stories. That alone was a godsend for Leone. Port scouted the surrounded surrounding area. "Alright then ladies, the first order of business is to set up camp. There will be two groups to this. One to pitch up the tents and one to scout out for edible sustenance and firewood. Who will do what?"

Leone already raised up her hand. "I'll do the whole scout for food thing. I can be pretty good at hunting."

Esdeath also raised her hand. "I would like to help too. My father taught me a lot about tracking and hunting."

Cornelia smiled at them. "I guess that leaves Akame and me to setting up the tents."

Port nodded at the given assignments. "Then it's settled!"

Already Leone began to crouch. "Then let's get started!" She launched herself into the air and jumped over the cliff to the forest below.

Esdeath became worried as she ran to the edge of the cliff. "Leone!"

"It's alright." Esdeath turned to her leader who was already beginning to pitch up a tent. "Given the circumstances, Leone is probably the most dangerous one around here. She'll be okay."

The other girl looked down to the cliff for a few seconds. "I think…I'll just take the side path. I'll be right back." She left the site using the path more traveled.

While the L and E were out hunting and gathering, the A and C were almost done pitching up the tents. While doing so, Cornelia wondered about something. She looked over to her teacher. "Excuse me, Professor Port. What exactly are we doing here anyway? It kinda feels like we're camping out more than it is an actual mission."

He had a feeling one of his students would ask something like that. "It's for building experience. Hunters and Huntresses sometimes must survive out in the wilderness of their surroundings while taking part of a task and knowing them is just as important. This mission is an essential part of making your path to becoming a huntress."

Akame tightened the knot on one of the tents. "He's right you know." The blonde turned to her leader being surprised that she actually agreed with him. "It's always best to know your surroundings, knowing the dangers around if you want to survive no matter where you are."

Coming from Akame, she would know a lot about that. "I guess you're right on that. I think out of all us, you have the most experience about this."

Her leader nodded at the statement. "Of course." She stood up. "Let's prepare the site for the campfire. Knowing Leone, she's already making her way back with the firewood and something to eat."

Cornelia stood up as well. "Right. Let's get to it." Not too long after, as Akame said, Leone was the first to come back with the firewood and Esdeath came back not too long after with some non-Grimm game. It wasn't long before the fire started up and was cooking some of the animals Esdeath caught. After that, everyone seemed to be having a good time. There was even some laughter going as Leone and Akame were opening up a bit more about the good times with the friends they had before. Cornelia giggled a bit more. "Wow Akame. Your friends sound like really good people and funny too."

Her leader smiled at that. "Of course, they were." She looked up to the night sky. "I still miss them so much time to time."

Leone put her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Same here. You're not the only one." She looked up to the night sky as well. "You know, since we've been here for a while, I've been seeing some similarities between the friends we have now and the friends we had before."

Esdeath was interested to know about that. "How so?"

Both girls looked at their two members and smiled. Akame decided to start off first. "Well for one, I can imagine Mine getting along well with Ruby since they have similar taste in weaponry. The same could be said for Lubbock. In fact, he would probably like the different kinds of weapons this world has to offer."

Leone chuckled at that. "Well for me, I'd say Sheele would get along with Blake since they like to read and I can totally see Bulat getting along well with Yang. Funny enough, Jaune actually reminds me a bit of Tatsumi. Even down to the whole awkwardness."

Akame could see that as well. "And I'm sure Chelsea would get along with Coco." Now she had to think about the last two members of the team. "Although, I'm not sure how Su and Najenda would fit into all of this."

Leone had an answer to that. "They could be like fighting instructors for the sparring class. That would really cool."

Cornelia and Esdeath smiled as they were glad to see their other teammates talking so fondly about their previous friends. Port was the same as well. "Let me tell you that it is good that you are talking about past comrades. While it is a shame that you've lost them, remember this. Though your past may bring you down at times, remembering the fonder memories you cherished the most will help you push through the trials you have yet to face."

Cornelia clapped at that and brought out a notebook. "That was good. I have to write it down." She began scribbling down the words.

The Faunus grinned at her teacher's words. "Again, points for you saying cool stuff."

Akame smiled as she lowered her head. "And they're true. We may miss them time to time but I'll always remember the fun times we've had together. That alone will help me push through any challenge I may face later on."

Port nodded at the words. "Truer words have never been spoken Miss Night. With that said, I would like to know an answer from each of you." The girls looked over to their teacher, curious as to what he was going to ask them. "Why is it that each one of you wants to become a huntress? Miss Night, you will start us off. What is your answer?"

Akame had to think about that for a bit and came up with her answer. "To me, I see it as a way to start over as a new chance to live my life given to me as I see fit now. As an assassin, I could never see the light at the end of my path for I knew it would lead me to my death someday. However, as I am now, I can see that light now. For the first time, I can see myself having a future."

Port took account with Akame's answer. "I see." He turned to Leone. "And what of you Miss Wild?"

Like Akame, the Faunus Blonde had to think about the question. "Well, to be honest, my answer is probably the same as Akame's. I mean I never would've imagined myself I would be in this kind of position. Meeting Akame again, meeting all of you, having this chance to start all over as a huntress in training. I'm thankful for that and I'll gladly continue what I'll do as a huntress as I've done as an assassin. Within legal reasons of course."

Her teacher made a note of that. Now he turned to Cornelia. "What is your reason wanting to become a huntress Miss King?"

The human blonde didn't need to think about that. "It's simple. I want to become a great hunter like my papa. He did more than save me from a fire. He gave me a new life that I could live. I've always looked up to him and it's because of him I'm here now. I want to become a huntress to change lives for the better, just as he did for me."

Akame couldn't help but admire Cornelia's reason for becoming a hunter. Perhaps Gozuki was a better influence on her in this world. Again, Port made note of her reason. "I see." Finally, he looked over to Esdeath. "And you, Miss Partas?"

Esdeath just looked down at her hands. "I have two reasons why I want to become a huntress. The first is to prove those who are wrong about my power. I want to show them that my power could help others for the greater good. The second is that I want to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. I want to make sure that nothing bad ever befalls to them." Once again, this Esdeath breaks the mold of the one Leone and Akame once knew.

Port took each of their answers to heart and stood up. "Very well then. It is time now to turn in. We have a busy day tomorrow so rest up. One of you will have to keep a lookout and take turns. We may be in a safe location from Grimm attacks but that is no reason to let down your guard. Is that clear?"

The members of team ALCE nodded. "Yes!"

That was all their teacher needed to hear. "Excellent. I shall take the first watch and we will switch out in two hours at a time. The rest of you, sleep soundly."

Akame raised her hand before they could do that. "I wouldn't mind taking the next shift."

Port nodded to that. "Very well then. I shall bid all of you goodnight."

**B**

The group was soundly asleep for the night. Akame and Leone, as usual, were sleeping together in one tent while Cornelia and Esdeath were in the other. Just as Akame said, she was the next to take up watch. After her was Leone, then it moved on to Cornelia, and lastly to Esdeath before Port could take up watch again. It was a seemingly peaceful night for them with no interruptions. That is until the clanking of utensils suddenly woke the team up and they all screamed. They unzipped their tents and came out still wearing their battle outfits. Leone was the first to groan. "Come on, what's with the noise? I was having a good dream."

Cornelia yawned. "What time is? I think this is way too early to start off the day."

Esdeath looked over the horizon to see the sunrise. "Seems to me it's about that to be morning."

Akame rubbed her eyes and saw that it was Professor Port who was holding the utensils. "What's the meaning of waking us up all of a sudden?"

Port threw down the utensils and he an unusually serious look if they could call it that. "I apologize for the rude awaking but we must leave now. The mission is canceled and we must return at once."

That was enough to wake Akame up. "Why? What happened?"

Their teacher looked at his students directly. What he told them next surprised them all. "Vale is under attack by Grimm."


	18. Behind the Shadows

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Eighteen: Behind the Shadows

In a dorm located in Beacon, Cinder was overlooking the data she stole from the CCT and read into each any student that caught her eye. This was something both Mercury and Emerald noticed that she was doing a lot. "Haven't you had enough already? I'm pretty sure we already have the data for the ones that are of interest."

Cinder just smirked at Mercury's words. "Not quite. True, we have learned a lot from some that attend here but, there are those that have caught my interest more so than Pyrrha Nikkos."

Emerald had a pretty good idea who she was talking about. "You mean that chick with the red eyes and her team. What, you found out something about them?"

Cinder brought out the profile list and looked up team ALCE's data. "Let's start off with their latest member. Esdeath Partas. From what it says here, she hails from the north of Remnant and was the top student at the school she attended previously. She is the only one on the team who does not use a weapon due to the power of her semblance which itself is unusually powerful." She smiled at that last fact. "What a wonderful ability she has." She swiped to Cornelia's data. "Then there is Cornelia King. From what her background says, she's the adoptive daughter of a hunter called Gozuki King who saved her from a fire a long time ago. She is very directive in her fighting style and her semblance is often used as a tactic along with it. That alone made her achieve top marks in the school she attended once before transferring to Beacon." Cinder then swiped to Leone. One of the two girls that caught her interest greatly. "The Faunus of the group, Leone Wild. Never before have I seen such a being like her. With strength like hers and with a semblance to recover from any injury, no matter how severe it is, makes her a very powerful and dangerous opponent."

Mercury scoffed at the words but he had to agree. "No kidding. That chick is a freaking monster. How is anyone supposed to beat that kind of combination?"

Emerald just giggled at that. "I have a way. Let's see if she can recover if a bullet went through her head. Either that or through that rack of hers to the heart."

Cinder then swiped to Akame's profile. The one girl that caught her interest the most. "Akame Night. She's no slouch when it comes to fighting as well. Obviously, she is very skilled with a sword and doesn't hesitate to take advantage of an opening, no matter how small it is. The one thing I don't know about her is what her semblance is." She smirked at that thought. "No matter. It just adds more to the mysterious charm this girl has."

That was something else Emerald noticed about Cinder lately. "You've been gushing over that chick for a while now Cinder. What is it that makes you so interested in her?"

The other woman just closed her eyes. "Simple really. It's her eyes. Not the color they are but how hardened they look. She may fool some but when I first saw them, I knew this girl was something special. She's unlike the rest of the students who are happy go lucky. No, her eyes tell me that she's witnessed pure hell before. I would love to know more about her." She opened up her eyes. "After all, while looking through her data, I've discovered something interesting about her and her Faunus friend as well."

Mercury was a little interested in this now. "And what would that be?"

Cinder tapped her scroll a few times and presented it the profile pictures and data to her two cohorts. "There is no record of them having attending schools before Beacon. In fact, all of this info was created not too long ago. Strange, is it not?"

Emerald took a closer look at the profile. "Freaking weird is more like it. What, these two didn't exist weeks ago and now they're here? How does that even work?"

Mercury just smiled at this development. "Looks like these two have a few skeletons in their closet."

That was something Cinder could agree on. She looked at their profiles again and continued to smile. "Indeed. I wonder just what kind of secrets these two are hiding. Perhaps we shall find out soon enough." All of sudden, an alarm was blaring off that caught their attention. The three exit out of their dorm room and went outside to see what was happening. Sure enough, it was something that bothered Cinder a little. "It can't be. It's not time yet."

Emerald thought the same. "Yeah, no kidding. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen for a little while longer."

Mercury looked over to Cinder. "So, what now?"

**B**

Akame and her team were making their way back to Beacon and hopefully to Vale. They didn't have time to pack up their things as a Grimm invasion did kinda take top priority. All of them were wondering how something like this even happened in the first place. "How the hell does a freaking Grimm invasion happen in the middle of town?" Leone asked.

Her teacher had the answer. "From Ozpin has explained to me, there is a breach in one of the walls surrounding Vale. His orders are for all hunters and huntresses to gather to the root of the problem and contain the situation before it goes out of hand."

Akame looked down to the ground contemplating this situation. "I guess it's a good thing we chose a mission that's the closest to Vale. We need to hurry as soon as possible."

Port nodded to that. "Quite right. Let us ride like the wind!" The helicopter picked up speed.

**B**

The team arrived at Vale quickly as possible and already they saw other teams from Beacon fighting off the Grimm. Seeing the situation now made them realize how dire the situation this really was. "Is there any chance we can reach to this breach? I believe that's the only way to further stop any Grimm from coming in."

Port was already on that. "We're approaching it now."

As the helicopter did, the team saw a very large hole in a wall where the Grimm was coming out of. Then all of them noticed four certain girls in the center of all it. "Is that Ruby and her team?"

Leone looked as well and sure enough, it was. "That's them but what are they doing so near this spot in the first place?"

Akame had a thought. "Perhaps they're involved in this?"

"How does a mission from Mountain Glenn result in something like this?" Everyone wanted the same answer as Cornelia but they would have to figure it out later.

Right now, they needed help. "Well, let's give them a hand. Let's go Akame!" She jumped out of the helicopter releasing Lionel in its weapon form with Akame following behind her.

Cornelia thought they were nuts. "Are you crazy!? We're high up in the air!"

Her hand was suddenly grabbed by Esdeath. "Then we should plan out our landing. Let's go!" And she dragged the blonde out of the helicopter as well when they both jumped out of it. Naturally, Cornelia screamed.

Port looked down to his falling students and couldn't help but feel a bit worried. "Oh dear."

Back down below, team RWBY was trying their best slaying one Grimm after another but as long as the hole remained opened, they continued to come out of it. Yang fired off more shots from Ember Cecilia. "These bastards keep on coming!"

Her sister decapitated an Ursa Major and shot a Beowolf after it. "This is really bad."

Weiss and Blake went back to back. "Just what was the White Fang doing in Mountain Glenn in the first place?"

That was something Blake wanted to know. First trying to steal a shipment of dust from the docks and now this. Clearly, something was up but didn't have time to think about it. "We'll figure that out later. We have to stop them from getting into the city." They were ready to deal with the next wave of Grimm coming at them.

**"** **Weiss Schenbal!"** Suddenly countless icicles rained down upon the Grimm surrounding them and were impaled by them.

The team wondered what just happened but they recognized the attack. "Hey, that's-"

Ruby's sentence was interrupted by another voice. "Coming at ya fuckers!" Leone struck a Death Stalker upon landing it and it cried out in pain.

Yang was certainly happy to see her. "Hey! Thanks for dropping by!"

Akame landed on the ground safely behind the other team despite falling high from the sky. They turned around to her. "Akame?" Weiss spoke.

The other girl stood up and observed the situation around her. "Do you mind explaining how all of this happened?"

Blake just looked away. "It's a long story but we'll tell you later. Let's just deal with this first." Akame didn't need to hear more and drew out Yatsufusa.

Cornelia continued to scream as she and Esdeath kept falling. "We're going to crash!"

Her teammate held out her hand in front. "Hold on!" She used her power to create a spiral ice path all the way to the ground and both girls slid on the ice until they reached the ground. The human blonde of the group groaned. "Let's never do that again." The two girls saw the number of Grimm surrounding them.

Each of the girls scanned their surroundings and already decided their course of action. "Members of team ALCE! I hereby give the order, to bury them all!"

Leone smiled at the order. "You heard our leader girls. Let's kill us some Grimm!" Cornelia and Esdeath nodded and sprang into action.

**Insert Akame Ga Kill Opening One song**

The Faunus looked down to see that the Death Stalker she hit before was still alive. She smiled as an idea came to her. She jumped down to where its tail was and grabbed it. "Come here ya big bastard!" Leone grunted as she entirely lifted the Grimm over her and slammed it back onto the ground. The various Grimm around her rushed right at her but she just smiled. "Let's see how you like this!" She swung the Death Stalker right at the Grimm who tried to attack her all around and that seemed to finish them off quickly. The Faunus blonde then threw the Grimm into the air and jumped right in front of it. Leone pulled back her arm and closed her hand tightly. "Go back to where you fucking belong!" She struck the Death Stalker directly and launched it right over the wall.

Weiss and Yang saw the whole and were speechless. As the Faunus blonde landed back on the ground, the heiress had to ask her question. "You just lifted, swung and sent away a Death Stalker all in one go. Just how instantly strong are you?"

Leone turned to them and chuckled at the question. "Beats me. I've never really known that myself." She suddenly turned around and clawed off the face of an Ursa Major.

Over to Cornelia's location, she had already drawn out Twin Knight and started shooting at several Grimm that was a little far off. As for the Grimm attacking her nearby, she spun one of her axes before turning around and slashed at the nearest Beowolf near her and the others after that. She then spun around while combining her two axes and extended the handle for a longer reach to slay the surrounding Grimm around her. _"We really have to do something about this."_ The ground shook a little underneath and looked behind to see a King Taijitus hissing at her. One of the heads attempted to strike her but the Blonde jumped over it and landed on its head while the other one tried to attack her. Cornelia countered this by swing her ax staff to the side and decapitated the head that was attacking her. The first one she was standing on began to move and threw her up into the air. Cornelia regained her balance and started to fall directly on the first snakehead that tried to strike her. The blonde swung her ax staff down at the head and cleaved it in half straight down the middle. She landed on the ground with the split Grimm falling behind her. She sighed at the previous challenge but Cornelia wasn't done yet. Even more, Grimm surrounded her snarling at her. She only had one thought cross her mind. _"_ _This is not how exactly I thought our mission was supposed to go."_

A herd of Grimm was in right in front of Esdeath all growling at her. She responded by crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'll rid of you all in one go." Ice began to swirl around her arms and lunged forward as she uncrossed her arms at the herd. **"Einfrieren Wrath!"** A single powerful blast of ice erupted out of Esdeath and struck the entire herd at once. Once it was over, the Grimm in front of her were frozen solid and then shattered into countless pieces. Just as she thought it was done, she looked back to see a Death Stalker and another King Taijitus approaching her. All she did was snap her fingers. **"Hagel Sprung!"** A giant sphere of ice was instantly dropped onto the Death Stalker and crushed it completely. The King Taijitus was the next to strike but Esdeath pulled back her arm with ice surrounding it. **"Gefrorene Misery!"** She swung her arm in front and a large powerful wave of ice completely enveloped the Grimm. As it subsided, the King Taijitus was frozen solid and like the Grimm before, shattered into pieces. That was several more threats eliminated but there was still a long way to go. More of the Grimm surrounded her and it only annoyed her. "Persistent little pests, aren't you?"

Akame cut through several of the Grimm using the extended form of Yatsufusa before recalling it back to its original form. She then rushed to the group of the Grimm that was in front of her and while she passed by them, Akame delivered a multitude of slashes at them. When she stopped, the Grimm behind her was cut into pieces. The number she had slain was only small compared to the rest they had to handle. As powerful as her team was and with the help of Ruby's team, this wasn't going to end anytime soon. _"We have to put an end to this now."_

All of a sudden an Ursa Major was sent crashing into a building behind Akame and looked only to wonder what happened. "Woo hoo! That was sent flying!" Akame turned to where she heard the voice and saw Jaune and his team arriving at the scene. Not only that but Sun and Neptune were here as well flashing some badges for some reason. Funny enough, she also saw Coco and Velvet arriving as well with two others she hasn't seen before. Akame thought that they were part of their team. She smiled as this was just the reinforcements they needed to deal with the situation.

She turned around and sheathed Yatsufusa and began to draw out Murasame. _"I'll end this quickly as I can"_ With Murasame's power, things should be a bit easier. She took up her battle stance pointing her Imperial Arms at the nearest Grimm and launched herself at it. There was no need to hold back on them and in her words, will bury any Grimm she could find.

While all of this of was going on, Cinder and her group arrived as well and observed the situation. Needless to say, she was less than pleased. _"_ _Roman must've screwed up somewhere along the way. This is his entire fault."_ During amongst the chaos, she spotted Akame who moving much quicker than usual using a sword different than the one she had used previously. What she found truly strange was that Akame was just slashing the Grimm the once and then moving onto the next one while the one she had attacked before dropped dead. As if Akame couldn't be more interesting to her. _"Quite the weapon she uses."_ However, to her dismay, she would have put aside her interest and focus on the situation at hand. Once again, Cinder had to clean up Roman's mess. "Mercury, Emerald, help out will you?" Her two cohorts just smiled and went straight to work on the Grimm. While doing so, Cinder continued to observe Akame for a bit longer. _"Just what are you and your Faunus friend hiding, Akame Night."_

Akame cut through another Beowolf before sensing that someone was watching her. She turned around to see Cinder watching her. Akame narrowed her eyes at the other woman while Cinder's eyes had a playful look to them. She may not know much about Cinder but she knew enough that the woman was dangerous. Akame suddenly turned around and decapitated an Ursa Major. She had no time to think about the other woman and who she really is. Right now, the important thing was stopping this hoard of Grimm from spreading out further into the city. With the different teams working together, they were able to minimize the number of Grimm that was in the city before and ones still coming in. All teams were able to push the Grimm back to where the breach of the wall was located. Just as there barely any left, Akame gave out her order. "Esdeath!"

Esdeath slammed her hand onto the ground. "Right!" Ice quickly formed and reached over to the opening. The ice instantly froze over the opening so no more Grimm could come out of it. "That should do it."

While Leone was glad that Esdeath was on their side, she couldn't help but be a bit skeptical. "Yeah, but for how long?"

"You can leave that part to me, Miss Wild." Everyone saw Glynda walking over to them and waved her wand around. What happened next was that the debris scattered when the breach first happened reformed over the frozen opening to being a complete wall. "Now it's over."

The surrounding hunters and huntresses in training cheered at their victory. While they were doing so, Cornelia just sighed in relief. "Finally. I thought it would never end."

Esdeath just chuckled at her words and placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I know what you mean but we won anyway."

Leone hugged her girlfriend while laughing. "We did it Akame!"

The other girl was glad as well but something about this was bothering her. _"Just what exactly happened that led up to this?"_ She looked over team RWBY who was also celebrating their victory. The one lead she had was that they had something to do with it. That, however, could come at a different time. Right now, she just wanted to bask in the feeling of their hard fought win.

**B**

With the sun rising over Beacon, a new day has started in the most unlikely of ways. Right now, Ruby and her team along Zwei who they were grateful making it out of the danger along with their teacher Oobleck were enjoying the sunrise together. Yang was the first to sigh. "Well, that was adventure don't you think?" Blake wished she could share her girlfriend's positive attitude but she was still bothered as to what the White Fang was planning. It worried her to no end. That is until Yang wrapped her arm around the Faunus girl and smiled. "Hey, cheer up. We made it through together."

Blake smiled back and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. "Yeah. We really did."

They enjoyed the scene a little bit longer. "Yo!"

The team looked back to see Akame and her team walking up to them. Ruby smiled at them. "Hey there. What are you doing here?"

Leone smiled back at the young leader. "Finding you. Akame here has a feeling that what went down earlier, you had a part in it right?"

The other team looked at each other and then back to them. "You're correct on that but as Blake said, it's a long story."

Cornelia just shrugged. "Well, we got some time. Why not tell us?"

Ruby and her team knew they can't keep it to themselves for much longer so they decided why not. The young leader told them what happened during their mission. Needless to say, team ALCE was surprised what the other girls were in before. "The White Fang? Why would they be there?" Esdeath asked.

Leone just gritted her teeth at the name. "Them again huh? What the hell were they doing?"

That was something Blake wanted to know. "I'm not sure but they were up to something. As to what, we still don't know."

All of this was ringing bells to Akame. "First that break-in to the CCT and now this."

Weiss already knew what was going through the other girl's mind. "You think that these two are related?"

Akame would like to say that but there wasn't much connecting them. "I'm not sure. All I know is that someone wanted something from CCT." Ruby was instantly reminded of the masked woman she met at the night of the dance. She wondered the same thing too. "But this I do know. These incidents, they're not random. Someone is pulling the strings but I don't know the reason as to why. We need to be careful."

That didn't sound good for the other team. "Well, that's just great. We have all of this shady stuff going on and the Vytal Festival is right around the corner."

Team ALCE was a bit confused by that. "Vytal Festival?" Akame asked.

Weiss just facepalmed. "You don't know about the Vytal Festival and you've been here how long now?"

Leone just glared at the heiress. "Cut the crap and tell us already."

The other girl sighed. "Basically, it's a tournament where we compete against other schools from across Remnant. It's like a gathering of hunters and huntresses."

That was something the Faunus blonde liked to hear. "Tournament huh? Now that sounds fun."

Yang grinned at her supposed daughter. "Yep. It sure is. I can't wait for it to happen." She looked over to the sunrise once again. "Hey, how about we go get some breakfast. We deserve something to eat after what we've been through."

Ruby nodded happily at that. "Great idea Yang. Now I'm hungry all of a sudden. Let's go!"

Blake smiled at the idea as well. "Sounds good to me."

The team started to leave and headed over to the cafeteria. Leone had to admit they had the right idea. "I'm down with that. I could use a bite to eat." She turned to her teammates. "What says you?"

Cornelia nodded at her question. "We kinda skipped breakfast so I'll go with that."

Esdeath smiled as well. "Yes. We kinda deserve it after all."

With everyone's mind made up, they made their way to the cafeteria but stopped and turned around to see their leader still looking at the sunrise. "Hey, Akame! You coming too?" Leone asked.

Their leader looked at her team and smiled. "Yes of course. I'll catch up soon." Her team accepted her answer and continued on. Akame looked at the sunrise one last time with some last thoughts. _"Just when I thought this world was big enough for me already, it expands even more. I wonder what kind of people I'll meet when this festival begins. Also, what do these recent events mean?"_ She knew the answer wouldn't come to her anytime soon. All she could do now was walk forward and never look back. Akame turned around and ran to catch up to her team. _"No matter what the case, I won't be facing this alone. I have Leone and the rest of my friends to help me go through this to end. That, I know the most of for sure."_

**Vol One End**

**A/N: Now I know what all of you are thinking. Why is this story marked complete when there is so much more to explore. To tell the truth, I haven't seen Vol three yet if that wasn't obvious enough so I can't quite possibly continue it. When I do see and finish Vol three, I'll see what I can do with it for this story. I'm still deciding if I should add the third vol to this story or add as a separate story like the RWBY series. Eh, I'll guess I'll figure it out when I do finally see it. For now, I'll mark it as complete and if I do decide, all of you will be the first to know. With that said, I'll see all of you in the next story.**


	19. Fun at the Pool

**A/N: No I haven't watched the third volume yet. The reason why I'm posting this chapter was that it's been on my mind lately and why not have a bit of fun. Keep in mind this story will still be marked complete until I do see the third volume. Yep. I'm going to continue this story on here. So, here's your obligatory swimsuit chapter/sneak peek. Enjoy people.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning

Kill Nineteen: Fun at the Pool

The two teams, RWBY and JNPR were in ALCE's room because Leone wanted to tell them about an idea she had. Needless to say, all of them were just staring at her with mixed expressions. The Faunus blonde's team members seemed to enjoy the idea she had. Weiss was the first to speak. "You want to have what now?"

Leone grinned at the heiress. "Have fun at the pool of course. I know this school has one so I figured, why not enjoy it?"

It did sound fun but there were a few concerns. "Are you sure about that?" Blake asked.

Her supposed daughter nodded at the question. "Of course I'm sure. Look, we have a few days off from class before this whole festival thing starts. Why not use it to have a bit of fun for ourselves? Come on, it'll be a blast. Besides, we do kinda need this after what we went through with the whole Grimm invasion thing."

Yang grinned at the suggestion. "I'm down with that! Let's do this thing!"

Her sister cheered as well. "Yeah! I want to have fun at the pool too!"

And so did Nora. "We can have totally awesome water fights to the death!" She suddenly remembered what Akame and Leone had been through previously and what they were before. "Whoopsies. Forget that last part."

Pyrrha was also enjoying the thought of it. "It would be nice to take your mind off."

With everyone's agreement, Weiss had no choice but to sigh. "I suppose we can do this."

Blake on the other hand really didn't like it but it's not like her vote would count anyway. "I'll go but I won't like it."

Her girlfriend wrapped her arm around the Faunus girl's neck. "Aw don't be like that kitten. Look on the bright side…" Her face went near her partner's ear. "You get the chance of seeing me in my swimsuit." That comment brought a blush to Blake's face. She had to admit the Faunus girl would like to see that.

Leone clapped her hands. "Then it's settled then!"

Ren suddenly held up his hand. "Hold on there for a second."

Everyone turned him wondering what he had to say. Nora just stared down at her partner. "What is now Ren? Don't you dare ruin our fun at the pool."

He had perfectly good reason. "In case you haven't noticed, the gender is ratio is greatly unbalanced. If you were to separate the people in this room, it's ten girls and just two guys. Me and Jaune."

His leader laughed nervously but had to agree. "Yeah…not that I don't mind seeing you all in swimsuits though."

"Probably shouldn't have said that." Ren added.

Jaune lowered his head. "Yeah, I shouldn't have."

They did have a point. Luckily, Leone had the solution. "Don't worry about it. We'll invite Sun and Neptune too. That should make you feel a little better."

Ren nodded at the suggestion. "A bit more favorable." Jaune just snapped his fingers. He kinda saw Neptune as his rival for Weiss' affections.

Speaking of the heiress… "So what time should we do this?"

The Faunus blonde smiled at the question. "Tomorrow at one in the afternoon. That way, we'll have time to prepare. Plus, we'll have the whole pool to ourselves since I don't see anyone else use it." That much was true. Some of them wondered why Beacon had such a large pool in the first place. "I expect all of you to show up and don't forget to bring the swimsuits."

**B**

The water was quietly swishing along in the pool. It was as large as an Olympic sized pool complete with two diving boards. One higher than the other. In the front of it, the guys were already out in their swim trunks. One of them, however, wasn't exactly happy being here. "How the hell did you talk me into this Sun?"

His Faunus friend laughed at Neptune's dilemma. "Because I said you would have a chance seeing Weiss in her bathing suit and you put on my spare trunks not a second after." He continued to laugh at that detail. Both of them were wearing banana printed swim trunks.

Ren was wearing green naturally and Jaune black. He was tapping his foot a bit impatiently. "What's taking them so long?"

His teammate was waiting patiently as always. "These things take time."

He may have a point but that didn't make Jaune any better. "Yeah but come on. How long does it take to put on a swimsuit?"

"Alight we're ready!" The guys turned to the changing rooms and saw team RWBY coming out first. Neptune and Sun liked what they saw. "What do you think?" Ruby was wearing a red and black one-piece swimsuit while Weiss was wearing a two-piece with a white top and blue bottom. Blake was wearing the same swimsuit as Ruby but in black and purple with the top of her chest being a bit see through. Yang, however, was sporting a bright orange two-piece bikini that showed off her body. The top, of course, was strapless as it wrapped around her breasts.

Needless to say, three of the guys liked what they were seeing. "We're sorry we took a bit longer than usual." Pyrrha and Nora were the next to come out. Pyrrha was wearing a two-piece red swimsuit with yellow highlights while Nora was wearing a one-piece that was pink and white. It certainly caught Ren's eye.

Nora raised her arm up and cheered. "Alright! Let's have some wet and wild fun!"

Four of the ten were out now. Now it was just team ALCE left. Everyone was looking at the entrance to the changing room. "Ladies and gentleman, humans and Faunus. Hold your noses and try not to bleed out of them." The first to arrive out were Akame and Leone.

Already Yang couldn't help but wolf whistle at what she saw. "Very nice." Akame was wearing a red and white two-piece swimsuit with frills on the sides while Leone was wearing a two piece swimsuit that was yellow and orange that show off her body very well. Yang couldn't help but smile at her supposed daughter's body type. "Wow Leone, I guess it's clear to see where you get your looks from huh? Akame, you are one lucky girl to have her."

The Faunus blonde laughed at that. "I'd say so." She hugged her girlfriend's arm and it was pressed in between her breasts.

"I guess it's my turn." Everyone turned to see Cornelia coming out as well. Her swimsuit was a bit different. It was a sports one that covered much of her chest and shorts.

Still, Akame liked how she looked in it. "That looks good on you Cora."

Her teammate smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, Akame. All that's left is Esdeath. She looked over at the changing room entrance. "Come on Esdeath! Don't keep us waiting."

They didn't hear anything for a few seconds. "I can't go out like this! It's embarrassing!"

Cornelia just giggled at her teammate's words. "Oh come on. You're among friends. You don't have anything to be embarrassed about."

Again, they didn't hear a response for a few seconds. "I'm…just not used to showing off my body like this. Baths and showers I'm okay with but…"

Ruby decided to take of this situation. "It's okay Esdeath. Just come out. You don't have anything to be afraid about."

Once again, no response for a few seconds. Finally, Esdeath peeked out from behind the doorway. "O-Okay." She finally exited out of the doorway and showed what she was wearing. Esdeath looked away while blushing a bit as her arms were behind her back. "So uh…how do I look?" Esdeath was wearing a two-piece white swimsuit The top was strapless as it was around her breasts and tied in the front.

Ruby came up to her and held Esdeath's hand with her own while smiling. "It looks great on you. I don't know why you have anything to be embarrassed about."

The smile brought comfort to the older girl smiled as well. "Thank you and you look well in your outfit too." That comment had fire come out of Weiss' eyes.

Yang, of course, had to make her obvious comment. "Now that I think about it, you're pretty big yourself Esdeath."

Esdeath yelp as she turned around and wrapped her arms around her breasts. "Please don't say things like that. I'm…a little self-conscious about them." That's another to add to the list of how this Esdeath was different than the one Akame and Leone knew.

The blonde's sister pouted at the brawler. "Yang, don't say things like that to her."

Leone suddenly clapped her hands and everyone turned to her. "Alright people, we're here for one thing and one thing only. To have fun at the pool! So, go right on in!"

Ruby suddenly held out her hand. "Hold on! One more thing." She turned around and whistled loudly. "Zwei!" Everyone heard a bark (much to Blake's dismay.) and Zwei rushed over to Ruby was wearing small floaties around his legs and one large one around his body. "There we go. Now we're all here." She turned to the pool. "Now let's go!"

"Yeah!" Ruby, Yang, and Nora were the first to jump into the pool with a splash.

All three came up and were enjoying the water. The young leader laughed as she looked at Esdeath. "Come on in Esdeath! The water is great!"

The older girl nodded and took her words. "Okay then." She was the next to jump into the pool although not as enthusiastic as the other girls. Esdeath came up as well and enjoyed the feeling of being in the water. "It feels good."

The young leader giggled as she turned to her dog and whistled at him. "Come here Zwei!" The dog barked and instantly jumped into the pool. He swam over to Ruby and Yang very fast and seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Ruby petted him. "Good boy. Now let's have some fun!" The two sisters swam a bit further into the pool.

Nora turned to her partner. "Come on Ren! Don't be such a stick!"

Ren just sighed. "Might as well." He jumped into the pool as well.

With everyone getting in, Jaune couldn't help but feel left out. He looked at the heiress. "So Weiss, want to take a dip with me?"

She just turned away from him. "As if. I'm fine as is."

Jaune lowered his head as he was rejected once again. Luckily for him, Pyrrha was there to help him out. "I'd like to take up that offer."

Her leader just sighed. "I guess." They both jumped into the pool together.

Leone just chuckled at the sight. _"Jeez, that guy is dense. At least Tatsumi was able to be with Mine after a while. You think Jaune would get the hints by now."_ She decided to leave those thoughts for later. Right now, there was a big pool calling her name.

Blake, on the other hand, decided to sit on the edge of the pool with her legs in the water and was reading a book. Yang looked over to her girlfriend. "You're not going to join in Blake?"

The Faunus girl just shook her head. "I'm fine. Thank you, Yang." Being a cat Faunus, she really wasn't fond of water. That and Zwei was in the pool as well.

Sun took this as a chance to sit down next to her. "Mind if I join you?"

The other Faunus shook her head. "Not at all."

"Cannonball!" Leone jumped into the air and made a large splash into the pool. The water hit Blake who made her a bit uncomfortable but Neptune flinched. The Faunus blonde came up from the water and shook her head. "That was fun."

Something about Leone had Weiss questioning something. "Wait a minute! You're a cat Faunus and yet you just dove in the water without a thought."

Leone turned to the heiress. "Well, why wouldn't I? It's going to take a lot more than water to ruin my fun." Weiss seriously questioned the Faunus blonde's sanity and logic. She looked over Neptune who was still looked a bit spooked. "By the way, what was up with the shriek? It's like you're afraid of water."

Neptune just turned away. "What are you talking about? I'm not…scared of water."

The Faunus blonde would love to put a test to that. "Is that so? Then come join us in the water if you're not scared."

Neptune just looked at the water hesitating. That was all Cornelia needed to know. "Obviously, you have hydrophobia."

Ruby raised an eyebrow to the word. "Hydro Pump what now?"

"It means he has a fear of water." Esdeath clarified.

And that set Leone into a fit of laughter. "You gotta be kidding me. You're really scared of water?!"

Neptune just glared at the Faunus blonde. "Okay, so I have a fear of water. Big deal. I only came here because you asked me to and I didn't want to be rude!"

Sun just laughed at his friend's words. "You should've said something about it before dude." Neptune just looked way again. Sun stood up and walked over to him. "Relax man. You can still enjoy yourself without being in the pool, okay?"

His friend just sighed. "Yeah, I got it."

While everyone was enjoying the bromance between the two, Esdeath looked around the pool. "Where is Akame?"

Nora was the first to notice and pointed to where the girl was. "There she is!" Everyone saw Akame on the high dive board.

Already Leone was cheering her girlfriend on. "Alright, Akame! Give us a show!"

Akame walked on the board and jumped on it a few times before jumping off of it and diving toward the pool. Her form was quite excellent and dove into the water with a minimalistic splash. She then quickly rose up out of the water and heard some applause. Pyrrha and the others enjoyed the display. "That was quite good Akame."

The other girl swam over to the group smiling. "Thank you. I quite enjoyed it as well."

Weiss was also pleasantly surprised by Akame's form. "I guess being an ex-assassin helps with things like this."

Neptune nodded in agreement. "I think you're right about that." And he just took in account of what the heiress said and turned to her. "Wait what!?

Sun reacted the same way. "Assassin!?"

Weiss suddenly realized what she had said. "Whoops."

Blake sighed at the slip-up. Well, they were bound to tell them sooner or later. "Right, you two don't know yet. The truth about Akame and Leone is that they are ex-assassins from another world."

They both couldn't believe she explained it so nonchalantly. "Relax. We all know about it." Sun and Neptune looked over at Cornelia. "They may have been assassins before but…" She looked over to Akame and Leone splashing water at each other. "They are good people, trust me. They deserve this life you know?"

Sun and Neptune looked over to them as well. "If you say so. I did kinda think they were a bit out there." Sun stated.

His friend had to agree. "Yeah, remind me not make either of them mad. I like my life to be intact thank you."

While the girls were playing around, Nora had an idea. "Hey! Since we're all here, why not have a pairing fight!?"

Already they were confused by her suggestion. Jaune was almost afraid to ask. "What are you talking about this time Nora?"

His teammate just smiled. "Duh. I mean we each pick a partner, have them sit on the other's shoulders, and then they fight! How you win is that you have to knock the person on top into the water. Last one standing wins!"

Already Leone loved the idea. "Sounds awesome. I'm game." She looked over at her girlfriend. "You game Akame?"

The other girl smiled. "Of course."

Akame went over to the Faunus blonde climbed on her shoulders. Everyone else had a general idea. Yang looked over to her girlfriend. "Hey Blake, how about it? Want to join?"

The Faunus girl just turned a page. "No thank you."

The blonde whined a bit at the answer. Cornelia decided to help her out. "I would like to join you Yang if you would have me of course."

That of course, picked Yang back right up. "Alright then. I'll take up that offer." The other blonde jumped into the pool and swam over to where Yang was. She climbed on Yang's back and sat on her shoulders. Both blondes turned to the former assassins. "Hope you're ready because we're going to take you down."

Akame couldn't help but smile at the situation. It would remind her all the times she and her former team would play games and trying to grapple each other. Far as she knew, Cora was undefeated in that. That would change today.

Nora waved over to her partner. "Oh, Ren…"

Ren just closed his eyes and sighed. "If I must." He really couldn't refuse his friend. Nora went over to him and climbed up to sit on his shoulders.

She pointed at the other two groups. "Let's take them down!" Ren just sighed again.

Jaune looked over to Weiss. "What do you say, Weiss? Want to team up with me?"

The heiress just glared at him. "As if."

And he was shot down again. Pyrrha put her hand on her leader's shoulder. "I would like to join you if you like."

Jaune basically had no other choice. "I guess." Pyrrha really wished her leader would get the memo already but this would do for now. She climbed on Jaune's back and sat his shoulders. He groaned a bit by the added weight.

Pyrrha noticed his struggle. "Are you okay?"

Her leader just smiled painfully. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." His real thoughts? _"If living with my sisters has taught me anything, never say that a girl is heavy."_

Ruby wanted to join in as well. "Come on Weiss! It'll be fun!"

The heiress looked away from her leader as she closed her eyes. "I refuse to play such a childish game."

Sometimes Weiss' attitude could bother the young leader so much. Esdeath just smiled at her. "I would like to join up with you."

Hearing that put a smile on the younger girl's face. "Really? You're the best Esdeath!"

Weiss slightly growled as she saw Ruby sitting on top of Esdeath's shoulders. That was something she couldn't abide. "You!" She pointed at Sun. "Team up, now!"

Sun didn't know how to react to that. "Wait, what?" And in the next few moments, Weiss was sitting on top of his shoulders.

Yang couldn't help but laugh at the unlikely team. "Wow. Take a load of this scene right here. What's the matter, Weiss? I thought you didn't want to play this childish game."

The heiress glared at the brawler. "I changed my mind okay!" Sun couldn't believe the situation he was in.

The players were set and they were all ready to go. Nora grinned at the playing field. "Now that we're paired up, let the games…" She eyed her first victim and Ren knew who it would be. "Start!" The pair set their sights on Weiss and Sun first.

Two girls locked their hands together and struggled against each other trying to push the other girl off. "So you're coming after us first huh?"

The other girl grinned wickedly. "You're going down!" While they were duking it out, Sun and Ren were struggling to keep their partners balanced.

Akame had already had her sights on Cornelia but Ruby and Esdeath reached them first. They two girls grabbed each other's hands and struggled. "I'm going to win!"

The other girl thought otherwise. "We'll see about that."

Leone wasn't giving up supporting her girlfriend. "You two are going down."

Esdeath gave a confident smile of her own. "Is that so?"

The last was Cornelia and Yang coming over to Pyrrha and Jaune. The two girls battled it out. The blonde smiled at their battle. "I'll have you know, I'm pretty good at this." She wasn't kidding. Already Pyrrha was feeling how strong the other girl was. Jaune struggled to keep up.

The three groups were at a standstill for a short bit until there was an upset. Akame's grip tightened and Ruby gasped. Akame threw the young leader off Esdeath and screamed as she landed on the water. "Ruby!"

The younger girl came out of the water and gasped. "Sorry."

Esdeath just smiled at the other girl. "It's okay."

Weiss saw what just happened and growled. "Push now!" That was Sun's cue and moved forward while the heiress pushed forward with all of her strength. Nora was suddenly overwhelmed and was pushed off from Ren. She screamed and went into the water. The heiress turned to Akame. "Go now!"

Sun just groaned at the order. "Alright, alright. Man, you're pushy." The two headed over to where Akame and Leone were.

Over to Cornelia and Pyrrha, the blonde just smiled and tightened her grip. She used all of her strength to lift up the other girl over her. It took Pyrrha a couple of seconds to register what happened to her and it was too late when she landed into the water behind Cornelia. She smiled at her win. "Winner, me."

Yang smiled as well. "Nice one Cora." She eyed Akame and her supposed daughter. _"And they're next."_

Jaune, on the other hand, was a bit worried about his partner. "Pyrrha!" He went over to where she was and Pyrrha came up. "You alright?"

Pyrrha took in a couple of breaths until she smiled at her leader's concerns. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." That much relieved him.

Weiss reached over to Akame and Leone and they started the second round. The heiress could already feel the difference in strength between them. Akame narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "It's over." Leone smiled as she stepped to the side and Akame pulled the heiress toward her. Weiss fell forward and fell into the water.

The Faunus blonde laughed. "Looks like a win for us." Sun would feel bad about this but it was Weiss that dragged him into this.

"Looks like it's just us." The two girls looked over to Cornelia and Yang. This was ideal for Akame and Leone. Cornelia smiled at them. "Shall we see who the best here is?"

Akame smiled at her teammate. "Let's go, Leone."

Her girlfriend smiled. "I'm on it. No hard feelings after this, right mom?"

Yang smiled back at her supposed daughter. "Not at all. Let's do this!" The pairs of girls went up to each other and locked hands to each other. The two girls were evenly matched for the time being. Neither of them was letting up.

Cornelia was enjoying the battle. "I'm not losing to you twice Akame."

Akame smiled at the words. "I wouldn't expect anything else from you Cora." Lighting came out of their eyes and struck each other.

Yang and Leone felt the same. "I may have lost to you before but no way I'm losing this time."

The Faunus blonde smiled at the words. "We'll see about that."

The two sides continued to duke it out without budging an inch. It was as Akame remembered doing so many times in the past with Cornelia. For a second, she truly did see her former teammate along with the rest of her old team having fun in the past. The memory only lightened her grip for just a second but it was enough for Cornelia to take the opportunity. She instantly grabbed Akame's wrists and threw her to the side into the water. Everyone was silent for a few moments. Cornelia flashed a victory sign. "And the win goes to us!" Both blondes cheered.

Akame came up and looked over to the other pair and smiled. Leone wondered something about her girlfriend's loss. "What was up Akame? It' not like you to lose focus like that."

The other didn't seem to be bothered by the loss. "I was just…remembering something, that's all." Leone must've figured it was something from Akame's past. She continued to look at the blonde pair. "Congratulations on your win."

The two girls smiled back at her. "Hey, thanks. With this, I think we're even now."

Yang laughed in agreement. "I'll say. This totally makes up for our losses we had from you two."

Leone laughed at that. "I suppose so. However, we won't lose next time around." She looked at everyone else smiled. "Well, that was fun but it we can't stop here just yet. We still have the rest of the day to enjoy!" That was something everyone could agree on. They spent the rest of their day playing around and having more fun.

**B**

Once the sun began to set, it was time for the group to head back. All of them dressed back up in their clothes and started to head back to their dorms together. Yang stretched out her arms. "That was a blast. I hope we can do something like that again soon."

Leone grinned in agreement. "So do I. You're welcome by the way."

While they were walking back, Ruby was next to Esdeath and wondered about something for a bit. "So…Esdeath."

The older girl looked over at her. "Yes?"

The topic was a bit embarrassing for the young leader to bring up. "Are you…really in love with me? Ever since Akame mentioned that, I've been thinking about that." Weiss, who was with Neptune couldn't help but want to overhear the conversation.

Esdeath was blushing a bit at the idea and looked away. "W-Well…I do admit I like you, Ruby. A lot actually. I think love is pushing it a bit but…" She placed her hand on the top of her chest and smiled. "I do like this feeling whenever I'm with you. It's pleasant and I've never felt anything like it before." Weiss couldn't decide if she would be relieved or worried. "And...I've been wondering if I could…ask you out on a date?" Scratch that. Weiss was definitely worried.

Ruby was taken a bit back by the question. She was actually trying to find a way to respond. "A-A date huh? Well…" Weiss was an edge wanting to know what the young leader's answer would be. "Maybe…I can think about it?" And the heiress was back to being relieved.

The older girl seemed to accept the answer. "Alright then. You can think it over. Also, I'm sorry if I just said that out of nowhere."

Ruby giggled at what the other girl said. "It's okay. It's not every day I get asked out. Especially by a pretty girl like you." Esdeath's blush deepened when she heard that. Unbeknownst to them, Yang caught wind of that. Weiss, however, was back to being worried.

**B**

The teams went their separate ways and team RWBY was in their dorm room getting ready for bed. Yang was brushing her hair when she decided to bring up the previous topic. "So Ruby, are you going to go out with Esdeath?"

The younger sister gasped quietly at the question and was blushing slightly. "A-Ah I don't know. I've never been asked out before. Especially by a girl. I do think she's nice though."

Yang put down her brush and looked over to her sister. "Well, I won't allow it."

Ruby was confused by that. "What do you mean?"

The older crossed her arms under her breasts. "Because I'm your big sister. That's why."

Blake sighed as she was under the covers in her bed doing some last minute reading. She knew how overprotective her girlfriend could be when it came to Ruby. "Come on Yang. It won't be so bad if you gave her a chance."

The Faunus girl had a point but still. "I know that but…from what we heard from Akame about Esdeath…"

Ruby just groaned at her sister's words. "That's only from their world. This Esdeath is really nice. Please give her the benefit of a doubt with cookies on top?"

Yang had to think about that. It also gave her another thought. "So, are you thinking about accepting her date?"

The younger sister just looked down to the floor. "I don't know. Maybe." She turned to her partner. "What do you think Weiss?"

The heiress just looked away. "Why are you asking me? It's obviously your decision." She put the covers over her and turned away. "Good night."

Ruby still needed an answer. "But Weiss-"

"I said good night!" She really didn't want to talk about this topic any longer.

The younger girl whined at the response. She had noticed Weiss was acting a bit unusual lately but didn't know why. She thought as her partner, they would tell each other what was bothering her. So why wouldn't she? With that vague answer, Ruby was more confused now than ever. "I'll still think it over but with the Vytal Festival coming up; it could be a bit hard finding time for one."

Yang didn't seem to see a problem with that. "Eh, you'll figure something out." She let out a yawn. "We can continue this later on in the morning. Right now, I need some shut eye." She walked over to Blake's bed and snuggled with her Faunus girlfriend. "Good night Blake."

The Faunus girl just smiled at the blonde as she set the book down. "Good night Yang." She wrapped her arm around Yang's body and laid her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. As a bonus for being the girlfriend of Yang Xiao Long, Blake did enjoy how warm the blonde can be.

With everyone going to bed, Ruby decided to switch the lights off. As she did, the young leader walked over to her bunk and looked over at Weiss. "Good night Weiss. Sweet dreams." Ruby climbed up to her bunk and put the covers over her as she quickly went to sleep.

Weiss, on the other hand, was still awake still having these bothersome thoughts in her mind. It was bad enough Esdeath asked Ruby to the dance but actually asking her out? For once, Weiss was worried about losing the only person closest to her that actually understood her as a person and not some heiress to the largest dust company. Sleep was quickly overtaking her and closed her eyes with one last troubling thought. _"What else can go wrong?"_

**B**

In team ALCE's room, they were also getting ready for bed. Cornelia was brushing Akame's hair near the desk which she did enjoy the feeling while Leone and Esdeath were sitting down on their beds. "Wow Akame. You really do have such pretty hair, you know."

Akame smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, Cora."

Leone thought she would let that comment pass. Teammate or not, she was still territorial as it was in her cat-like nature. Still, she had to snicker about what she heard earlier. "Wow, Esdeath. I never knew you'd be bold as to ask Ruby out on a date."

Esdeath hugged her Teddy Ursa closer to her while blushing. "Do you think I was a bit too forward with that? "

The Faunus blonde just held up her hand. "Naw, not really. In fact, this is a major improvement of what your other self did back in our world."

The other girl knew she was going to regret asking her next question. "What did my other self do?"

Oh, the detail Leone could go into. "Let's just say you put a collar around a friend of ours and dragged him off and then tried to force yourself onto him. Oh, and you were pretty nuts about him. More so than your usual persona back in our world." That was about as blunt as Leone could describe.

Like Esdeath thought, she regretted it. "I don't even know this woman and already I feel bad for what she's done."

Leone thought otherwise. "Trust me. If you even knew a fraction of what the Esdeath we knew did, you wouldn't feel bad at all. It's actually quite a nice change of pace that you want to take things slowly instead of getting to the nitty gritty." Esdeath really didn't want to know what the other girl meant by that.

"That's enough Leone." Akame stood up from her chair as Cornelia finished brushing her hair. "We can continue discussing that later. Right now, we have other things to focus on."

Cornelia giggled in agreement. "Yeah, like the Vytal Festival. I can't wait for it to start. I wonder if Papa will arrive to visit?" Akame really wasn't looking forward to seeing Gozuki again even if he did a one-eighty in this world.

Esdeath wondered the same thing. "I hope my father can come as well. He would be so proud that I've made so many new friends."

Leone couldn't help but smile at the thought of the festival. "One thing I'm excited is to see the different people we're going to meet when this shindig happens. It'll finally be a nice change of pace since we can just fight for fun instead of to the death."

Akame couldn't agree more. The thought of meeting new people did excite her. "It'll be something else, that's for sure." She looked out the window as did everyone else. "I can't help but wonder what kind of people we'll meet when it happens."

**B**

A loud crunch could be heard in a dorm room from another school. A girl was enjoying the light the moon was giving off and smiled as she spat out what remained of a lollipop. "So, the Vytal Festival is just right around the corner. I have a feeling things are about to be fun when it starts."

Another girl on her bed was painting her nails. "That's for sure. Not to mention the different people we'll be fighting." She finished painting and blew on her nails as she presented them to the first girl. "What do you think?"

She didn't have any comment on them. "How should I know? Remind me again why I'm dating you?"

The second girl smiled at her. "Because you love me and you love the candy I give out all the time to you." That much was true.

"We must be firm." The two turned to a third girl who was leaning against the wall. "There's no telling what'll happen when it starts. We'll be fighting against people unknown to us."

The second girl popped a lollipop into her mouth. "I've been wondering. Is your grandma going to show up at the festival?"

The third girl looked over to her. "Naturally. She wants to see the fruit of the teachings had done for me. I have a family legacy to uphold."

Laughter came from the fourth girl in the room. "My mom is also coming too. It's too bad my dad isn't here anymore. He would've loved to see me at my best at this whole thing."

The first girl smiled at the thought that they were going to patriciate. "When this festival does start, we'll show the other teams what we can do for we are the best and the strongest team around. We'll show them what team KRCT is truly capable of."

Everyone agreed to that. They were chosen because they had the top marks in their school. The day was approaching fast and they couldn't wait to demonstrate their power to all of their rivals. "Let's just hope they don't confuse our name with the vegetable."

The first girl groaned at that. "How many times do I have to tell you?! It's the measure of gold!"

**A/N: And I leave this for all of you to speculate. I'll give you all a hint: they're not OCs.**


	20. The Day before the Festival

**A/N: Hey everyone! Guess what? I now saw the third volume! Kinda. Okay, I just watched the first few episodes and that alone tells me how much I wanted to work on this story again. I have a few things in store that I hope I could put into this vol. Fingers crossed. That's enough talk for now. I'm pretty sure all of you are pretty anxious to finally know who the four new characters I've introduced last chapter. And yes. I did change the cover image. Now play** **【オリジナル】** **Luschka (** **ルシュカ** **) - moratorium** **【** **Subbed** **】** **as the second opening.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty: The Day before the Festival

The ticking of a clock could be heard in a room with only a chimney and couch in the middle. In the room were three people. Two of them were leaning against the wall while one was lying on the couch. He sighed out of impatience. "Just how much longer do we have to wait before we hear this important news? I'm getting bored."

The lone girl in the room crossed her arms under her breasts. "Just relax Lubbock. The boss will get here when the boss gets here. You've been with her the longest out of all of us so you should know her the best."

Lubbock groaned as he sat up. "Yeah, that's true but I'm getting bored here. Waiting is seriously no fun." He thought of a brilliant idea. "How about this Leone? The two of us play a game of twenty questions." Lubbock laughed nefariously _. "And the first question I'll ask is what her bust size is. Seriously, look at those and the top she's wearing makes them more enticing. Of course, I bet they'll look better without the top and maybe without the whole out-"_

"Not interested." And Lubbock's fantasy was crushed by those words. "I can basically hear all the perverted thoughts you're having just by looking at your face. Just my luck I end up on a team with you on it." She did know Lubbock was a good person but does cross the line with his tendencies.

Both heard a chuckle from the third person in the room. "Now now you two. Play nice. We're going to have a new person with us so it's best to make a good impression. Oh, and I'll take up that twenty question offer Lubbock." He winked at him.

All that did was creep Lubbock out. "Don't…ever do that again Bulat." Suddenly, all of them heard the door open and saw who entered the room. "Najenda. Finally, you're here."

The ex-general looked around the room. "Good. Everyone is here then. I'm sure all of you have heard by now that we'll be having someone new with us. I'll just cut to the chase." She looked back. "You can come inside now." Najenda moved out of the way and another person walked through the door. Everyone saw her and she caught Leone's interest greatly. "Everyone, allow me to introduce you to Akame. She'll be part of the new team once it's formed."

Leone smiled at the new girl. _"Wow. She's pretty cute."_

Lubbock thought so as well. "Oh, nice. We have another hot girl on the team. So what can she do?"

The leader crossed her arms. "Akame here was once part the Empire as an assassin but has decided to defect for personal reasons. She has an Imperial Arms called Murasame. It's also known as the one hit kill sword. I can assure you she's very strong."

Leone liked the new girl more and more. _"So she's an assassin huh? Cute and deadly."_ She loved the combination.

Najenda looked over to Akame. "Say hello to everyone Akame."

Akame couldn't help but feel a little nervous about all of this. She took a quick look at the people in front of her. "So, this'll be the team I'm on." Team. That word sounded more like a curse to her considering what happened to the team she was previously on. She hesitated to raise her hand to the people in front of her. "H-Hello there."

Bulat smiled at her. "No need to be nervous here sweetie. We're all on the same side. I'm Bulat by the way."

Akame just nodded at him. "It's nice to meet you, Bulat."

It was a start for her. "Bulat like yourself was part of the Empire but defected like you and joined the Revolutionary Army. The same with Lubbock. One thing you do need to know about Bulat is that he's gay."

That was a surprising fact to know for Akame. "O-Oh. Is that so?"

Bulat laughed at her reaction. Lubbock was up next. "How's it going? I'm Lubbock and I was wondering if you and I could-"

Leone shoved him off the couch. "She's not interested Lubb." She jumped over the couch and walked up to Akame. The blonde stopped in front of her and smiled. "Hey there! The name's Leone. I guess we'll be on the same team once it fully forms huh?"

As soon as Akame saw the smile, Akame was reminded of someone close to her. _"Cora…"_

Leone noticed the other girl staring. "Uh…you okay Akame?"

Akame shook her head. "I'm fine. It's nothing."

The blonde seemed to accept the answer. "If you say so." An idea formed in her head. She suddenly grabbed the other girl in front and shoved her face into Leone's breasts while smiling. "It's decided then. You're going to be my new best friend!" Her response was Akame's screaming being muffled by Leone's breasts.

Lubbock growled in jealous. _"Damn it! The new girl hasn't been here for that long and already she's getting a taste of Leone's awesome boobs."_

Akame was able to break free and gasp for air while wondering what the blonde was talking about. "First off, don't do that again. Second, what do you mean by that?"

Leone laughed. "You and me are going to be best friends from here on out. You'll be way better company then Lubb. Bulat is cool and all but you're the only girl here for the time being. So what do you say Akame?"

Akame didn't know what to think of the offer. She doesn't even know these people and the girl before her just declared she was going to be her best friend. Even if it was sudden, Akame had to admit it would be nice to have a friend while in this small group and Leone seemed to be a good start. That and Akame thought Leone was very attractive but there was no way she was going to tell her that. She smiled at the offer. "I'll accept it then."

That put a bigger smile on Leone as she wrapped her arm around the other girl. "Atta girl. See boss? We're already getting along."

Najenda smiled at that. "I can see that. Once we recruit a few more members, our group can head on out to the new hideout near the Capital."

There was something on Leone's mind she wanted to know. "If you don't mind asking me boss, what's going to be this team's name anyway?"

Najenda just around away from the small group. "You'll know soon enough once the team is created. Also, you don't need to call me boss just yet."

Leone just shrugged. "Hey, might as well start now."

Najenda didn't have a problem with that. She'll be in charge of this group for a long time. "Very well. That's all for now." She walked away from the group and left.

Leone really couldn't wait to hear the team name. She let go of Akame and held out her hand to her. "What do you say Akame? Ready to kick some ass when this team is formed?"

Akame looked at the hand and smiled as she grabbed it with her own. "Of course, Leone."

_D_

Leone's eyes began to stir and opened up to see Akame snuggling up to her while the Faunus blonde's arms were wrapped around the other girl. Leone smiled at the sight before her. Suddenly, she heard a sound and shot up sitting on the bed. "What the!"

She saw Cornelia dressed up holding up her scroll and smiling. "Oh my god, that looked so adorable. I'm totally keeping that. You two looked adorable sleeping like that."

Her teammate groaned. "Cora, what the hell?"

They heard Akame mumbled something and sat up as well. She yawned while stretching out her arms and opened her eyes. "Good morning."

Cora smiled at her leader. "Morning Akame."

"Good morning." Akame and Leone turned to Esdeath who just zipped up her outfit.

That was something Leone noticed. "What are you two dressed up? It's…what time is it?"

"Ten passed Nine. We're going into Vale with RWBY and JNPR to see the students from the other lands, remember? So you better freshen up quickly."

Now Leone knew what the other blonde was talking about. "Oh yeah. Right, let's get this over with already." She threw the covers off of her and stepped out of bed. She grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Akame just yawned again. Cornelia giggled. "Aren't you excited Akame?"

Her leader smiled at her. "I guess we'll find that out." She looked out the window. _"So…the Vytal Festival starts tomorrow."_

**B**

Vale was in high spirits celebrating the arrival of the students from the other lands and it showed with the decorations and balloons. It was quite the sight for Leone. "Wow. They really know how to throw a welcoming party here."

Weiss was beyond ecstatic about it. "Isn't it wonderful? Seeing something like this makes me feel excited."

Akame shared the same feeling except to a lesser degree. "So how are the other students arriving?"

"Mostly by boat or by airship." Pyrrha replied.

Yang laughed at the countless opportunities. "Yeah, and when the festival starts, we're going to kick so much butt."

Leone thought the same. "Hell yeah! Wait until everyone sees what we got in store for them!"

Nora cheered to that. "We'll break all of their legs!" And Ren sighed to that.

Speaking of the festival, Akame was wondering something about it. "Do any of you know how this festival will work?"

Ruby wanted to know that as well. "We'll know soon enough when it starts."

While walking, Cornelia turned to the Faunus blonde. "So, Leone, what were you smiling about in your sleep? It must've been a good dream you had. I bet it was about Akame."

Leone laughed while rubbing the back of her head. "You can say something like that. It was more like a memory."

Esdeath was very interested in this topic. "Really? Do you mind telling us?" Everyone else wanted to know too.

The other girl didn't seem to mind. She looked up at the sky. "It was when I first met Akame and Night Raid wasn't even formed yet. I couldn't believe how timid and shy at first. It was so cute."

Akame remembered that as well. "Yes, that's right. It was my first time meeting you, Lubbock, and Bulat. I also remember you shoving my face into your chest." Yang snickered at that.

Leone thought that was funny as well. "You liked it and you know it." Esdeath and Cornelia were glad to know this little piece of history of their two teammates. They never did know how these two met for the first time.

"Uh…hello?" The group looked up ahead to see a girl looking in front who seemed confused. It was obvious she was a student from a different school considering the colors of her school uniform. It was white with black outlines and she wore stockings. She also had long blonde hair put up in pigtails and was wearing a white headband leaning forward.

Ruby saw this as an opportunity. "Looks like someone's lost. Time to help out!" She walked up to the lost girl.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "This should be good." Esdeath thought otherwise. She liked how Ruby wanted to help others in need.

The girl groaned in frustration. "Can somebody help me?"

"I can if that's what you want?" The girl heard Ruby from behind and began to turn around. "If you need help, I'll be happy to help yo-oh jeez!" When she saw the face of the girl, she had the right be shocked. Her and the group behind. They saw a large burn scar on the front left side on of her face that extended all the way to the collar of her uniform and had blue eyes.

Regardless of the look, the girl smiled. "You'll help me? Oh, thank you so much! You wouldn't happen to know where I could find Beacon Academy right? I got separated from the rest of my team and can't find them so I figured they would be there."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you use your scroll to contact them?"

The blonde girl giggled awkwardly at the question. "I…kinda dropped it." She straightened herself up. "So, can you point in the right direction?

The young leader hesitated at first to respond. "Right. Well…um…you just need….to…" She really couldn't stop staring at the obvious burn scar.

The other girl in front giggled and smiled. "Is it distracting you?"

Ruby waved her hands in front frantically. "N-No! Not at all! I'm certainly not trying to be rude."

The girl front just giggled. "It's alright. I know the attention this gives me." She caressed the burn mark lightly. "Truth be told, I'm actually quite proud of it."

Strange she would be proud of a burn scar covering a quarter of her face. "Can you even see clearly with that eye?"

The blonde girl smiled at the question. "You bet. Despite my look, my vision is 20/20.” She smiled brightly and flashed a victory sign with her right hand. “So…about those directions."

"Oh, yeah. Well, you just need an airship to get to Beacon."

The other girl sighed. "I told her we should've taken the airship but no…she wanted to take the scenic route." She huffed.

Ruby didn't know how to take this. "So…I'm guessing your team is in the Vytal Festival?"

The question seemed to perk the blonde girl up a little. "Yeah! We sure are. Are you in it too?"

The young leader smiled at the question. "Yep. So am I."

The blonde girl squealed in delight. "That's really awesome. Maybe we'll get to fight each other at the festival!"

Ruby didn't have the same thought but she thought this girl seemed nice. "Yeah. Maybe."

The other girl giggled and ran past the younger leader. "Thanks for the help!" She ran past the group as well.

Something suddenly hit the young leader. "Wait! I never got your name!" It was too late. The girl was already out of sight. Ruby sighed. "Aw man." She started to walk back to the group.

Weiss was already up close to her leader. "So?"

Ruby didn't quite know what she meant that. "So…what?"

The heiress sighed. "Did you learn anything from that girl?"

Of course, she would concern herself with the competition. "Just that she's here with her team for the festival."

Weiss groaned at that. "That doesn't tell us much."

Blake thought differently about that. "You mean it doesn't tell you much."

Yang looked back where the girl was. "Still, it was pretty surprising to see something like that on her face."

Nora giggled. "She's quite the looker huh?"

Jaune just laughed nervously. "You can say something like that."

"I wonder what happened to her to get something like that." Esdeath asked. She wasn't the only wanting to the answer to that.

"My, my. What a large a group of young ones." Now they heard another voice that sounded like it belonged to an elderly woman.

When they turned around, sure enough, it was an elderly woman. A small elderly woman at that who was smiling at them. Pyrrha took a few steps forward. "Excuse me but can we help you with something?"

"And who are you?" Yang asked. Blake elbowed her for the rude question. "Ow!"

The woman continued to smile. "Why, yes you can, child. I was wondering where I can find this Beacon Academy. My granddaughter is participating in this festival and I've traveled a very long way to see her in it."

Another person who wanted directions. Cora decided to give the directions this time around. "It's not far. All you have to do is take an airship and you'll be there in a short time."

The old woman was grateful for the directions. "Thank you so much young one and the one in your group wished to know who I was."

Weiss thought otherwise. "Ignore her. She's more brawn than brains."

Yang took offense to that. "Hey!"

The elderly woman chuckled. "It's quite alright. I have no trouble giving out my name. When I was young and beautiful, I was quite the accomplished huntress. Of course, those days are long gone now. But, if you wish to know, very well then. You can call me Babara."

And Ruby gasped in surprised. "Seriously?! You're _the_ Babara!?"

Everyone knew that there were three things that made Ruby excited. Cookies, weapons, and famous huntsmen. "Do you know her Ruby?" Blake asked.

The young leader turned to the Faunus girl. "Of course I do. Babara Oreburg was a famous huntress back in the day. I always research famous hunters and huntresses." Weiss hoped that Ruby would've put in that same effort to her studies.

Akame felt a strange gnawing feeling in the back of her head when she heard the old woman's last name. "Why does that sound…familiar to me?"

The young leader looked back at Babara as she heard her laughing heartily. "Oh ho ho ho. I'm quite surprised that someone so young knows an old relic like me."

At this point, Ruby had stars in her eyes. "Are you kidding me? Of course, I would know someone like you. Is it true you really killed one hundred Grimm in a single night?"

Babara frowned at the question. "My dear. You shouldn't believe everything you are told." Ruby felt a little letdown. The old huntress then smiled. "It was one hundred twenty-eight."

Hearing that perked Ruby right back up. "Oh, wow!" She took out a hunter magazine out of her pocket and pen. "Can I have your autograph?" Everyone wasn't going to question how she managed to stuff a magazine in her pocket or why she was carrying one in the first place."

Babara took the pen and magazine. "But of course. Who should I make out to?"

"Ruby Rose, ma'am."

The elderly huntress clicked the pen and began to write on the magazine. "Ruby Rose it is then." Once she finished, Babara clicked the pen again and handed it as well as the magazine back to Ruby. "Here you go, child."

The young leader happily took the items back and squealed in delight. "Thank you so much!" She did wonder about what the old woman said from before. "If you don't mind me asking, you said you had a granddaughter. I didn't know you had any relatives."

Babara chuckled. "Well, did keep my private life to myself. Perhaps if you're lucky, you'll have the chance to face against her. Now, if you'll excuse me…" She walked past Ruby and the rest of the group. As she passed them, Babara suddenly stopped. "You there. The young girl with the red eyes." Akame was surprised she called out to her. "You're far too young to have eyes I once had after slaying countless Grimm. You must've encountered some unimaginable horrors to have them at such an age as yours." After saying that, she continued to walk and was soon out of sight.

Leone could only sigh. "Well…that was something."

Esdeath laughed nervously in agreement. "I believe so as well. It's hard to believe someone like her is here huh?"

Akame lowered her head and looked at the ground. Everyone in the group noticed it. "Akame?" She raised her head and looked over to Cornelia. "Are you feeling alright?"

The leader just gave her former crush a smile. "I am. You don't need to concern yourself with me."

Cornelia knew there was more than that but won't press the matter further. She looked around the street and decided on something. "Hey, if it's alright with you, I would like to go on my own for a little while. There's something I need to do."

Akame and the rest of her team wondered what Cornelia needed to do but they fully trust her. "Okay, Cora. Do what you need to do."

Leone chuckled. "Yeah. Just make sure you come back okay?"

The blonde nodded at her teammate. "Sure. Where should we meet back up?"

Weiss knew where. "How about over at the docks. That should be a good rendezvous point."

"Ran de who?" Ruby had no idea what Weiss said.

Cornelia understood completely. "Got it. I'll see all of you later." She walked away from the group.

Esdeath waved goodbye to her. "We'll see you later Cora!" She set her arm down once the blonde was out of sight and looked at the group. "Shall we continue on?"

Everyone agreed to that. Ruby pointed in a random direction. "Right. Onward!"

**B**

The door to a shop opened and Cornelia stepped out of it carrying a small bag. "Thank you so much." She waved goodbye to the shopkeeper and left. As she was making her way back to the group, the blonde brought the bag up to her and smiled. "This is so perfect. I know papa is going to love it. If I'm right, he should be here tomorrow when the festival star-ahh!" Cornelia bumped into something or rather someone. It didn't knock her down but it did knock the person in front and the bag. "Jeez. I'm sorry. I should've been looking where I was going-" Cornelia gasped as soon as she saw the person she bumped into. It was a girl. A very pretty girl at that who was wearing a familiar school uniform she saw before.

The girl in groaned. "It's quite all right. I'm also at fault here." She looked over the bag that was knocked down and picked up. "I suppose this belongs to you?"

The blonde nodded at the question. "Yes. It does." She held out her hand to the other girl. "Need a hand up?"

The downed girl smiled at the offer and gladly took up the offer. Cornelia brought her up and she stood. "Thank you for the help." She handed the bag back to the blonde and started to dust herself off.

Cornelia really couldn't stop looking at the girl in front. It was like she was almost entranced by her looks and beauty. That little thought made her shake her head. _"Why am I looking at her like this in the first place?"_

The girl in front of her finished dusting herself. "There we go." She looked at the blonde. "If you don't mind me asking, you would've happened to see a girl wearing a uniform like mine? She has blonde hair put in pigtails, blue eyes, and a very obvious burn scar covering the front left side her face. I was ordered by my leader to find out after…an unfortunate event had happened and was separated ever since while she and my other teammate went on ahead."

Cornelia smiled at the question. "As a matter of fact, I have seen someone like that. My group and I ran into her earlier. A friend of mine gave her directions to Beacon."

That was more than good enough for the other girl. "I see. Thank you for your help." She began to walk and passed the blonde.

Cornelia turned around to her. "Please, wait a minute." The girl stopped and looked back at the blonde. "I know you're going to be in the Vytal Festival. Can I least know your name? I'll tell you mine. It's Cornelia. Cornelia King."

The girl smiled at the game and turned away. "So you're competing as well. You don't need to concern yourself with my name. If we're both fighting, you'll learn my name soon enough. If the hands of fate are played right, perhaps we'll fight against each other and that's something I look forward to. Keep in mind, I do not say that to anyone I first meet. May we meet again." She started to walk away from the other girl.

Cornelia tilted her head in confusion. "The hands of fate? That's weird. Still, she seemed nice in her own way. I wonder what the rest of her team is like." That was a question she would have to answer later on. "Oh well. I'd better get back to Akame and the others." She made her way to the docks to join back up with the group."

**B**

In a dorm located in Beacon, There two girls in it who just dropped off their luggage. The first girl was leaning on a wall as she finished eating a chocolate bar and sighed. "What's taking them so long? They should've been here by now after I got the text and told them where we are. Our first day at this school and already there are problems."

The second girl was lying on the bed. "What makes you think she wouldn't do the smart move and come over here in the first place?"

The first girl scoffed at that. "Because we all know she can be an airhead sometimes. She doesn't always think ahead at first." She threw the wrapper in the trash can. "I need something to eat."

The second girl smiled at that and sat up. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a lollipop. "Here. It's not much but it should do for now." She threw the candy at the other girl.

She caught it and smiled. "Why thank you. You're such a lovable girlfriend Chelsea."

Chelsea smiled back. "Anything to keep you happy, of course."

**Team KRCT member: Chelsea Gaia**

Just as the first girl unwrapped the candy, they heard the door open and looked over to see their two teammates. "Finally, you're here."

The girl with the burn scar giggled awkwardly. "Hey there. Sorry about what happened earlier."

Chelsea didn't accept the apology. "Sorry, my ass! You ran off and dropped your scroll! We had to carry that damn heavy thing you call a weapon over here!"

The first girl cleared her throat. "You mean I had to carry it. You carried your own."

"And what of mine?" The third girl asked.

Chelsea pointed her finger to the corner of the room. "It's over there. I made sure nothing happened to it."

The other girl walked over to the corner and picked up the sword. "By the way, Taeko. Did you ever meet up with your grandma?"

Taeko unsheathed her katana only a little. "No, I have not. Chances are we'll meet once the festival begins. She closed it and turned around to her team.

**Team KRCT member: Taeko Oreburg**

The girl with the burn still didn't forget what Chelsea had said before. "Look, what happened before, I'm sorry okay. You all know clowns scare the hell out of me."

Chelsea sighed at that. "You and your clown phobia Rienna."

The team didn't know how this fear of clowns came to be for their teammate but their best guess was that it had to do with something traumatic in her childhood and that's why she's deathly afraid of them. Rienna puffed up her cheeks. "Hey, clowns are scary and you know it!"

**Team KRCT member: Rienna Ember**

The first girl who was their leader smiled. "Well, despite that mishap, we're all here now. So, did anything interesting happen? Chelsea and I managed to see what our competition is. So far, it's looking good."

Taeko was reminded of something earlier. "Speaking of which, I did run into a competitor who'll be fighting in the Vytal Festival. From a first glance, I can tell she's strong."

Hearing that interested the leader very much so. "Is that right? That's rare coming from you."

Rienna waved her arm excitedly. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! I happened to meet a group the girl Taeko met before. She told me while we were on the way over here."

The first girl smiled at that. "Really now? You learn anything about them? Are they strong?"

The blonde tried to remember. "Uh…I really couldn't tell but I know one of the girls is called Ruby Rose. The rest I couldn't tell since I ran past them quickly. I did see one of them was Faunus, though."

Chelsea sighed at that. "Rienna, it's recon 101. You're supposed to gather intel on our competition."

Rienna narrowed her eyes at the other girl and huffed. "Well, sorry for not doing that. I was more focused on finding all of you."

Well, they just lost a good chance there. However, the leader wasn't too bothered by it. "No matter. We'll see what they can do soon enough once the festival starts." She popped in the lollipop in her mouth. "Let's just hope they're worth our time."

**Team KRCT leader: Kurome Chariot**

**A/N: Insert** **「** **MONOCHROME SKY** **【** **LiLA'c Records** **】** **as second ending**

 


	21. Let the Games Begin

**A/N: To that one guest reviewer….you, me, talk, PM, make an account or log on, now because we need to talk and that’s the only way I’ll respond.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty One: Let the Games Begin

 The Vytal Festival had finally arrived and all the students who were competing in it were beyond excited. Even more so for the first match which just so happens to have team ALCE in it. As of now, all of them were preparing for the match ahead in the prep room. Leone put on Lionel. “Okay…let me see if I get these rules right. We’re all fighting in teams and then doubles which are chosen by the team and then we chose who’ll fight in the doubles and then those who fought in the double decided who’ll fight in the singles. That about right?”

Cornelia zipped up her outfit. “Pretty much.”

Akame sheathed Yatsufusa. “Not only that but the remaining competitors will have to fight through the brackets for the win of their kingdom.

Leone sighed at that. “That’s just great. No pressure there.”

Esdeath giggled as she put on her boots. “It is a little much isn’t it?”

Cornelia didn’t seem to mind. “We’ll do fine. We’re only going to be fighting against other people from different lands in a larger than life crowd.” That didn’t make Esdeath feel any better. 

Akame put on her arm braces. “No matter who we’ll face, we’ll win no matter what.”

“Even though there may be some shady shit going on in the background?” Leone brought up.

That was something weighing on everyone’s mind. Akame didn’t feel too worried, though. “It’s true what Ruby and the others told is concerning but we have faced much worse concerning you and me Leone.”

That much was true. “Yeah, you got a point there.” Still, she couldn’t help but worry a little. Even with this Roman Torchwick locked up under heavy security, the Faunus blonde couldn’t shake off a bad feeling. Most of all, she wanted a piece of the Faunus group. The White Fang. _“Wouldn’t I love to beat some of those little shits. All they’re doing is just ruining the image of other Faunus with what they’re doing.”_ Leone may have been a Faunus for a short time but the actions of the White Fang was something she couldn’t condone as a Faunus herself.

The whole team finished preparing and started to head out of the room. “Let’s begin.” Akame declared.

**B**

The roar of the crowd could be heard all around in the arena. Among them was team RWBY in the stands minus one Ruby Rose. Something Weiss wondered about. “So where is Ruby again?”

“She’s back at Patch visiting her mom.” Yang replied.

The heiress could understand that but still had a slight problem with it. “Is that a good idea? Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice she’s…visiting her mother but we have our own match. If she doesn’t show up when it happens, we’ll have to forfeit.”

Yang didn’t seem too worried. “Relax Weiss. Ruby will come back before our match starts.” Suddenly the crowd roared louder and for good reason as team ALCE appeared in the arena. The brawler of the team stood up and cheered. "Yeah, Leone! Make your parents proud!"

Blake opted for some simple clapping. “Do your best out there!”

Back in the arena, Leone was already loving the attention. “Now I can get used to this. Look at all the people here just to watch us kick ass.”

Esdeath felt more nervous than excited. “All of these people are going to watch us?”

Cornelia laughed at that. “Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. I’m just hoping papa will be watching.”

Esdeath felt the same. “Yeah, mine too.”

Akame saw the opposing team they’ll be fighting. “Here they come.”

Back up in the stands again, some of the other people were appalled by a very strange sight. Several buckets of popcorn and trays full of stand food all being eaten by one girl with several cups of soda. Kurome took a bite out of a hot dog. “So…” She chewed a few times before swallowing. “Is that the girl you met before Taeko?”

Taeko narrowed her eyes at the blonde. “It is and it appears that’s her team.”

Rienna giggled happily. “See? I told you one of them was a Faunus.”

Chelsea crossed her arms. “So it would seem. The question now is, how good are they?”

Kurome took a sip from one of her sodas. “We’ll see soon enough.”

Both teams stood in platform located in the middle of the arena. The other team consisted of three boys and one girl. The boy on the far left had spiky purple hair wearing and an outfit consisted of an open long sleeved black jacket with a red shirt underneath and pants along with combat boots. The girl next to him had long orange hair put into twin tails wearing a sleeveless lime green top with a white shirt underneath and tan jeans with boots. The guy next to her had combed back black hair wearing a short-sleeved brown shirt with a large black stripe in a diagonal way and dark blue pants while also wearing combat boots. The last one on the right had black hair as well but it was short. He wore a dark yellow shirt with black pants and also wore combat boots. The boy on the far left smiled. “Look at all the fine ladies in front. Hope one of you don’t mind if we get to know one another after this match.”

Leone gritted her teeth. _"Looks like we've found the sleazeball of the group."_

The lone girl of the group growled at him. "What the hell Shizo? You're not supposed to hit on them before the match begins."

Shizo scoffed at that. “Please. You’re just jealous because you don’t have much of chest compared to the girls in front of us.”

And that comment caused his teammate to hit him on his head. “Leave my chest out of this!”

One of the team members sighed at the scene. “Come on. You know you’re not supposed to bring up Kuu’s chest in this.”

The last member nodded in agreement. “That’s true.”

Kuu growled at the other two. “Shut up and let’s get this over with already!”

Shizo groaned as he held his head. “Freaking flat chested psycho.” He whispered quietly.

Apparently not quietly enough as Kuu caught that. “What did you say!?”

Shizo just looked away. “Nothing okay.” He really didn’t like his partner’s attitude. He looked back at team ALCE. “Anyway, despite our opponents being hot chicks, one of them looks like they’re not holding a weapon. Isn’t that against the rules or something?”

Leone grinned at that. _“Oh, you’ll see soon enough.”_

A video showing Oobleck and Port was shown. "Hello, and welcome to the first match of the Vytal Festival! Today will be an exciting day as we start off with team ALCE from Beacon Academy vs team SKLL. What do you think Professor Portman?”

The professor cleared his throat. “I’m looking forward to what each team is bringing them to the battle. I’m sure it’ll be very exciting.”

Oobleck folded his arms. “Quite right. Now let us move to the next part which is choosing which terrain the teams will fight on.”

Four large vertical screens appeared in each corner of the arena and started the images on them began to move downward and repeat quickly. “The way the matches will be handled is the arena divided into two different environments. They will determine how well the teams fighting can adapt fighting in them.” Oobleck explained. The images stopped and the environments were selected. The area around the center platform began to shake and lower itself underground only for high grass and rocky pillars to take up each side.

Leone was very impressed by this. “Wow. They’re sure going all out on this.”

The stage was set. “Now if all combatants are ready…” Everyone drew out their weapons. “Let the match…” Over at the stands, two people barely arrived before the fight began and saw it over at the stairway entrance. Everyone’s names appeared on the large screen displaying their names and aura gauges. “Begin!” An air horn blared out.

That was Akame’s cue. “Esdeath, now!”

Esdeath raised her hands. “Right!” She slammed her hands on the ground. **“Arctic Rausch!”** The floor instantly froze over and ice spike followed heading toward the other team in a straight path.

They were caught by surprise. “Crap! Everyone move out of the way!” The opposing team jumped out of the attack's path.

Esdeath was only getting started as she placed both hands in front. **“Weiss Schenbal!”** Countless ice shards formed around her and were launched at the team. This time, they couldn't avoid the attack and all of them were struck at once. All of their aura gauges dropped at different rates. Kuu's being the lowest by far. Esdeath raised her arm up. **“Hagel Sprung!”** A giant ice ball formed above the arena and she let down her arm. The ice ball began to drop on top of the opposing team.

Shizo knew it spelled bad news. “Spread out now! Head toward the high grass!” His team followed the orders and scattered to the high grass on their side as the attack missed them but still caused the ground to shake. Once they retreated to their side, Shizo knew he was way in over his head. “What the hell is that chick?”

Oobleck shifted his glasses. "A little-known fact about team ALCE's Esdeath Partas. She is the only student in Beacon allowed to fight without using a weapon due to her incredibly powerful semblance, allowing her to use it in any way which shape and form she so desires.” Hearing that description made one other spectator smile.

Now team SKLL knew why Esdeath didn’t have a weapon. She never needed on in the first place. A revelation that hit Kuu hard. “She can fight with only her semblance?” Suddenly, they saw a slight shift in the giant ice ball and unbelievably was lifted up. “What the hell is going on now?!”

What the team saw was Leone underneath the ice ball lifting it with ease. The crowd itself gasped in unison at what they were seeing. She grinned at them. “I think this belongs…” She threw it at the other team with little effort. “To you!”

Team SKLL had no choice but to separate into twos in each side to avoid the attack again. One of them couldn’t believe what he just saw. “That Faunus girl…threw like that like it was no big deal…”

Port cleared his throat. “Miss Leone Wild is rather unique even among the Faunus. What all of you witness may seem like some sort of superhuman strength as her semblance but the reality is that is her natural power that all of you have seen.”

Now Shizo knew that was way out there. “You got to be kidding me. One that can fight with her semblance, and one who’s that insanely strong? What the hell are these chicks?!” He suddenly noticed something and blocked a surprise attack with his twin swords. He saw his attack was Akame. _“How the hell did she sneak up on me?”_ Akame used her strength to push back the other leader. It sent Shizo quite the way but was able to land. He assessed his opponent. _“This chick’s a lot more than she seems.”_

Kuu saw her partner who was about to fight. “Shizo!” Before she could help him out even though he does piss her off time to time, Kuu saw her attacker coming and blocked the attack with her trident. Cornelia just smiled as she sent her opponent flying away without moving. Kuu groaned as she steadied herself. “How the hell did you do that?”

Cornelia held up one of Twin Knight. “Fight me and find out.”

One of the members of team SKLL made his way over to the other side to where the rocky pillars were. However, Leone easily caught up with him. “Hello there.” He was surprised and stopped. He pulled out his whip and cracked it. The Faunus girl chuckled. “Pretty cool and all but I’m not really into that sort of stuff.”

The other member scoffed. He knew beating her wasn’t going to be easy since she basically lifted and threw a literal iceberg at them. _“I have to be careful fighting her.”_

“Lerry!”

Lerry and Leone looked over to see the last member of SKLL jump to his side and placed his halberd on his should. He was happy to see his partner. “Lemor. Here to help out?”

Lemor chuckled. “You’re going to need all the help you can get if you’re going to fight against her.”

“Correction. The both of us.”

Everyone turned to Esdeath who was approaching them.  Already this spelled trouble for Lemor. “Great…the ice queen is here.”

And saying that pretty much signed his death. Esdeath heard that quite clearly and glared at him. “I’m going to make you regret saying that.”

Leone chuckled to herself. _“Well, this fight’s going to be over quicker than I thought.”_

Over to Akame, she was in a duel of sword against Shizo. Akame was blocking all of his attacks which were quick but she could easily read them. The other leader lunged forward attacking Akame swinging both his swords at once. Akame jumped over him to avoid the attack and then attacked him with Yatsufusa while being upside down in the air. Shizo turned around to block the attack but it was much stronger than he anticipated and sent him away from the other leader. He managed to land on his feet and combined his two swords into a single gun and fired several shots at Akame. Akame countered by slashing at the bullets with her sword a few times before she saw her break. She swung her sword in a circular fashion forward and pressed the switch to make blade longer to reach over to Shizo. The elongated sword reached over to him and wrapped around his arm holding his gun. “What the!?” Akame pulled back her sword along with the other leader as he screamed. Once he was close enough, Akame kicked the other leader with her left leg to the side and he was sent away once again while Akame’s sword unwrapped around his arm. She recalled it back to her and it became whole once more. Shizo landed on the ground and stood up while feeling the kick. “Damn. This chick is something else.” He separated his gun back into two swords. “Alright, second round.”

At the stands, Kurome ate another handful of popcorn. “Well, that girl is quite interesting. She knows how to use her weapon.”

Cornelia was having her own battle against Kuu. Both were evenly matched dealing blow for blow. Kuu swung her trident at the other girl and the blonde blocked it with both of her axes. She smiled as she pushed Kuu back with a little more force than usual thanks to her semblance. Kuu slid across the ground growling. _“How the hell is she doing that?”_

She was about to find out. "Try this on for size!" She combined her two axes into one as it extended. Cornelia spun the ax staff around before slamming the end of the handle to the ground. What happened next was that the ground began to shake violently and began to break apart quickly in front. The breaking ground traveled on a path headed right toward Kuu.

Kuu was struck directly and sent into the air. Her aura gauge went down more as a result. She managed to regain balance and growled. “Alright, I’ve had enough!” She brought her trident in front and grabbed it with her other hand. Kuu twisted it and the weapon separated only for the other half to spawn a spear tip from where the weapon separated. She landed back on the ground and ran quickly to where the other girl was.

Cornelia smiled at the challenge. "Bring it on!" She separated her ax staff back into her twin axes.

Taeko narrowed her eyes at Cornelia. _“Let’s see if I’m right about you.”_

**“Grau Horn!”** Esdeath slammed her hand to the ground and a giant ice spike came out of the ground headed right toward the two other members of SKLL.

Lerry jumped out of the way while Lemor dodged to the side. “Well, I can see why that girl doesn’t need a weapon.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Lerry suddenly felt a powerful grip around his ankle and looked down to see Leone grinning at him. She then threw Lerry down to the rocky pillar area of the arena and he crashed into the ground. His aura gauge lowered significantly. Lerry groaned as he stood up while holding his head. “That…hurt.”

Suddenly, Lerry heard something land and looked up to see Leone on one of the pillars still having that grin. “Hope you’re ready for a beating because it’s coming.”

Lerry laughed at that. "Well, it's true you're the first I've seen with crazy strength but don't assume I'm a pushover." He cracked his whip. "I don't mean any disrespect to you as a Faunus but I do find this matchup a little ironic since I'm the one with the whip."

Leone laughed as she understood the joke. “Nah, I’m cool with that but what are you going to do with just a whip?”

Lerry smiled at that. “Something like this!” He cracked his whip in front and in an instant, the pillar Leone was standing on was suddenly destroyed.

“What the hell!” The Faunus blonde fell down and landed on the ground. She stood up not knowing what happened. “Okay, how did that happ-” She was struck by something powerful and groaned. “What was-” Leone was suddenly being bombarded with powerful hits all over her body for a few seconds and then stopped. She breathing slightly heavy and growled at her opponent.

Lerry smiled. “A little trivia for you. Whenever you hear that crack sound a whip makes, that’s the making of a sonic boom. Of course, it just stays in place. That’s why my semblance comes in. I can magnify that sonic boom and send straight toward you.”

Now Leone understood what was going on. _“Great. This guy can send freaking sonic booms at him. I’ve got to stop him now!”_

Before Leone could move, she struck once again all over by a series of small sonic booms. She crossed her arms to defend from the attacks. Lerry continued to crack his whip at the Faunus. “What are you going to do now!? You can’t move if you’re being attacked constantly!”

Port oversaw the situation. “Oh dear. It seems Leone is in a spot of trouble.”

Yang growled as she stood up. “Come on Leone! Kick his ass!”

Over to Lemor and Esdeath, Lemor was assessing his situation. _“Okay…how do I fight someone that purely fights with only their semblance?”_

That was a question he would have to figure out for later due to the furiously strong cold winds that were coming out of Esdeath blowing at him. “Hold still and this’ll be over quickly.” She held out her hand. **_“Eisberg Crasher!”_**  A giant mass of ice came out of the ground and it continued to grow right toward Lemor.

Already he knew this was going to be a pain. “Oh, come on!” He pulled back his halberd. “Well, might as well break it!” Lemor swung his weapon at the ice but to his surprise, it didn’t break. “But…how!?” Those were his last words as the iceberg struck him and sent him into the air.

Esdeath crossed her arms. “The ice I create is part of me. Therefore, my aura is also in my ice.” Ice swirled around her arms. “Now, be gone!” She lunged forward and uncrossed her arms. **“Einfrieren Wrath!”** Esdeath sent a single blast of ice from her and struck Lemor directly. The attack was strong enough knock him off the arena and hit the force field. He groaned as he dropped to the ground and his aura gauge went into the red.

“And there goes the first member a team SKLL. Out of bounds and unable to continue.” Oobleck commented.

Shizo growled as he looked at the screen. “Lemor got knocked out already?” He gasped as he just noticed Akame’s attack and blocked it with his swords.

He tried to hold on but easily pushed back by Akame. He managed to stop but stumbled slightly. Akame placed Yatsufusa on her shoulder. “Mark that as the turning point.”

Kuu yelled as she and Cornelia continued to their bout. Both of their weapons exchanged blows with each other but the blonde knew the other girl had the upper hand when it came to range. So she decided to change that. After their weapons struck each other again, Cornelia applied her semblance once again to separate the two once again but left an opening. The blonde didn’t waste this chance as rushed over to Kuu. She delivered several slashes at the other girl at incredible speeds before spinning around to kick her. Kuu stumbled back a few steps while groaning. “Damn it.” She looked in front to see Cornelia pointing one of her axes at her. Kuu knew what this mean. "Crap." Cornelia fired a shot and it struck Kuu. She was sent over a few feet before hitting the ground and her aura gauge went down to zero.

“Ho ho! Yet another member of team SKLL is down. She cannot continue anymore.” Port spoke.

Lerry heard that all too well as he stopped his whip attacks. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Both Lemor and Kuu are down?” He looked over to Leone who was on her hands and knees. “Sorry about this but no hard feelings. I have to pick up the slack.”

Just as he raised his whip, Leone smiled she launched herself all of sudden and delivered a punch straight to Lerry’s gut. The wind was knocked out of him and couldn’t move. “A little trick I learned from a friend of mine. Now, how about you feel a sonic boom of my own? No hard feelings, right?” The Faunus blonde roared as she twisted her fist and pushed it forward. The result was sending Lerry away from her while crashing through several of the rocky pillars and out of the arena. He smacked into the force field and his aura gauge went down to zero as Lerry fell to the ground.

“And the third member is out.” Oobleck spoke.

Yang cheered loudly at her daughter’s victory. “All right Leone! That’s my girl!”

Shizo growled at the news. “Come on! There’s no way!”

“Do you still wish to continue?” The other leader stared down at Akame as he yelled while charging right at her. “So be it.” She ran over to the other leader as well. Both swung their swords at each while passing by. Shizo quickly turned around as did Akame only for their swords to clash against each other again. Shizo quickly disengaged and kicked Akame’s sword. The kick did manage to push Akame away but Shizo combined his swords into their gun form. He fired a few shots but Akame avoided them while running over to the other leader. Shizo continued firing but Akame used her sword to cut through the bullets.

As she neared Shizo, he pointed his gun directly at her. _“No way can you dodge this shot.”_ Just as he was about the pull the trigger, Akame vanished. The sudden disappearance caught him off guard. “What the hell?” He looked around trying to find her. “Where the hell did she go?” His answer was being attacked from behind and turned around to see Akame. Before he could point his gun again at the other leader, Akame didn't waste any time reaching over to him quickly and began to slash at him with blinding speeds multiple times. For the final blow, Akame swiped her sword upward to send Shizo into the air. She pulled back her sword and swung it while pressing the switch to make the blade extend to reach Shizo and wrapped around his leg.

Akame yelled as she turned around while pulling her sword with her which pulled Shizo as well. Once she stopped, Akame pulled back the blade as it unwrapped from the leg. He was sent flying all the way out of the arena and into the force field face first. His aura gauge dropped to the red as he dropped down the ground. Akame’s weapon fully retracted itself as she flicked it. “You’ve lost.”

The air horn blared once again. "And there you have it, everyone! Team ALCE wins the match and will be advancing to the doubles round!" Port announced.

The crowd cheered at their victory but not as loud as Yang. “That’s right! My kid’s in that team you know!”

Weiss sighed at her. “I don’t think you’re supposed to yell that out loud.”

Blake chuckled. “Still, I’m glad they won.”

Team ALCE regrouped at the center while taking in all the cheering. Cornelia laughed at it. “Hear that? They’re cheering at us!”

Esdeath laughed nervously as she meekly waved at the crowd. “We’re…glad that all of you enjoyed it.”

Leone was more energetic about it as she waved her arm. “That’s right! We’re freaking awesome!”

Akame decided to wave at the crowd as well just to humor them. _“We won our first fight but there’s still much more to come.”_

The two figures that arrived continued to smile as they left the stands. Kurome finished her soda and stood up among the many empty popcorn boxes and other snacks. “Well…” She stretched her arms out. “I’d say they’re pretty good. This tournament will be interesting with them around.”

Chelsea giggled in agreement. “And to think, this is only the first match. Let’s hope that the others are just as good.”

Taeko didn’t speak as she started to leave. Rienna noticed it. “Taeko, wait for us!” She left while trying to catch up to her teammate.

Chelsea shrugged as she did the same. Kurome stayed behind while continuing looking at Akame. _“Akame Night. I do hope I get to fight you in the tournament sometime in the future. I want to know which one of us is stronger.”_ With those thoughts, she left. Akame instantly sensed something strange and looked around to find that something but never did.

 


	22. Meeting the Family

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Two: Meeting the Family

“To team ALCE’s first victory in the Vytal Festival. Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“Now let’s chow down!” Everyone didn’t waste any time scarfing down their food and was enjoying it. Leone laughed as she bit through another rib. “That fight was easy. Of course, we were going to win."

Esdeath ate another spoonful of her ice cream. “But didn’t you have trouble fighting against your opponent?”

The Faunus blonde scoffed at that. "As if. I took worse hits than that and that's saying a lot compared to what I went through before." She finished her rib and went for another one.

Cornelia swallowed the fries she was eating previously. “Still, it’s our first victory. We have a long way to go in the tournament."

Leone wasn’t worried about that. “So what? Bring them all on! We’ll crush them!”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

The team looked off to the side see the three members of RWBY walking up to them. Cornelia smiled at them. “Hey Yang, Blake, Weiss.”

Weiss was about to reply until she saw Leone take a bite out of her next rib. “Did you actually eat the bone of that rib?”

The other girl stopped chewing and swallowed. “Uh…yeah? The ribs here taste pretty good.”

The heiress could care less about how the ribs tasted. “You’re not supposed to eat ribs like that!”

“Weiss, she chucked a giant iceberg at the other team without a problem. I doubt eating bones will do anything to her.” Blake retorted. Leone was glad to hear that.

Yang came up to her daughter and gave the Faunus girl a hug. “I’m so proud that you’ve won. You’ve made your parents happy.”

Leone laughed at that. “Thanks. I’d like to hug you back mom but…”

Yang understood what Leone meant and separated from the hug. “Right. Barbeque fingers.”

Esdeath noticed there was one girl with a red hood missing among them. “Ruby still isn’t back yet?”

Yang shook her head. “No. She’s still at Patch.”

Esdeath felt rather sad about that. “That’s too bad. I really wanted her to see my match.” And there goes Weiss feeling a little irritated by Esdeath mentioning her partner’s name. “But I understand why she needed to do so.” She smiled at that last part and continued to eat her sundae.

Blake looked over to Akame who was starting on her second burger. “Are you sure that’s healthy for you to eat?”

Akame ignored the question and continued eating. The other Faunus girl laughed. “Trust me, if you knew half the things Akame ate, you really wouldn’t care. That and she could eat a lot more from before.”

Weiss was almost afraid to ask her next question. “And just how much Akame could eat before?”

Leone grinned at the question. “Enough to clear out every concession stand here and put them out of business. Seriously, this is the same girl who scarfed downed an entire plate of large multiple pieces danger beast meat in seconds.” Weiss really didn't know what to think about that except the fact that Akame's appetite was beyond absurd. 

Yang, on the other hand, couldn't’ help but feel a tad jealous that Akame could eat that much and still keep that figure of hers. She then thought of a funny joke. “I guess that explains why she loves eating-ow!”

Blake elbowed her girlfriend as she knew where the blonde was going with that joke. That aside, she was curious about something. “Since you’ve mentioned before, what happened to her that made her stop eating normally if you can even call that?”

“It’s because of my markings.” Everyone looked over at Akame who finished her second cheeseburger. “After I’d obtain the markings on my body, I felt a significant drop in my eating habits. I barely ate at all during the six months before I met up with Leone again.” Everyone didn’t know whether to classify that as good or bad. Good because Akame doesn’t eat as much but bad because of everything she told them before about how she obtained the markings in the first place. Suddenly, Akame noticed something sneaking near her food as she grabbed the arm pulled it forward only put all of her weight on a hold.

“Ow!” Everyone looked at Nora and she laughed and smiled nervously. “Oh, was that yours?”

Akame glared at the other girl. “Never…touch my food.” She released the girl and Nora understood as she backed off slowly to the rest of team JNPR who recently arrived.

Leone was laughing at what she saw. “Be lucky you survived that or else Akame would’ve severed your head. She doesn’t like it when others try to steal her food.”

Nora grinned at that. “I don’t know. My head is pretty stuck on my shoulders.”

Jaune waved at the other teams. “Hi there.”

Pyrrha smiled at them. “We wanted to congratulate you on your win.”

Cornelia was grateful for the gesture. “Aw. Thanks a lot.”

“Have you decided who’s going to fight in the doubles?” Ren asked.

All four members of ALCE looked at each other and then back at JNPR. “Not yet. I mean, we’re all pretty heavy hitters. Given that me and Akame are both ex-assassins, Cornelia is no slouch when it comes to fighting and a former teammate of Akame's, and Esdeath here was the former strongest in the Empire.” Leone explained.

Weiss crossed her arms. “You still need to decide and I don’t think past lives count.”

“Regardless…” Akame took a bite out her third cheeseburger. “It will be difficult to choose from.” She swallowed her piece. “But enough about us. What about all of you? When do your matches start?”

“Ours start in a few hours so Ruby should be able to make back on time by then.” Yang replied. Esdeath smiled at that which irked Weiss just a little.

Leone finished off another rib. “What about you?” She asked JNPR.

“Apparently ours start after a match between CRDL and KRCT.” Pyrrha answered.

The Faunus blonde raised an eyebrow at one of the names. “KRCT? Like the vegetable?”

Ren didn’t think so. “Not likely with the way their name is spelled. I think’s it’s more supposed to be the measure of gold.”

**B**

In another part of Beacon, Kurome sneezed and groaned while sitting on a bench with her girlfriend. Taeko was leaning up against a tree nearby and Rienna laying on the grass. Chelsea giggled at the action. “Coming down with something?”

Her girlfriend/leader rubbed her nose. “Please. Since when have you ever seen me sick?”

“They say when one sneezes, it means that someone is talking about you.” Taeko spoke.

Rienna seemed to like the idea. “Ooh. Someone’s talking about you Kurome. Who do you think it is?”

Kurome could care less about that as she lay down her head on Chelsea’s lap. “Doesn’t matter. All we have to do is wait for our match to be announced. Which reminds me, Rienna, I have something for you to do.”

**B**

The idea of seeing CRDL fighting made Leone laugh. “I don’t know about all of you but I would love to see Cardin and his jackass pals getting their asses whooped.”

Blake couldn’t agree more. “Wouldn’t we all?”

Nora grinned nefariously. “Yeah! Maybe that KRCT team can break all of their legs!”

Yang loved the idea and smiled as she ignored what Nora said previously. “It could be fun. Who knows, it could be karma for what Cardin did all that time to Velvet.” At the same time, both Cardin and Velvet sneezed. “So, what are your plans after this?”

Akame had to admit she didn’t think that far. “I don’t know. Maybe just walk around and watch some of the matches.”

It sounded like a plan to the brawler. “Eh, good enough. Just make sure you get to watch our and JNPR’s match.”

Her daughter smiled at that. “Only if you kick a lot of ass then it’s a deal.”

Yang gave Leone a thumbs up. “You got it.”

"We'll leave you and your victory-eating alone now. We'll see you later." Blake spoke and then began to leave.

“And for goodness sakes, please clean up after yourself.” That was all Weiss had to say leaving as well.

Yang just laughed. “Don’t miss our match okay?” With those words, she was the last to leave.

JNPR thought the same. “We’ll be going as well. Enjoy your food.” Pyrrha and the rest of JNPR waved goodbye to the other team. With everyone gone now, team ALCE continued to eat.

**B**

Leone was licking her fingers after everyone in the team fully finished their meals and were now walking around the festival grounds. The Faunus blonde could still taste the barbecue on her fingers. "Man that was good." She patted her stomach a few times. "So what’s next on our list?”

Cornelia pondered the question a little. “Well, we could check out of the shops around here. Could be something interesting.”

Esdeath seemed to like the idea. “It could be interesting. What do you think Akame?” She didn’t hear a response. “Akame?”

Everyone looked over at their leader who seemed to be deep in thought. Leone stopped and tapped her girlfriend's forehead and that seemed to snap her out of it and stopped as well. The other two girls as well. The Faunus blonde smiled at Akame while said girl held her forehead with her hand. "I've seen that look before. Something on your mind?"

Akame moved her hand away and looked at her team. “It’s something like that. Just that…after we’ve our match, I felt a strange feeling like someone was watching me.”

It didn’t seem too weird to the rest of the team. “Akame, a huge crowd of people was watching us. Are you still getting used to attaching attention?” Cornelia asked. Akame was a former assassin so fighting in front of a crowd would feel a little strange to her.

To her surprise, Akame shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I felt like someone was deliberately watching me.”

Leone had a guess. “Maybe it was that Cinder chick. She’s been making weird eyes at you ever since we’ve first met.”

Again, Akame shook her head. “No, I don’t think it’s her.”

Esdeath seemed to have an idea. “Maybe it’s secret admirer.” The Faunus blonde growled deeply at that. “Or maybe not.” She knew how Leone was when it came to anything about Akame.

Cornelia crossed her arms. “Maybe it was just your imagination.” That was her best guess.

Her leader sighed at that. “That could be it but I still don’t know.”

It was a little concerning but they would have to put this topic on hold for now. “Alright, we can figure out Akame’s mystery person later. Let’s just have some fun or something or whatever it is people do at these kinds of things.”

Everyone agreed to Leone’s idea. “Excuse me.” Everyone heard a new voice coming from behind and Akame gasped as the voice sounded very familiar to her. Everyone looked over to where they heard the voice and Akame’s pulse quicken at the person they were seeing. He smiled at the team. “All of you wouldn’t happen to be team ALCE would you? I would like to get an autograph.” He smiled at all of them. Akame’s breathing became shaky as she couldn’t believe this person of people was here in front of her. _“I’m your new family. You can even call me Father.”_

Akame gritted her teeth as she closed her hands tightly. _“Gozuk-”_

Suddenly she heard Cornelia squeal and ran up to the guy. “Papa!” She gave him a big hug and her dad hugged her back. “You’re here! You’re actually here!”

Her dad laughed happily as well. “There’s my huntress in training. It’s so good to see you again.” They broke the hug and he smiled at his daughter. He looked past her and smiled at the rest of the team as well. “You must be Cora’s team. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Cornelia stood next to her dad. “Everyone, allow me to introduce you to my Papa. Gozuki King. He was known as the Kingsman Hunter.”

Gozuki waved his hand. “That may be true but that was some time ago.”

His daughter moved in front of him now. “Right, let me introduce you to my team. They’re-”

“I know. They’re what you’ve described to me. The Faunus is Leone, the girl with the blue hair is Esdeath and the last one is Akame. Isn’t that right?”

Akame hesitated to speak. It was strange that this was Gozuki in front of her and yet it wasn’t. It was a different one. He seemed to be nicer. Gentle even. She slightly bowed to him. “It is. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Leone snickered. “Yeah, especially since Cora always repeats what you’ve said sometimes before.”

Gozuki laughed at that. “Is that so? She has a habit of doing that time to time but enough about that. I’ve seen your fight and I must say I was very impressed. All of you have quite the traits to bring into battle. To Esdeath’s use of her semblance, to Leone’s sheer unlimited strength, to Cora’s quick thinking, to Akame’s swordsmanship. Tell me, who taught you how to handle a sword like that?”

Akame slightly looked away. "I…had someone to teach me. Let's just leave it at that." Ironic Gozuki would ask that since he was the one who trained Akame how to fight with a sword in the first place.

He seemed to accept the answer. “I see. Alright then.”

“Papa! Papa!” Cornelia was jumping up and down a little before she stopped and pulled something out of her pocket. “I got this for you since I knew you were going to come. I just didn’t know when.” She presented a small locket necklace to him.

Her father smiled at the present. "You really shouldn't have Cora." He held out his hand and his adoptive daughter gave it to him. "But thank you. Now I can put a photo of us in it." 

Cornelia smiled back. “Now you’ll always have me with you. Just like I said before.” Gozuki nodded and put the locket in his pocket. “Are you going to be staying for the entire festival?”

Gozuki laughed a little. “Of course. I didn’t travel all this way just to watch one of your matches. I can’t wait to see what your team can really do.” He ruffled Cornelia’s head. “I’ll see you later, okay Cora. And the rest goes for your team. No disrespect to the other teams but I'll be rooting for you."

He removed his hand and Cornelia smiled at him. "You got it, papa. It was great seeing you again. I won't let you down."

Her dad was glad to hear that. “That’s my girl and like I always say, keep your eye and mind on the goal and you’ll eventually reach it.”

Cornelia nodded at the words. “Yes sir!”

With those words said, Gozuki waved goodbye to the team. “I’ll see you all of you around next time. Good luck.” He began to walk away.

Leone rather enjoyed meeting Cornelia’s father for the first time as well as everyone else. Well, almost everyone. Akame still couldn’t believe the man they met was Gozuki. Of course, she knew would know about it given that she and the Cornelia she knew were trained under him back in her world. “Well, that was a thing. He seems to be a pretty cool dad Cora.”

The other blonde smiled sweetly as she placed her hands on top of her chest. “He’s more than that. He’s the reason why I have this second chance.” She turned around to her team. “Let’s do the best we can in the tournament. Are you with me?!”

The rest of the team smiled and all of them raised their arms. “Yeah!”

**B**

Team ALCE continued to spend their time on the festival grounds enjoying themselves. Leone snickered as she put a cat ear headband on top of her girlfriend's head. "Hey, you look pretty good as a Faunus Akame."

The other girl wasn’t sold on the look as she fiddled with the ears. That didn’t stop Cornelia taking a picture with her scroll. “Aww you look so cute Akame.”

Akame apparently didn’t like it as she took off the headband. “That’s enough Cora.” She placed the headband back on the stand where Leone first got it. “Where should we head to next?”

Esdeath was checking her scroll due to a text message she received and smiled. “I got a text from Ruby saying she’s back. Perhaps we should make our way to the arena now since her team’s match is coming up soon.”

Leone couldn’t agree more. “Sure. Let’s pick some snacks along the way.” All of a sudden, her mood took a different turn as she noticed a familiar scent. Two of them.

Akame noticed the change. “What’s wrong Leone?”

The Faunus growled as she looked to where she first picked up the scents. “They’re here.”

The rest of the team looked to where Leone was looking and knew why she was acting the way she was. Approaching them were two of Cinder’s teammates. Emerald and Mercury. Emerald put on her best smile at the other team and waved at them. “Hello there!” They didn’t return the greeting and she feigned being hurt. “Ow. That’s a cold reception from all of you.”

Mercury thought he should give it a shot. “Hey, come on now. No need to get all hostile toward us.”

It still didn’t work as Leone narrowed her eyes at the two. “Cut the crap and what do you want with us?”

Mercury chuckled at the question. “Just to say congratulations on your win. Is that a crime?”

Cornelia felt the same as Leone. “Where’s your leader? You two are usually around with her.”

Emerald waved her hand nonchalantly. “Cinder is around doing something else so don’t worry. But enough about us. Who’s going to fight in the doubles from your team?”

Leone was about to tell them to piss off but Akame interjected. “Leone and I will be in the doubles round since we work well together. Is that good enough for you?”

Emerald smiled at the answer. “Really now? You’ll be a tough duo to beat then. We’ll be on our way now. Oh, and Akame, Cinder says hi. See ya." She began to walk away while Mercury gave them a smile before leaving as well. As soon as they were far away enough, Emerald leaned into her partner in crime. "Do you believe what she said?"

Mercury just shrugged. “Who knows but the girl does know what she’s doing. Is she telling the truth or lying to us?”

“Guess we’ll know soon enough.” Emerald then pulled out her scroll to tell Cinder the news.

Akame and Leone were beyond glad those two were gone. Esdeath, on the other hand, was feeling a little nervous. “Why did you tell them that? I thought we haven’t decided who’s going to be in doubles yet.”

Her leader was about to answer but someone did it for her. “It’s a simple tactic really.” Everyone heard a new voice and turned to where it was coming from. Who they saw was a man walking up to them who oddly enough was wearing clothing similar to what Esdeath was wearing when the team first met her. “Giving the enemy disinformation can be more dangerous than not giving them any at all.  It could lead to some disastrous results if you’re not careful with the info given.”

He wasn’t wrong. Akame purposely gave Emerald and Mercury the wrong information. “Excuse me sir but who are-”

“Father!”

Everyone saw Esdeath run up to the man and hugged him. All of them spoke the same word. “Father?”

Esdeath’s father hugged her back. “It’s nice to see you again snow cone.”

Leone snickered at that. “Snow cone? Really?”

Esdeath let go while looking quite embarrassed. “Father! Don’t call me that. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“Says the girl who sleeps with a Teddy Ursa.” Akame commented.

Her teammate’s father laughed at that. “I like her. I Now this was a new one for both Akame and Leone. They only heard only a small margin of Esdeath’s father what Tatsumi told Night Raid about what he learned about Esdeath while being stranded on an island with her. They only learned that he taught Esdeath how to hunt and actually dissed him when he died saying that he was weak. Esren looked at each member carefully. “So this is the team you’re on huh?”

Esdeath nodded at the question. "Yes sir and…"She gave a small smile. "They're my friends too. In fact, I made a lot of friends since coming to Beacon."

Her father couldn’t feel prouder hearing that as he placed his hand and smiled at her. “It’s as I’ve told you Esdeath. You’ll find people who come to accept you." Esdeath never forgot those words and those words came true to her when she arrived at Beacon.

Speaking of Beacon. “Have you been enjoying your time here father?” Esdeath asked.

Esren nodded at the question. “Of course. I even saw your match along with this one other guy. I liked what that glasses guy said about your power. You’ve truly come a long way. Your mother would be proud of you as well.” Hearing that made Esdeath feel warm and fuzzy inside. He looked at the rest of the team. “As for the rest of you, I can’t imagine a better team for my daughter to be on. Thank you so much for looking after her.”

Akame smiled at Esren and bowed to him like she did with Gozuki. "You're welcome, sir. She's been a great teammate for us." Never in a thousand years would Akame have thought of saying that about her former enemy. Then again, this Esdeath wasn't her enemy. She was her ally. Her teammate, and maybe even a friend as ludicrous as that sounded given her history with the former general but yes. Even a friend. Esren accepted Akame's compliment. "Ha ha. You’re everything Esdeath said you would be. Now then, where’s that Ruby girl you told me so much about Esdeath?”

And Esdeath’s face went beet red. Leone decided to tease the other girl about. “Oh? And why would you want to meet Ruby of all people?”

Esren crossed his arms. “That’s easy. Esdeath told me all about her and the way she described this girl made me want to meet her.”

And Leone laughed while clutching her sides. Her laughter really didn’t make Esdeath’s situation any better. “T-That’s enough now father! You’ll see her soon enough. In fact, her match is up next in the tournament.”

That seemed to gain her father’s interest. “Oh? Is that so? Good timing I suppose. Guess now I’ll see why you’re so interested in this girl.” And Esdeath’s plan backfired as her face became redder and Leone laughed harder. Esren chuckled at his daughter. “In any case, it was nice seeing you again Esdeath. I look forward to seeing your next match. Remember, always be strong both in body and in spirit.”

Esdeath nodded at the words. “Yes, sir.” With that understanding, Esren left the team alone.

As they saw him walking away, Leone stopped her laughter and walked over to Esdeath. She stood next to the other girl. “You know, you have a pretty cool dad Esdeath. No pun intended.”

Her teammate chuckled at that. “It’s alright. My father was always there for me. He was someone I could depend on when things seemed hard on me. After my mother passed away, he devoted his entire life to raising me properly."

Cornelia could understand that perfectly. “I know what you mean. The same could be said about my papa.”

Hearing this talk about parents made Leone a little yearning. Of course, she had Yang and Blake as her adoptive parents but a small memory of her when she was younger laying on a straw mat with a blanket over her and a woman whose face she couldn’t see said otherwise. Akame had the same feeling with her only family she’s known was Night Raid and Kurome. _“Kurome…”_ She looked up to the sky and saw her younger sister’s face wishing she could meet her once more and hoped to become sisters as they were before.

 


	23. A Cruel Surprise

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Three: A Cruel Surprise

The day went on as the festival continued. As promised, team ALCE went to see team RWBY's match with Ruby finally back and won with Yang knocking the remaining three members of the opponent's team out of the arena. To celebrate their victory along with JNPR, all of them had rather large bowls of ramen that Weiss tried to pay for but for some reason, her card was declined so Pyrrha had to pay for everyone. After eating, everyone was satisfied. Almost everyone. Jaune felt a little under the weather after eating a giant bowl of ramen. Leone let out a sigh of content. "Well, that was something. What did you all think?" One of her response was Jaune groaning and Nora belched. "Good enough for me."

Even though Ruby felt good eating, she still felt a little bad missing out Esdeath’s first battle in the tournament. Nevertheless, she still smiled at the other girl. “So I heard your team is making it to the doubles round Esdeath. That’s awesome. I just wish I could’ve watched your fight.”

Esdeath smiled back at the younger girl which still annoyed Weiss. “It’s alright. I’m just glad I got to see yours. You did great out there.”

Leone laughed at that. “No kidding. I especially liked how you took three of those chumps out at once Yang.”

The other blonde was glad to hear that. “Thanks. I owe it all to my team and my sexy girlfriend.”

Blake smiled at that. “So, have you chosen who’s going to fight in the doubles now?”

Her daughter leaned back a little. “Easy. It’s Cora and Esdeath. Akame snagged us the win and I want to fight in the singles.”

“Well, at least you’ve figured something out.” Weiss spoke.

Jaune groaned some more before lifting his head up. “You know, now that I think about it, your team is totally unfair.”

Cornelia was confused when she heard that. “What do you mean by that?”

Nora decided to explain and slammed her hands on the counter. "He means that Akame and Leone are former…" She looked around to see the ramen guy still around but wasn't. "Assassins, whatever Cornelia was in her past life."

“Cora was an assassin too Nora.” Akame clarified.

Nora snapped her fingers. “Right and Esdeath was this crazy psycho strong general.”

Ren had to admit his partner had a point. “It is a little overpowered.”

Pyrrha laughed at that. “Overpowered or not, we’re all enjoying the battles with actual guidelines and not with…well, murderers."

Yang snickered at that. “No kidding. We’ve faced a lot worse than that before.”

Blake actually counted what they’ve faced so far. “Grimm invasions, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath…”

Ruby was actually proud of all that. "And that's all being huntresses in training. Imagine what we can do when we graduate!"

Leone laughed at that. “Man, you girls always get the fun stuff. What I wouldn’t want to crack some White Fang skulls.” Her cheerful demeanor was replaced by a more serious look. “Seriously, what I wouldn’t want to teach those bastards a lesson.”

Blake knew that face all too well. “I know I should be the last person to tell you this but the White Fang are dangerous. Even more so now.”

Her daughter thought otherwise. "Please. I'm more dangerous than all of them combined. Compared to the people, if you even want to call some of them that, Akame and I fought, the White Fang are nothing more than a bunch of pussies who think they're doing the right thing."

The other Faunus girl knew where this conversation was going. In fact, she couldn’t help but feel a little curious about what Leone’s thoughts were about White Fang. “And what do you think of the White Fang.”

Leone sighed at the question. “I’ll be honest here. I did look them up on that…intranet-”

“Internet.” Akame corrected her.

"Whatever, to see what the big deal was after you told us about them. It makes me sick on what they're doing and thinks they're actually helping the Faunus." Blake couldn't help but be reminded of the argument she and Weiss had from before from where this is going. "I'll just cut to the chase. The White Fang, they're not making it better for the Faunus. In fact, they're making it worse for them. For us. I mean, I know there're people out there who think all Faunus are exactly like the White Fang."

The rest of team RWBY looked over to Weiss who really didn’t like this sort of attention. “What are all of you looking at?”

And they looked away. “Nothing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Leone didn’t understand what happened but continued on with her rant. “Okay…back to what I was saying. Not all Faunus are like the White Fang. Examples of this are Blake and Velvet.” She really didn’t know how closely ironic she was when the Faunus blonde compared Blake to the White Fang. In fact, Blake never actually told Akame and the other team about her past with the White Fang. There just wasn’t a good time to do so. “And I guess me too since I’m a Faunus now. Bad example, I know considering the things I’ve done but there’s a difference. I was fighting for a better future. These White Fang guys, they’re just doing this for themselves.” She let out a sigh. “Think that’s all I wanted to get off my chest.”

After hearing all of that, Blake looked down at the counter. It was strange hearing that strong of an opinion of the White Fang from another Faunus like Leone even if she was human at first.   "You're right about one thing.” She looked over at Leone and smiled at her. “You are different than the White Fang. That much is true." Her daughter smiled back when she heard that.

“There you are!” Everyone looked over at where they heard a familiar voice and saw the familiar face that came along with it.

“Rienna?” Ruby wondered what she was doing here of all places.

Rienna walked up to the group smiling at them and stopped when she was in front of the group. “First off, let me say your team did really awesome in your fight. It was really something.”

Weiss crossed her arms. “Is there a point why you’re here?”

The other girl giggled. “Oh, yeah. My leader was wondering if your team could watch our team’s fight and hoped that ALCE would come watch too. Our match is up next.”

Hearing that clicked something to Pyrrha. “Wait, you’re part of team KRCT?”

Rienna nodded at the question. “Uh-huh. I guess I never did tell you the team I was on. So, what do you say?”

Everyone looked at each other thinking about the offer. All of them came to a conclusion and looked back at Rienna. Yang smiled at the other blonde. “Why not? We were going to watch Cardin and his team get their beatings anyway.”

Rienna smiled at the answer and grabbed Ruby’s hand. “Thank you so much. You’ll be blown away by what my team can do.” Unknown to her, both Esdeath and Weiss had fire coming out of their eyes. “I’ll see you all later!” She walked away from the group.

Already the group was unsure about what they signed up. Some of them were curious as to how a girl like Rienna would fight since she seems more unlikely than Ruby. Speaking of the leader, she stood up from her seat. "So…shall we watch their then?"

**B**

The familiar roar of the crowd could be heard throughout the arena. Team RWBY, JNPR, and ALCE took their usual seats as they saw CRDL already on the field. There were many questions that they needed answering. Yang was eating a bucket of popcorn. “So…how do you think this’ll turn out?”

Weiss was disgusted by her teammate’s manners. “First of all, don’t talk with your mouth full. Second, we’ll find out when they get here. Seriously, who doesn’t show up in time?”

“Heroes in comic books?” Ruby guessed.

Blake had to admit that was true. “She isn't wrong.”

Over to ALCE, they were wondering the same thing. Leone took a bite out of a hot dog. "Guess we'll see what this team KRCT can do."

Cornelia seriously doubted that considering the team they were facing. “They’re fighting against CRDL. We all know four of them couldn’t even beat Pyrrha altogether.” The team agreed to that.

Overseeing the match was Oobleck and Port. “Hello, and welcome to yet another exciting match here in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Today’s matchup is team CRDL vs team KRCT who seem to be running a tad late.”

Oobleck was less than fine with this. "This is unacceptable according to the tournament rules. If the members of team KRCT do show up within the minute, their team will forfeit the match."

Hearing that made Cardin laugh. “Fine by me. An easy win for us. Maybe they’re too chicken to come out and fight.” His team did chicken impressions.

Everyone was wondering what was taking KRCT so long. “Thirty seconds remain!” Oobleck announced.

Nora was beginning to feel a little frustrated. “Come on! Get the show on the road already!”

“I wonder what could’ve happened.” Pyrrha asked.

It was then Ren spotted something. “Hold on. Someone is coming out.”

Port also seemed to notice. "Hold on everyone. It seems we're finally seeing someone emerging from the other side."

Everyone looked closely and gasped to see who it was. "Rienna!?" Sure enough, it was Rienna but her battle outfit was unlike anything they've expected it to be. She wore a white tube top around her breasts with her midriff exposed that revealed more of her burn scar all the way above the left breast and upper part of her left arm. She also wore tan military-style pants with grey steel tipped boots. What caught their eye most of all were the two large weapons the blonde was carrying on each arm. They looked to be gauntlets similar to Yang’s Ember Celica but much larger with sharp pointed blades coming out of the front of them above her hands.

However, that wasn’t what really grabbed Akame and Leone’s attention. It was the shape and look of the weapons that made couldn’t believe it. “Akame…is that…are they…”

Her girlfriend narrowed her eyes. “It is but…it’s not possible. This girl…Rienna can’t be…” Another powerful hint Akame noticed was the outfit Rienna was wearing. It looked similar to an opponent Akame had fought before a long time again. _“Is Rienna really…”_

Esdeath noticed another person coming out. “Here comes the next member.”

As soon as they saw the next person, both Akame and Leone’s eyes widened in shock as to see who it was. The Faunus blonde gritted her teeth. “What the hell? That can’t…that can’t be…”

Akame thought the same. “And yet it is.”

She narrowed her eyes at the girl she was seeing. _“I hope we get along and kill people together.”_

The girl Akame was seeing was among the people she thought would never see again. _“Chelsea…you’re here too?”_ It was like seeing a ghost and not believing a former comrade was actually here before her eyes. Yet here Chelsea was and it was very real. Even in a different world, her usual outfit hadn’t changed at all except for the part of two swords that were red and black with one placed over each thigh.

Cornelia saw the next person to come out and it was one she recognized. “Hey, I know her.”

Akame’s next reaction when she saw the next girl was stronger than the last. She felt a strong pulse throughout out her body. _“In the next life, I hope we can be on the same side in the end.”_

Fear was clearly present in Akame’s eyes. _“Taeko…”_

Now she suddenly remembered why the name Oreburg sounded familiar to her. _“The ones who killed her were Oreburg!”_

The very girl Akame was seeing was the girl she had killed from a long time who in turn, killed Cornelia wearing the same outfit and holstering a katana located on her left hip. "So, she's on this team too? Wow, I didn't expect that all."

Akame looked over at her teammate. “Cora…you’ve met her before?”

Cornelia looked back at her leader. “Yeah…just after I went off on my own. We only exchanged a few words and that was it. Why?”

It was as Akame feared. Just like before, these two have met yet again in a different world. Leone noticed the look on her girlfriend’s face. _“I’ve never seen Akame this spooked before. Does she know the girl that showed up?”_ She continued to look at the arena and gasped as the Faunus blonde saw who was the last to show. _“No…way…”_ Leone gritted her teeth. “Akame…look.”

Her girlfriend did just that and as soon she did, everything felt like it came to a complete stop. Everything around Akame seemed to vanish as she focused on the one person. Her breathing became heavily elevated and felt her heart race like mad until she felt it stopped because what she was seeing couldn’t possibly be real. All of sudden, Akame began to remember certain events. _"It's been a long time, hasn't it Akame?"_

_“I'll add you as well big sister. That way we'll be together forever."_

_"I can't forgive you but at the same time, I love you. Those two thoughts keep going around in my head over and over agai_ _n."_

_"I don't want you to kill anyone else but me!"_

All of these different thoughts were racing through Akame’s mind. _“Kuro…me…”_ The girl she was seeing in front of her eyes was no one else but her younger sister who she took her life away. Her battle outfit was different. It looked similar to Wave’s attire but the jacket was short sleeved and the weapon she was carrying was different too. It was a weapon Akame recognized easily as well. _“That…Natala’s Shingu.”_ The weapon looked similar but it modernized. To see Kurome use that instead of Yatsufusa was mind-boggling to her.

_“-ame! –kame! Akame!”_ Akame snapped out of her trance and heard the crowd once more. Cornelia sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. We thought we lost you. What’s going on? I’ve never seen you act like this before. Leone too.”

Akame continued to look at Kurome and sure enough, she was still here. "Akame?" Esdeath spoke with worry in her voice.

Finally, their leader managed to utter a word. “Kurome…”

The name rang strong bells for the other two members of ALCE. “Kurome? As in your sister?

Akame nodded at Cornelia’s question. “Yes.” She never took her eyes off of who was her younger sister. She pointed at her. “That girl right there, that’s undoubtedly Kurome.”

 Cornelia and Esdeath gasped and they looked at Kurome in disbelief. “No way. That girl right there, is your sister? The same one you-”

“Yes.” Akame interrupted the blonde. “The same goes for Taeko. I fought against her once and…” They already knew the end of that one.

Cornelia looked at the girl she ran into before. “Taeko huh? So that’s her name.”

Leone crossed her arms under breasts. "And the girl with the headgear is Chelsea. She was on the same team as Akame and me until…” Again, the other two already knew how that must’ve ended. “This has to be some screwed up joke. I mean…what the hell?!” The armrests Leone was gripping on was beginning to crack. Akame felt the same way. Was this some cruel twisted joke God was making because it wasn’t funny to either of them. “Just how the hell are we supposed to take this?” Akame knew the answer to that. In a way, Akame was glad to see her sister again. In another, this wasn’t the Kurome she knew all her life and didn’t know what this Kurome was like. The same could be said for Chelsea. Taeko, there were mixed feelings about her. The only odd one out was Rienna and Akame had a theory as to who she really was. She grabbed her arm and felt the markings starting to activate.

Back at the arena, KRCT managed to gather together and was in front of CRDL. Cardin grinned at the other team. “About time you showed up. And here I thought you were too scared.”

Kurome chuckled at him. “Woof woof.” Cardin looked confused as he didn’t understand what she meant by that. “I hear you barking little dog but can you actually bite?”

Cardin growled at her. Taeko closed her eyes. “Such talk is only measured up by the lack of skill.”

Now that just made Cardin angry. “I’m going to make you eat those words.”

Oobleck checked his watch. “Well, it seems all of team KRCT is here with six seconds to spare. I would advise them not repeat this again.”

Chelsea groaned at that. “It wasn’t our fault. Blame Rienna’s heavy gear. I still don’t know why you keep those around.”

Rienna huffed. “These are the same weapons my dad used before he died. I refuse to use any other.” The rest of the team knew how stubborn she was when it came to her weapons.

Port cleared his throat. “Since the combatants are all here, let us select the stage.” The stage selector appeared once again and began to randomize. It slowed down until the two stages were selected. One was fog while the other was a jungle. The two sides began to drop down and then come back up with the selected stages. A thick fog enveloped KRCT’s side and the jungle on CRDL’s. “Now then…team CRDL vs team KRCT. Let the match…” CRDL readied themselves while KRCT remained the same and Taeko opened her eyes. “Begin!” The air horn blared.

“Let’s get them!” Cardin and his team charged headfirst at the other team.

Kurome smiled at their attempt. “Rienna…”

The blonde giggled. “On it.” She pulled back her arms and flames erupted from the sides of her weapons as she smiled wickedly. “Devil Incarnate….” She placed her arms forward and fire came out of the two gauntlets fiercely. The fire reached CRDL and enveloped them all as they screamed while Rienna twisted her arms around. **“Flaming Spiral!”** The fire twisted around upward and CRDL didn't have time to react as it surrounded them all.

Yang was surprised by what she was seeing. “That chick uses flamethrowers!?”

Ruby marveled at that. “So awesome!” She then noticed something familiar with weapons Rienna was using. “Wait…I think I’ve seen them before.”

Akame thought differently. _“Flamethrowers. So, she is…”_

“Chelsea…”

Chelsea grinned at her leader’s order. “Of course.” She pulled out the two swords and opened them. They were actually bladed fans with six blades in between the two sides. “Graceful Malevolence…” The wind began to surround the fans as she spun around once and waved the fans strongly with wind coming out reaching the fire spiral Rienna made before. The wind added to the fire created a fire tornado. **“Hell’s Twister!”**

Rienna loved the sight she was seeing. “So beautiful.”

“Taeko…”

Taeko grabbed the hilt of her sword and pulled it out. Pyrrha noticed something about the weapon. “That’s just a simple katana.”

“Maybe she’s like Jaune.” Nora guessed. Jaune didn’t know if that was an insult or a compliment.”

Taeko pulled back her sword as she closed her eyes. “Tsugaku-Hime…”  The wind began to circle around her. **“Ridge Wind!”** She opened up her eyes and slashed upwards at the air at the fire tornado. Taeko flicked her sword and sheathed it. In the next second, the fire tornado was cut in half and scattered. What it left behind was Cardin and the rest of his team in the air. During the whole thing, few in the crowd had noticed all of their aura gauges dropping rapidly. “Kurome…”

Her leader took note. “I got it. Let’s wrap this up.” She spun around her weapon around and stopped while holding it. “Trisula.” She smiled at her prey. **“Amplify times two.”** A strong pulse went through her body and looked up. In the next second, she disappeared. She jumped off of him and that sent him out of the arena. Kurome headed over to the next member and did the same. Kurome jumped off and headed to the next member. She kicked the third member and jumped off of him to the sky. All three member of CRDL hit the force field at once and dropped to the ground with their aura gauges dropping to zero. Only one left was Cardin himself. Kurome chuckled as she raised Trisula and started to fall on top of him. As she neared him, Kurome swung down her weapon at Cardin. The impact sent him crashing into ground and his aura gauge dropped to zero. Kurome landed on the ground with no problem and placed her weapon on her shoulder. "And that's it." The air horn blared again.

The crowd didn’t roar at all as it was mostly silent. Even Oobleck and Port didn’t know what to say since the match was over quickly. Port cleared his throat. “Well…uh…the winners of this match is team KRCT! Bravo for your excellent show of teamwork!” There was still silence among the crowd.

The scene wasn't what Chelsea expected. "Huh…I guess we've made a stronger impression than we thought." She closed her fans and set them on her thighs.

All of them heard Cardin groan in pain as he tried to lift up his head. "Wow, you're still conscious. Too bad you lost." Kurome spoke as she walked up to him.

Cardin glared at her. “Whatever. All of you were just lucky.”

Kurome narrowed her eyes and stomped on one of Cardin's hands. He screamed as she applied more pressure. Everyone was shocked she was doing such a thing. "Listen closely so you won't forget. Luck had nothing to do with this. We won because of our strength and skill. You have nothing and no one to blame but you and your pathetic excuse for a team for your loss.”

“Kurome…” The leader looked back at Chelsea. “Lay off the guy. If you don’t, we’ll get a penalty or something worse.”

Her girlfriend had a point and stepped off Cardin’s hand. She began to walk away. “I’d suggest you find another line of work. You’re not suited to be a huntsman.” As Kurome joined back up with her group, all of them began to leave at once. As they did, Kurome smiled at their performance. _“I think we left a good impression to everyone here.”_

Up at the stands, Coco popped the gum she was chewing. “That’s one brutal girl. She publicly humiliated Cardin in front of every person from the other kingdoms.” Velvet didn’t know what to think of what she saw. Should she feel glad that Cardin got what he deserved or feel bad for what happened to him?

Sun and Neptune, mostly Neptune couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated. “Never thought I would say this but those are a group of girls I’d rather avoid.”

Sun chuckled at that. “No kidding.”

Emerald was still trying to figure out what just happened. “Okay. I blinked for one second and the whole thing was over. What gives?”

Ignoring her reaction, Mercury enjoyed the show. “That was quite the entertainment. I needed a good laugh.”

Behind the two of them was Cinder who became very interested in the team. "Looks like the tournament became much more interesting."

Over to JNPR, Nora actually liked what happened in the match. “That was really cool! With that one girl with the fire and other with fans, and the one with sword, and-”

“We get it Nora.” While Nora may have gotten a kick out of watching the match, Ren was feeling a little more worried. “They’re opponents we have to be careful around.”

Pyrrha nodded in agreement to that. “Yes. They’re quite the dangerous team.”

Jaune, as usual, was a little afraid of them. “Anyone else not looking forward to fighting them when that happens?”

Ruby and her team were the same as everyone else. Yang gulped. “I know I said I wanted to see Cardin and his pals get their asses kick but that was just overboard.”

Blake had to agree with that. “They didn’t even stand a chance.”

Weiss became very unnerved by their performance. “The way they utilized their teamwork was flawless.”

Ruby was paying attention to someone else. “Hey, what was Akame’s sister’s name again?”

It was an odd question for their leader to ask. “I think it was…Kurome right? Why do you want to know?” Yang asked.

The younger sister pointed at the screen where the aura gauges were displayed. “Because I think we saw her in action.”

The rest of the team looked over to the screen and sure enough, their leader was right. Kurome's name was displayed along with one other that sounded familiar to them. "Apparently one of the other members is called Chelsea. Isn’t that one of the people Akame and Leone knew from before?” Blake asked. Sure enough, it was. It’s would be hard to forget the name of a comrade that fought alongside the two former assassins that was killed.

Finally, to team ALCE, Akame could already tell KRCT would be a team to look out for. Especially with her sister. _“It seems Kurome hasn’t changed much in this world. One thing that’s bothering me is what did she do near the end of the match? For a short time, I felt her aura intensified. Taeko hasn’t changed as well except for the fact she may be more dangerous now. Chelsea, I never would've imagined her fighting given the line of work she used to be in back in our world. Rienna…after seeing her, it's now obvious who she really is and that's what's most surprising about her."_

Leone had similar thoughts about the team. _“Somehow I think Kurome is an even bigger bitch here and Chelsea, never thought I would see the day seeing her fight of all people. That Taeko chick doesn’t look like a pushover either. Finally, that Rienna girl. Is that chick really…”_

Esdeath couldn’t’ help but feel a little nervous. “So this who’s in the tournament. I have the feeling they won’t be easy to defeat.”

Cornelia scoffed at that. “What gave you the first clue? They won the match easy. The question now is, who’s next to fight them?” That was a question everyone wanted to know the answer to. What they do know was that this tournament took a turn that no one expected to take.

 


	24. Family Matters

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Four: Family Matters

After team KRCT's match against CRDL, Akame felt the need to eat again after trying to cope with seeing people she knew that were dead before. Her team couldn't blame her since they didn't know how to react to this either. It was one thing to see a former comrade of Akame's earlier days and a former general but it was another when it came to a previous team member and a sister. Mostly the sister to Akame. So here she was, sitting at an isolated table drinking a milkshake. Technically it was her third one. Joining ALCE was RWBY and JNPR who were also having questions of the team they saw fight previously. Akame finished her milkshake and proceeded to her fourth one. Cornelia couldn’t help but feel a little worried. “Akame?” Her leader stopped sucking on the straw and looked over at the blonde. “How are you feeling?”

Nora scoffed at the question. "She's drinking her fourth milkshake. Obviously, that means she's not taking this whole sister back from the grave thing too well."

She had a point which was rare at times for Ren. “Nora…”

“She’s right.” Everyone looked at Akame who was fiddling around with the straw. “I don’t how I’m supposed to feel about this. Should I be happy that Kurome is here? I know I should be but…”

“Then be happy.” Akame looked at Yang who crossed her arms under her breasts. “Look, if that girl is your younger sister, then be happy. If you ask me, this is a second chance for you. Make things right. You can be the older sister you always wanted to be before…everything that happened between the two of you happened.”

Leone knew her mother was talking as the older sister she was but still couldn’t help but sigh. “It’s great you’re trying to offer advice and all Yang but it isn’t that easy.” 

Yang really hated those words. “And why’s that?”

Weiss knew the answer as she rolled her eyes. “Because what exactly is Akame going to say to her? Hi, I’m your older sister from a different world and we tried to kill each other but I killed you instead.”

Blake thought that was a little too far in that regard. “You didn’t have to put it that way.”

"But Weiss does have a point." Akame spoke. "Like Cora and Esdeath said, this is the Kurome who lived in Remnant. We're probably not even blood-related"

At this point, Yang slammed her hands on the table. “And who the hell cares about that? Ruby and me are half-sisters but we’re still sisters in the end. Leone is my and Blake’s daughter and she doesn’t have a drop of blood in her from either of us. So why should it matter if the Kurome here isn’t related to you? Because no matter what, no matter who she is, she’ll still be your little sister. Got it?”

Everyone was basically speechless when they the speech the brawler gave. Ruby smiled as she started to clap and soon everyone else followed. “That was really great for you to say all of that Yang.”

Even Weiss had to admit that the blonde could have her moments. “So you can be inspirational when you want to.”

Yang was eating up the applause as it showed in her smile. “It’s…nothing actually. Just trying to get my point across as an older sister to another older sister.”

Akame was grateful for the advice and smiled. “Thank you for saying that Yang but do I really deserve a second chance like this? Even after what I-”

“No. You’re not using the whole heavy sin burden excuse this time. You’re the one who wanted a new start in the first place remember? I would suggest you make good use of that starting with Kurome.” Yang advised.

It would be a good start and it would fulfill Akame’s wish. There was one problem with it. “Uh, Yang? That would be great and all but she did humiliate Cardin and his team in front of the whole four kingdoms!” Jaune pointed out. That was a problem. In fact, how was Akame supposed to reconcile with someone like the Kurome in their world?

“Maybe…she isn’t as bad as she seems to be?” Ruby guessed but everyone highly doubted that.

Leone sighed at the present problem. “I guess she’ll cross that bridge when she gets to it.” She still wasn’t a big fan of Kurome. "Seriously, though, aside from Kurome, Chelsea is also a huge surprise for us. Especially her fighting of all things."

Akame nodded in agreement. “Yes considering the tactics she formerly used before.”

Everyone else was a little in the dark about this topic so Cornelia decided to ask to shed some light. "So…what was the Chelsea you knew was like?" This would be the first all of them would hear about a person that was previously on Leone and Akame's team.

Her leader thought it was harmless enough to tell all of them. “Chelsea was one of the new members to be in Night Raid after we lost Sheele and Bulat. She mostly specialized in stealth missions so fighting in the front lines was out of the question for her. What made her truly dangerous was the Imperial Arms she wielded, Phantasmagoria: Gaea Foundation.”

That was the second mention everyone heard of those Imperial Arms. “And what does that do?” Blake asked.

Leone decided to answer that. “Gaea Foundation was an Imperial Arms that could change the user’s appearance to any living creature. Whether that would be another human or another living being. What made Chelsea a hell of a lot dangerous was that she could perfectly mimic the person she’s copying by only one observation or what she’s heard about. She was one hell of an assassin I’ll tell you that. She racked up as many kills as Akame.”

Considering Akame’s history, that was impressive. “We did have problems with her at first.” Akame clarified.

Leone remembered that clearly. “Yeah, like how she insulted Sheele and Bulat about how they died because they were incompetent or something like that. However, we soon learned she didn’t want what happened to us happen to the team she was previously on.”

Hearing that led to another question from Ruby. “What happened to her previous team?”

Akame took another sip out of her milkshake. "From what we heard, they were all killed." Of course, it was that. This was a world where death was apparently everywhere that Akame and Leone were from. "Still, Chelsea was a good comrade to have. And…well…" That was when Akame started to blush.

Her girlfriend knew exactly what that meant. “Akame, no. I thought we agreed only to keep that to ourselves.”

Akame sighed. “I wasn’t going to bring it up.”

“But you were thinking about it.”

“What are you two talking about?” Esdeath asked.

“None of your business.” Both girls answered at once. They were very defensive about whatever they were talking about.

Akame sighed as they needed to switch the topic. “As for Rienna, something always bothered me about her.”

Nora had the usual guess. "It's the burn scar she has isn't it because that just screams depressing backstory am I right?"

Akame shook her head. “No. It’s the weaponry she used in the fight. It looked similar to another Imperial Arms Leone and I had fought before.”

This was a subject Ruby was very interested in since Rienna’s weapons did ring a bell to her as well. “You two fought against a flamethrower?”

Akame nodded at the question. “Yes. This flamethrower type Imperial Arms was known as Invitation to Purgatory: Rubicante used by a member of the Jaegers, Bols.” Hearing that name rang a very strong bell inside Ruby’s mind.

Yang laughed meekly at the name. "That's a cheerful title to give. So what makes this one different than a usual flamethrower?"

Akame tried to recall the details. "For one, it has an incredibly wide range to burn people alive and fire will continue to burn them until their death."

Jaune gulped at the grim description. “That’s uh…that’s scary.”

Blake did want to know something more about what Akame mentioned before. “And who are these Jaegers?”

Leone thought to explain this time. “Remember what I said about the White Fang being a bunch of pussies compared to the people we’ve faced before? The Jaegers are one of them. They were a special force created to fight against Night Raid that used Imperial Arms. Their members including was Bols and Kurome who we were ordered to kill by the Revolutionary army because of what they could do. The other members are Wave whose Imperial Arms is called Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot which is an armor type like Tatsumi's Incursio. Run who had Soaring for Miles Mastema which was a wing type Imperial Arms that allowed him to fly and shoot deadly piecing feathers at you. A freak of a scientist called Doctor Stylish who had the Hands of God: Perfector. The last one was Seryu Ubiquitous, the bitch who killed Sheele in the first place. Her Imperial Arms was called Magical Beast Transformation: Hekatonkheires. An organic type Imperial Arms that can only be stopped by destroying the core and killing its user. Oh, and it was a dog too that could change its size and shape.” As if Zwei wasn’t scary enough for Blake, now she learned of this creature.

Akame sipped on her milkshake some more. “And all of them were led by Esdeath.”

Esdeath sighed at that. “Of course it’s me but it is surprising to hear I was able to lead a team.”

After hearing all of that, Yang wanted to know something else. “I’m guessing your sister had these Imperial Arm things too. What was hers?”

Akame sighed at the question. “Her Imperial Arms was called March of the Dead: Yatsufusa.”

That was a name everyone recognized. “Wait, isn’t that-”

“It is” Akame interrupted Weiss. “And its power is to bring back the dead of those she killed before as lifeless dolls to fight for her. The most Kurome could control is up to eight.” Several of them gulped when they heard that description. It sounded like from a horror movie, except it was actually real one time. “The drawback was that the more corpses she controlled, the slower her reaction time.”

Pyrrha became slightly unnerved after hearing all of this. “These Imperial Arms you speak of, they’re truly terrifying. It makes you wonder what created them in the first place.”

That was a question Leone was more than happy to explain. “That’s easy. All of the Imperial Arms were created from materials collected from S-Class danger beasts and rare metals like Orichalcum. Examples of these are Incursio which was made of the flesh of the Tyrant Dragon which could live under extreme weather conditions and Cross-Tail’s wires were made of the hair of another S-Class danger beast that were so strong, they were called World Severing String and couldn’t be broken no matter what. Even Esdeath’s came from the blood of an S-Class danger beast that lived in the north and she drank the whole chalice of it.” Esdeath thought she would be sick to her stomach after hearing that.

Cornelia couldn't help but feel saddened after hearing all of that. "It's like the more we learn about the world you two came from, The more we can understand what a horrible place it must've been." Akame could understand why the other girl would understand that and she wasn’t wrong.  “So what was it that made you think there’s a connection between Rienna’s weapon and the weapon this Bols guy used?”

 Akame was about to answer that but was interrupted by a familiar cheerful voice. “There you all are and all of you are in the same place too.” Everyone looked over at where the voice was and Akame gasped as her eyes widened. Walking up to them was Rienna and the rest of her team including Kurome still wearing their battle clothes. Rienna smiled at all of them. "Hi, there! Did all of you like our match? My team is pretty tough huh?" That was a complete understatement. "Oh yeah, I should probably introduce you to all of them." 

“I’m quite capable of doing that myself Rienna.” Kurome walked in front of her team and smiled at the group. “Nice to finally meet all of you in person. Rienna told us some things about all of you. But enough about that. In case you missed it, I’m Kurome. Kurome Chariot and leader of team KRCT.”

The last name drew some attention to Akame. _“Chariot. As in Grand Chariot? I suppose Wave still has some influence over Kurome even if he’s not here.”_

Yang had her own thoughts. _“So this is Akame’s younger sister. The one she killed before.”_

Kurome noticed the looks everyone was giving her. “Why are you all of you looking at me like that?”

All of them realized that now. “Nothing!” They all replied at once.

That struck as strange for Kurome. “O…kay then. All of you are weird.”

Nora laughed at that. “No, just me.”

Already they were leaving quite the impression on Kurome. “Whatever. You already know Rienna so let me introduce to the two other members. Chelsea Gaia and Taeko Oreburg.”

Chelsea waved her hand at the group. “Hey there.” Taeko didn’t say anything as she stared at the group.

Ruby thought to give something a try. “It’s…nice to meet all of you. Your match was…pretty good.”

Kurome scoffed at that. “Please. The team we fought were absolutely pathetic. Oh well, at least they’re out of the tournament now. As it progresses, only the stronger teams will remain.”

Blake knew exactly where this was going. “So, what does that make you? The team proving you’re the best above all others or the team trying crush everyone else to prove your superiority?”

Hearing that made Kurome chuckle. “Don’t place us in a typical antagonist role. We’re neither of those. Back in our school, we’re the best around but when it comes to events like these, it’s a good way to see how we stack up against others. So far, that’s proving to be true. Especially with RWBY and ALCE. We’re not fighting to prove anything but to test ourselves.”

That was surprising to know for the group. Still, there was one thing that bothered Akame and couldn’t believe what she was about to say next. “If that’s true, then why do what you did to Cardin?” The second thing Akame couldn’t believe was that she actually spoke to her sister.

Kurome narrowed her eyes at her unknowing sister. “Because I despise those that blame their weaknesses onto to others or anything else. When it comes to defeat, you better own up to it. If not…well, you’ve seen it already.”

She wasn’t wrong. Cardin had a habit of being a sore loser whenever he lost and that same habit resulted in the biggest embarrassment in his life. Hearing that only proved one thing to Weiss. “In other words, you only respect those who you think deserve it.”

Kurome smiled at the answer and snapped her fingers. “Exactly. If weaklings like the team we fought are trying to make it as hunters, they’ll die in no time flat. This is a dangerous profession we’re aiming to be. If you’re not careful, don’t heed the dangers, don’t take it seriously, you will die.”

Ruby gulped at that but then narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “Of course we take it seriously. Why else would any of us be here in the first place?”

The other leader took in Ruby's words into consideration and then giggled. "For a brat like yourself, you have some balls to speak to me like that. I like that." She turned around away from the group. "I look forward to seeing what the rest of you can do and what you'll bring in the doubles round. Let’s go.”

Everyone turned around as well and began to leave. “Hold on!” They stopped and looked back at Ruby. “I have a question for Rienna. Your weapons, where did you get them?”

Rienna smiled at the younger girl. “Oh, them? They were once my father’s weapons before he…was killed on a job when I was young. He was a hunter and I looked up to him.”

Hearing that also confirmed something else for the young leader. “Was your dad’s name by any chance…Bols?”

The question Ruby asked was the same one Akame had been wondering about. The blonde was rather confused by the question. “Yeah, that’s him but how did you know?”

Both Akame and Leone gasped quietly when they heard that. _“So…it is true then.”_

Ruby laughed nervously at the question. “Being an aspiring huntress myself, I’ve often research famous hunters and what weapons they’ve used. Yours really seemed familiar to me as I’ve seen them on a hunter’s magazine before that my dad had lying around one time.”

Rienna seemed really happy to hear that. “Really? I guess your dad had one of the issues that my dad was on. I heard he was a little camera shy. It’s so great meeting someone who recognized my dad’s weapons.”

Then Chelsea groaned all of a sudden. “But they’re such a pain.  In fact, your weapons are the only reason why we were almost late for our match!”

Her teammate glared at the other girl. “Hey, I take pride in those weapons and we still made it didn’t we?”

“Yeah but barely!”

“Enough you two.” Both girls looked over at Takeo. “We’ve had this conversation countless times now. Give it a rest.” The two teammates looked away from each other.

Rienna looked back at Ruby. “In any case, why did you want to know about my dad?”

Ruby tried to avoid looking at the other girl in the eye. “Just that…I thought he was a great hunter when I read about him and I’m getting to meet his daughter is pretty cool too.”

The blonde smiled at that. “Thank you for saying that. I’ll aim to be the huntress he’ll be proud of.”

Kurome sighed at all of this. “Alight, that’s enough conversation for now. Let’s get going.”

“Wait just a minute!”

Kurome sighed again but it was more annoyed this time. “What is it now!?”

Nora pointed at Rienna. “Just how did you get that burn scar in the first place?”

Said blonde touched her burn scar. "This? Oh, this came from an accident from when I toyed with my dad's fire dust when I wasn’t supposed to and I paid the price. It was a pretty grueling sight when my parents saw it. But...I don’t mind it all that much. I consider it something important since it was my dad’s dust that did it. Is that all you wanted to know?”

That wasn’t exactly what Nora had wanted. “Yes, thank you for your time.” Akame replied.

Kurome was all too glad that this conversation was finally done. They spent more time than she would've liked. "If that's all then we're done here. See you later in the tournament. Especially you, Akame." With those words said, team KRCT finally walked away from the group.

Ruby sighed as they finally left. “That was something, wouldn’t you say?” She turned to the rest of the group but noticed something wrong with Akame and Leone. “What’s going on?”

Everyone noticed the faces the two former assassins were making. They saw sadness on their faces. Akame began speaking. “After our return from a mission in Kyoroch, we were ordered by both the Revolutionary Army and the people to kill the secret police force known as Wild Hunt for all of the inhumane crimes they have committed. One of them was the murder and rape of a widow and her child that left them beyond recognition.”

Leone gritted her teeth in anger. “They had nothing to do with anything. Not with the Empire, not with the Revolutionary Army, and not with the war. They were just normal civilians who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. I still remember Tatsumi’s reaction when he heard that. It was the first time I’ve seen him that angry.”

Somehow, all of them knew where this going but decided to hear the end of it. “We’ve learned that the widow and child were none other than the family of Bols.” After hearing that, everyone felt the wind blowing through them.

 


	25. Tricks and Tips

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Five: Tricks and Tips

All was quiet in ALCE’s room in the night as all of them were sleeping. Cornelia was unmoving in her bed while Esdeath was cuddling up with her Teddy Ursa. Akame and Leone were sleeping in the same bed as usual. Well, Leone was sleeping. Akame was only slightly awake and has been for a while due to some thoughts. "Something on your mind?"

Akame gasped quietly and saw that Leone was awake as well. “Leone…”

The Faunus blonde smiled at her girlfriend. “We’ve known each other for a long time so I can tell what you’re thinking. It’s about Kurome, isn’t it?”

She hit the nail on the head right there. Akame lowered her eyes. “Yes. After everything we’ve been through, after I’ve been through, it’s…”

Leone giggled softly as she brought Akame closer to her body. “I know. It’s kinda surprising to me too.”

Akame still had more on her mind. “Not only that but Chelsea and Takeo…”

Leone knew about Chelsea but this was the first about hearing about the other girl. “How do you know this Taeko girl in the first place? Was it someone you met before you joined up with Night Raid?”

Akame was about to answer but was interrupted. “I want to know that too.”

The two girls instantly sat up and saw Cornelia awake. “Cora…”

“I want to know too.” Everyone else saw Esdeath sitting up from her bed. “It’s kinda hard to sleep when there’s a lot of talking.”

So much for all of them trying to sleep. Akame sighed as she might as well tell them. It was important. Especially for Cornelia. “Fine. The truth about Taeko is that I did know her one time and it was you who met her first Cora.”

The human blonde was surprised to hear that. “Really? Wow, what are the chances of that we run each other again?”

That was only the half of it. “There’s still more. You two were friends for a short while until…” Even recalling those events now still haunted Akame.

Cornelia knew what she asking if she wanted to know. “Go ahead Akame. Tell us.”

Her leader steeled herself for saying her next words. “Until the two of you found out you were enemies and Taeko…” Akame gritted her teeth. “Taeko killed you, Cora."

Cornelia felt her whole body become cold when she heard that. The look in her eyes certainly told the rest of the team what she thought about this. “I see. So…that’s how I was killed.” It certainly was shocking to her. To think the girl she ran into before was the same one who ended her previous life.

Akame lowered her head. “I fought against Taeko thinking I could save you. I killed her and won but I found out the truth too late. You were already gone by the time I fought against her.” Tears started to come out of her eyes.

Leone put a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. She had heard about Cornelia’s death but not about the how. It must’ve pained Akame so much to tell something that caused her so much pain in the first place. “I don’t want you to cry.” Akame gasped and looked at Cornelia who was giving her a serious look. “I’ve known you for a while now and I can tell seeing you cry like that, it doesn’t really suit you. Maybe it was luck we were able to meet again or some other higher power, I don’t care but I am happy to meet you and I know the Cornelia you knew would be happy too.”

Akame continued to cry but smiled as she was glad to hear that. Maybe it was some miracle she was able to reunite with Cornelia. The same could be said for Kurome. It was like Yang told her. She could use this chance to finally make things right between each other even if Kurome didn’t know she was Akame’s younger sister. It was a start and chance she won’t waste. Esdeath couldn’t help but feel jealous about this moment. Leone and Cornelia were friends and allies fighting alongside each other but her? She was once their enemy. She couldn’t share that kind of feeling with the others. Esdeath gripped the bedsheets tightly. _“I have to prove myself to the others. I have to prove to them that they can count on me.”_

After all of that, Leone smiled as she yawned. “Okay, I think that’s enough talking for one day. We have to rest up for the matches tomorrow. Who knows what kind of crazy stuff will happen.”

Akame sniffed as she rubbed her eyes with her arm and chuckled. “Leone’s right. We can’t win any matches if we’re sleep deprived.” Everyone agreed to that. “Good night everyone.”

“Good night/night.” The team laid back on their beds and fell back asleep waiting for tomorrow to come.

**B**

Team ALCE were walking through the festival grounds walking around to pass the time before the first match of the doubles round would start. Leone stretched her arms out. “So, what should we do first while waiting around? We could hit some of the prize stands.”

“No Leone. We’re not having a repeat of last time.” Akame objected.

The Faunus blonde growled at that. “And why not?”

Her girlfriend had the counter for that. “Because last time you tried your hand at a prize game, you threw the ball right through the stand itself.”

Leone had to admit that was her fault. “Alright. Point taken but can you blame me? I have a hard time controlling my strength. Remember I am in my beast form and I really wasn’t known for holding back. If I didn’t here, I’m pretty sure I would’ve killed someone by now.”

Akame knew that all too well. Aura or not, Leone's strength was great enough to kill a person in one shot. Even with the aura protecting the person, it would most likely be used up in a one-shot attack. After all, this was the same girl who lifted and threw a Death Stalker and a giant iceberg that Esdeath created. Speaking of the girl. "I was thinking of trying one of the games myself.”

Cornelia giggled at that. “So you can win a prize for Ruby?” Esdeath blushed at the guess.

Leone, as usual, thought it was funny and laughed. “Have you asked Ruby about your date offer yet?”

Esdeath looked away in embarrassment. “I…haven’t yet. Ever since the tournament, I haven’t had a proper time to ask her.”

Akame looked ahead of the group. "Maybe you can now." Everyone looked ahead and sure enough, they saw Ruby with Weiss along with one other woman with them they never saw before.

“Hey! Ruby! Weiss!”

The two members of team RWBY and the woman with them turned around to see ALCE as they heard Leone call them out. The young leader smiled as she waved back at the other team. “Hey there! Good morning!” While Ruby was happy to see them, Weiss wasn’t and for a good reason.

As the group approached the other team, they noticed that the woman with them looked similar to Weiss. Almost as if she was an older looking version of her. “So who’s the new chick? She your mom Weiss?”

The women with them narrowed her eyes at the Faunus blonde as the heiress though to rectify that. “She is not. She’s-”

“She’s Weiss’ older sister Winter.” Ruby answered.

It took a few seconds for the team to register that. “Sister!?”

Now did make sense why the two looked so similar. Esdeath clapped her hands and smiled. "Wow, Weiss. I didn't know you had an older sister." That was something all of them didn't know.

This only raised more questions from Leone. “So, what’s your sister doing here in the first place?”

“Classified.” Winter replied.

“How long are you staying here?” Cornelia asked.

“Classified.” Winter repeated.

Now Leone was just being annoyed by this. “What’s with this classified BS?”

Weiss cleared her throat. “Best I can explain is that Winter is here on business on behalf of Atlas. What that is, like she said. It’s classified.”

Not much of an answer but they have no choice but to accept it. “Oh yeah, and she’s in the military.” Ruby added. That was another detail Akame noticed first glance. Winter’s posture and certain air certainly did say military. “Oh yeah. Winter, these are our friends-”

"I'm well aware who they are." Winter interrupted. "I've seen their fight in the tournament." She continued to look at Leone. "I must say, Weiss, I thought you would have a better taste in choosing your friends."

Leone knew where this was going. “Don’t even start lady. I am nothing like those White Fang assholes.”

Winter highly doubted that. Like Weiss, she too was all too familiar with her family's violence with the White Fang so of course, she would have similar views. "Is that so? And how would you prove that?"

The Faunus blonde already went through this before and glared at Winter. “Because if I’d ever met any one of them, I wouldn’t hesitate to bash their skulls in.”

In Winter’s line of work, she could tell a lot about a person in their eyes and Leone’s said she was very serious. “What Leone said is a little extreme but I can assure you she has a very negative view of the White Fang even though she’s a Faunus herself.”

Winter didn’t let up her gaze at the Faunus blonde. “Is that so? Quite surprising to see a Faunus who despises their own kind.”

Leone was beginning to be a little pissed at Winter. “No. Only them.”

In a surprise twist, all of them heard Winter chuckle a little. “You’re quite interesting I’ll tell you that much.” All of them didn’t expect her to say that.

Akame cleared her throat so the attention would be on her. “If you’re here on business, why are you here in the fairgrounds?”

That was something Ruby would answer. “It was my idea. I thought she should see the fairgrounds while Winter’s still here.”

A fair enough explanation. Now Leone had another question. “Okay then. So where’s Yang and Blake?”

“They’re around somewhere.” Weiss replied.

Speaking of her sister, Ruby did remember something. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. Yang wanted to see you, Leone.”

The Faunus blonde raised an eyebrow to that. “Why is she looking for me?”

“There you are!” Speak of the blonde devil herself, Yang and Blake were approaching the group. Yang a little faster toward her daughter and grabbed her arm. “Glad you’re here. Hope you don’t mind I borrow her for a bit Akame. Kay thanks!” Before Leone could utter a word, her mother dragged her off away from the group.

Everyone didn’t know what to think of what just happened. “What was that all about?” Esdeath asked. All of sudden, Cornelia elbowed her. “Ow! What was that-” The blonde cleared her throat and nudged at Ruby. Esdeath understood what the other girl was trying to tell her. “Oh.” She looked at the young leader and cleared her throat. “U-Um…Ruby. About what I asked you from before.”

Weiss growled lightly and narrowed her eyes while her hand was closed tightly. This didn’t go unnoticed by Winter. Ruby instantly knew what Esdeath was talking about. “Oh. I…uh…still haven’t decided. Sorry.”

Esdeath wasn’t surprised by this. “I see. Well, let me know when you’ve decided.”

The young leader was grateful that Esdeath was understanding but she couldn’t make the girl wait any longer. She had to give an answer soon. “So…” Cornelia spoke up. “Are you going to see any of the fights today?” She asked Winter.

The older Schnee closed her eyes. “I wish I could but I still have some important matters to attend later on. That and spending time with my sister a little afterward.”

Ruby smiled at that. “Well, I hope you’ll enjoy your stay at Beacon then.”

“Of course.” Winter opened her eyes and checked her scroll to see what the time was. “Appears I have to go now. Thank you for showing me around. If all of you would excuse me…” She began to walk past the group but stopped briefly. “By the way, to the leader of team ALCE, something about you is strange.” Akame’s eyes widened. “I’ve been serving in the Atlas military for a long time now and I’ve seen the look in some of the soldier’s eyes who have gone through many rough battles. You have the same look in your eyes despite being close to my sister's age. The same could be said for your Faunus teammate. I wonder. What is it the both of you saw to have such eyes hardened veterans have?" With that said, Winter continued to walk.

As soon as Winter was out of sight, Blake crossed her arms. “That was ominous.”

“It was inevitable. Someone from the military like her was bound to find similarities.” Akame spoke.

Now Ruby couldn’t help but feel a little worried. “So…what does this mean?”

Akame already knew the answer to that. “Nothing. That’s all Winter was able to tell about me.” Still, hearing that a second time did worry Akame. _“First Babara and now Winter. I suppose blending in as students isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.”_

Akame’s thoughts were interrupted by Cornelia clapping her hands and turned to her. “All right now. I think this is enough foreboding one day. Like my papa always said. Worry too much about something and you’ll get nothing out of it.”

Esdeath smiled at the words. “Cora’s right. Let’s just enjoy the day without worrying about anything. In fact, I think the only thing we should worry is about being knocked out of the tournament."

That was something everyone can agree on. Now that everything was settled, there was one more thing up for discussion. “So where did Yang take Leone?” Weiss asked.

“Someone rang a Yang?” The group saw Yang and Leone walking up to the group. “What I’d miss?”

**B**

It wasn’t too long for the matches to start up. One of them was Coco and Yatsuhashi fighting against Emerald and Mercury. It presented what the two from Cinder’s group could actually do for both Akame and Leone. The fight overall was very good but in the end, Coco and Yatsuhashi lost. Still, Akame did notice something strange about the fight. More specifically, what Emerald did. As of now, team RWBY along with ALCE were with Coco after the fight. Velvet was with her leader in trying to comfort the girl. All of them were at one of the tables at the fairgrounds while still waiting for the next match to be announced. Velvet smiled at her leader. “You did your best Coco. You and Yatsu.”

Coco was thankful for the words but it helped very little. “Thanks for the words Velvet but I’m still pissed off how that fight ended.” Everyone could understand that. “If I would’ve had my head better in the game, it would’ve ended a whole lot differently I’ll tell you that. I can’t believe my eyes were playing tricks on me at a time like that.”

Now that was something Akame could explain. “It wasn’t your fault. If anything, it wasn’t like your eyes were tricking you. You were deceived.”

Coco lowered her spare sunglasses at that comment. “What do you mean by deceived?”

Both Akame and Leone knew what they were talking about. “Who you thought was Yatsuhashi was actually Emerald.”

Hearing that raised more questions than answers. “I don’t get it. Did Emerald do something?” Ruby asked.

Akame nodded at the question. “Yes. I would believe Emerald’s semblance is illusion. That is how she was able to fool you.”

That did make a lot of sense for Coco but she was still curious about something. “Okay. If I was suckered in by an illusion, how were you able to tell it apart?” She raised a good question and everyone wanted to know that.

The other leader took a sip out of her soda. “It was her aura that gave it away.”

Velvet only became more confused. “What do you mean by that?”

Leone decided to explain this time around. “A person’s aura is unique to only themselves. Even if Emerald can change her appearance, her aura is still the same.  In short, Akame could sense who Emerald really was.”

Everyone was surprised to hear that but also

“It’s a slight trick I learned. It does come in handy in times.” Akame explained.

Coco slightly chuckled at that. “I’ll be damned. Think you can teach me that sometime?”

Akame really didn’t know if she could teach the other leader this technique. It was used a lot back in her world but wasn’t sure if she could pass it on in this world. “Maybe. It could prove to be difficult.”

The answer was good enough for Coco. “Fair enough. Just hold onto that okay?” She stood up from the chair. “We’ll be going now. Kick a lot of ass in the tournament you got that? Later.” She started to walk away from the other teams.

Velvet stood up as well. “It was good seeing you again. Take care.” She bowed slightly to the two teams and left to catch up to her leader.

As both girls left, Weiss still needed to confirm something. “Can you really sense other people’s aura?”

Leone giggled at that. “How did you think we found all of you when we first met? In fact, we’re sensing all of your aura right this minute. Not only yours but everyone’s around too.”

Ruby was very impressed by hearing that. “That’s so cool. How do you do that?”

Akame was bound to explain this sooner or later. “Sensing aura was an important technique back in our world.”

Already Yang was interested in this. “So you guys had aura back your world too huh. That’s pretty convenient.”

Akame agreed. "Yes but aura in our world doesn't work the same way as it does in this world. Otherwise, there would be fewer casualties. Someone who's experienced can mask their aura to avoid detection."

Blake raised an eyebrow to that. “How’s that beneficial?”

Leone had the perfect example for that. “Put it this way. Say you’re fighting against an opponent like Emerald who can cast illusions or another example would be Incursio whose trump card can turn the user invisible. How hard do you think it would be fighting against someone like that?"

The question seemed easy enough for Cornelia. “It would be a pretty difficult fight.” And the Faunus blonde laughed at her answer. “What’s so funny?”

Leone continued to snicker. “Normally you’d be right. Incursio can make a person invisible but that’s all it can do.

Esdeath was becoming more confused by that. “You say that as it’s no big deal.”

“That’s because it isn’t.” Everyone looked at Akame who took another sip. “Hiding your body is one thing but someone skilled can still that person’s aura if it isn’t concealed. Therefore, it wouldn’t make a difference. The same could be said for Emerald whose specialty is illusion. She may disguise herself but in the end, her aura will give her away.”

Blake put the pieces together after hearing all of that. “I understand now. It would explain how you able to tell apart me from my clones when we first fought.”

She hit the nail on the head right there. “Yeah. If Emerald did fight against Akame in this tournament, she would lose big time.” Leone boasted.

Yang put more thought into all of this. “In other words, I guess masking your aura would make a difference in a life or death fight. Am I right?”

She was close. “More like a life or death encounter. Remember, Leone and I were…well, you know once.” Akame had brought up a good point considering who they were previously.

It also meant they had an advantage over everyone else. “Wow. Jaune was right. You are unfair.” Ruby spoke.

Leone just shrugged. “Hey, do whatever you have to do to survive.” She stood up from her chair. “In any case, we should probably head to the arena for the next match. I’m pretty sure none of us would want to miss it.”

**B**

The crowd cheered as they couldn’t wait for the next match of the doubles round to start. ALCE was present for this match for one reason only. Port decided to start off. “Welcome to next match of doubles round. For this matchup, we have team KRCT!”

Down at the arena, both Taeko and Chelsea were present. Chelsea was stretching her neck while Taeko was standing around with her eyes closed. Cornelia paid close attention to Taeko. She remembered what Akame had told her before about the girl. _“Seeing her now makes feel a little weirded out considering Taeko was the one who killed me back in Akame's world. Akame said we were friends once. Can that happen again in this world?"_

Port continued on. “Versus team SSSN!”

Across from the two girls were Sun and Neptune who were less than happy about who their opponents were. Neptune sighed at the situation. "Great. Out of all of the teams we had to fight against, it had to be them."

Sun was a little more optimistic about the whole thing. “Just relax man. Last time I checked, we’re not Cardin and his pals.”

Chelsea heard the fangirl screams cheering on their opponents and it slightly bothered her. “How come they have fangirls? Why don’t we have fangirls?”

Taeko was all too familiar with teammate’s complaining. “Kurome isn’t enough for you?”

Now that Chelsea took offense. “Hey! She’s way better than any freaking fan club!”

Speaking of the girl, Kurome was downing herself with soda and snacks as usual. Rienna was waving her hand at her two teammates. “Good luck out there!”

Her leader smiled at that. “They don’t need luck fighting against them but let’s see how they’ll fare.”

Akame and Leone had their own thoughts about this matchup. "It's still weird seeing Chelsea on the front lines. I wonder what she can do."

That was something Akame wished to find out as well. “We’ll see soon enough.”

Oobleck shifted his glasses. “Now, let us begin the stage randomization.”

This time, five of the screens appeared and began to randomize. It wasn’t too long for the terrains to be selected. The five selected were desert, geyser, glacier, jungle, and savannah. Everything outside the center platform began to shift and lower itself down then came back up with the chosen environments.

Everything was set now and Port was ready to give out the signal. “Now, let the match…” Sun spun his staff around while Neptune readied his weapon. Taeko flicked her thumb underneath the guard to slightly draw it out and Chelsea grabbed her fans. “Begin!” The air horn blared out.

 


	26. KRCT vs SSSN

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Six: KRCT vs SSSN

“Begin!” The air horn blared.

Taeko didn’t waste any time drawing out her sword. **“Ridge Wind!”** She swung her sword down and a powerful slash of wind appeared heading over toward Sun and Neptune.

“Move out of the way!” Both of them jumped out of the attacks path. In doing so, they dodged to the side from the attack by going in opposite directions. That was only the beginning as Taeko rushed over to Sun and swung Tsugaku-Hime at him. Sun managed to block the attack with his staff but still felt the power behind the attack. _“This chick is stronger than she looks.”_

Taeko wasn't much for standoffs so she decided to end it quickly. The wind started to come out of the sword and yelled as she managed to blow Sun away all the way to the jungle section. Taeko soon ran after her Faunus opponent.

“Sun!” Neptune knew what their opponent’s strategy was. _“They’re trying to divide and conquer. This is the complete opposite of what they were doing in the last round.”_

“Aw man. I wanted to fight the monkey guy.” Neptune saw Chelsea walking over to him. “I guess I’ll have to settle for you. Question is, think you can take me on?”

Neptune’s answer was pointing his weapon at Chelsea. “See for yourself.” Chelsea took up the challenge and ran over to him while opening up her fans. She attacked with one of her fans but Neptune blocked it with his weapon. Chelsea raised her other fan and swiped sideways but Neptune jumped back to avoid the attack. He transformed his weapon into its gun form and fired a few shots at his opponent. Chelsea jumped out of the way the shots attacks. As of now, there was quite the distance between the two. Something Neptune could benefit. _"As long as I can maintain a distance between us, I may have a chance."_ Chelsea smiled as she suddenly disappeared. Neptune gasped when he saw that. “Where did she go?” He searched everywhere to find his opponent but there was no sign of her. Neptune finally looked up just in time to see Chelsea coming down at him with both of her fans swinging down at him. Neptune shifted his weapon back into weapon form and managed to block the attack in time. Despite the failed attack, Chelsea giggled as she disappeared again and reappeared behind Neptune with her back turned. She turned around while swinging her fan at her opponent but Neptune did the same and managed to block the attack.

Chelsea was becoming bored of this. “Let’s kick things up a notch shall we?” She disappeared for just a second but then began to appear everywhere around Neptune and began striking him all over. He couldn’t even defend against the barrage of attacks.

“Neptune!” Scarlett didn’t know how his teammate would get out of this. Neptune’s aura gauge was dropping significantly.

Watching Neptune being pummeled was hard to see but Ruby did notice something strange. _“That’s weird. In the previous round, she used wind but that other girl used the wind too and now she's teleporting? I thought a person couldn't have more than one semblance."_

Chelsea suddenly stopped her attacks and observed her work while Neptune was panting heavily as he was kneeling down on one knee. “Come on. Is that all you have? Then again, this is what I was expecting from a guy who’s scared of water.”

Neptune growled at that. “Leave that out of this and don’t think I’m done here yet.” He stood up. “I still have plenty to offer!” Neptune suddenly attacked his opponent by swinging his weapon at Chelsea.

Chelsea smiled as the weapon struck her. Or rather through her. The real Chelsea jumped over the weapon and kicked Neptune straight to his face. The power she used was very familiar to Blake. “Wait, that’s my semblance!”

Chelsea jumped off of Neptune and backflip once into the air. “How about a change in the weather?” She pointed her fan at Neptune and several ice blades formed around her. **“Weiss Schnabel!”** All of them were sent at her opponent.

“That’s my power!” Esdeath has never seen anyone but herself use her semblance.

Neptune jumped out of the attack’s way while still being a little wielded out by this. “What’s going on here? You’re not supposed to have more than one semblance!”

Even Port and Oobleck noticed how strange this was. “What do you make of this Oobleck? It is quite strange for a person to wield three different semblances. Especially two that other combatants have.”

Oobleck assessed the situation. “First all, it’s doctor. Second, I believe there is an explanation for this. It would seem she has the ability to use other people’s semblance as her own.”

Everyone heard loud and clear about that and were surprised. Yang could hardly believe it. “She can use other people’s semblances?!”

Weiss agreed with her leader. “I’ve never heard of anyone with that kind of power before.”

Kurome giggled as she took in another mouthful of popcorn. _“That’s Chelsea’s semblance. It allows her to copy any other semblance she sees just as long she knows how it works. Chelsea may not be the strongest among the team but she makes it up for versatility. She has an endless count of semblances she can choose from. The trade-off, however, is that she can't copy the power the original user possess neither the skill. She can only use them as if they were her own."_

Akame and Leone were the only ones who weren’t surprised by this. _“Of course Chelsea’s semblance would be similar to Gaea Foundation. Instead of copying appearances, she’s copying semblances. I never knew how dangerous such an ability can be in a fight like this.”_

Neptune knew about this as well. _“Great. I’m fighting against someone who has endless possibilities to choose from. Somehow, I think Sun got the better end here.”_ He suddenly heard Chelsea laugh. “What’s so funny?”

Chelsea continued to laugh. “If you think you have it bad, trusts me…” She glared at Neptune. “Taeko is in a whole another league compared to me.”

Speaking of the monkey Faunus, he heard about what Port and Oobleck said. “Great. Just when I thought these KRCT girls weren’t freaky enough already. Who knows how many semblances that chick has seen already?” His senses picked up something and jumped out of the way just in time from an attack from Taeko. The branch he was standing on was cut clean in half and he landed on another. He whistled at his escape. “Talk about a close call. You almost had me there.”

Taeko stared downed at the Faunus. “Perhaps this’ll work instead.” She pulled back her sword and the wind surrounded her. Already Sun had a bad feeling about what Taeko was about to do. **“Whirlwind!”** She swung her sword rapidly and countless wind blades came fourth. All of them cut through anything that was in their path and Sun was at the end of it. He jumped out of the attacks way and they continued to cut through all the way to the end.

Sun landed back on the ground and saw the devastation the attack left behind. “Holy crap.” Everything was cut apart far and wide. He looked at Taeko. “This chick has some semblance if she’s able to do this.”

Taeko pointed her sword at her opponent. “The wind is the extension of my blade. No matter how far you may be, it shall always reach its desired target.”

Cornelia swallowed as she witnessed Taeko’s power. _“She’s incredible.”_

Sun didn't have much choice in this bout. In fact, there was only one way he could only do. "Well…guess I'll have to come to you then!" He threw up his staff and clapped his hands together. His whole body became enveloped by a golden glow and out of it came two apparitions of himself going straight toward Taeko.

Taeko readied herself for the oncoming attack as the wind circled around her again and pulled back her sword. **“Ridge Wind!”** She swung her sword to the side and the wind that followed cut the two apparitions in half. However, as they were gone, so was Sun as well. Before she could search for the Faunus, Taeko heard a yell coming from above and saw Sun above her with his staff raised. She jumped back and Sun missed his attack. Taeko was about to counterattack but Sun didn’t let up his assault and rushed at her. Taeko was prepared to counter whatever kind of attack her opponent had in mind but then saw Sun pull his staff apart into two sets of nunchaku. Seeing the change in weapon form distracted Taeko for a second but that was all Sun needed. As he came in close, he started to swing one of his nunchaku at his opponent. Takeo snapped out of her distraction and was able to block the attack with her sword but Sun had more offer by swinging his other nunchaku. Taeko saw the next attack coming and blocked that as well but that left her open for Sun's next attack with his first one. At this point, Sun was swinging both of his nunchakus at Taeko quickly and effectively while Taeko was trying to block all of the attacks. To add more to this, while swinging his weapons, Sun began to discharge the gun feature of his nunchaku which made Taeko all the more defensive.

Blake couldn’t help but feel glad that her fellow Faunus was actually standing his ground against his opponent. “Go Sun!”

To Rienna, she had never seen something like this before. “I’d never thought I would see someone giving Taeko a hard time.”

Kurome bit into another hot dog. If she had to be honest, she was surprised herself. “Yeah. I guess we don’t give these guys enough credit. Then again, Taeko really hasn’t gone full out either.”

Taeko continued to block the attacks until one of them deflected her sword upward. Sun saw this as his chance as he combined his two nunchakus back into his staff while turning around and did a sweep attack at Taeko's legs. As she was in mid-fall, Sun turned around again and kicked Taeko away from him. "Ooh and one of team KCRT's members have finally been hit." Port announced.

Chelsea looked over at the screen and sure enough, Taeko's aura gauge was partly depleted. “No way. Someone actually got the better of Taeko?”

She suddenly heard laughter from behind and saw Neptune standing up. “I wouldn’t underestimate us just yet. Sun’s pretty strong himself.” He spun his weapon around and pointed it at his opponent. “Now, where were we?”

If Chelsea had to admit one thing about the guy, he was confident in his own ability. Still, they haven’t lost yet. “Don’t get too cheery yet. Taeko isn’t going to make the same mistake again. In fact, she’ll retaliate with ten times the force. I’ve known her for a pretty long time and that’s how it’ll play out for your friend. Now it’s just a game between us to see which one of us can beat one of you faster and I have just the winning strategy.” She started to run off away from Neptune.

Of course, he started to chase after her. “Hey! Get back here!” Already something about this didn’t make any sense to him. _“If she has a winning strategy, why is she running away?”_ That answer became apparent when he saw Chelsea running into the geyser section and stopped in front of the area when he saw one of the geysers erupt. His hydrophobia instantly kicked in.

Chelsea stopped in the middle and looked back at Neptune who was afraid to get any nearer to the section. She smirked at the opportunity. **“Trade.”** Her body began to shift and disappeared. In her place, Neptune was now surrounded by the geysers.

He looked around and saw where he was. Naturally, he freaked out. “How did I end up here!?”

Chelsea giggled as she was where Neptune was previously. “The match you previously had gave me a pretty good idea of your weakness. It was just luck that a geyser field was selected. Part of the battle is to use your opponent’s weakness to your advantage. Now then…” She closed up one of her fans and raised it above her.

The ground underneath Neptune started to shake and already had a bad feeling about it. “Not good. I gotta get out of here!” He tried to run but several of the geysers near him erupted violently and stopped completely. “Come on!”

Chelsea pointed her fan to where Neptune was and smiled. **“Boom…”** The ground began to shake violently beneath Neptune. In the next second, an explosion erupted from underneath him and along with it the water that was underneath. It shot him up into the air as he screamed and flew over outside of the arena. He hit the force field and dropped to the ground. Neptune groaned as his worst fear became true. He was caught up in some explosive water.

“And there goes one of team SSSN’s members. Out of bounds and unable to continue.” Port spoke.

Chelsea was rather proud of her victory. “One down and one to go. Have to say that was a lot more fun than I thought.”

The explosion she did struck both Akame and Leone as familiar. "Leone…was that…"

Her girlfriend narrowed her eyes at Chelsea. "I'll give you three guesses of whose semblance that belongs to."

Rienna laughed at what she just saw. "Hey, she finally used mine.”

Kurome ate another chocolate kiss. “Not bad but Chelsea’s explosions aren’t as strong as yours Rienna. Still, it played out well for her in the end. All that’s left is for Taeko to wrap things up on her end.”

Sun looked over at the screen and saw that Neptune was not only beaten but his aura gauge was in the red. “So that’s what that explosion was. Guess Neptune had his hands more full than I thought."

“It seems Chelsea has already wrapped up things on her end.” Sun looked over to Taeko was stood up. “I shall do the same.”

Sun spun his staff around as he prepped himself for the next round. _“This is just great. It’s two against one now.”_

“What in the world is one of the members of team KRCT doing?” Sun heard Port’s comment and looked up at the screen.

Everyone else was wondering the same thing as they saw Chelsea lying on the ground with her arms behind her head as a pillow. “It appears she’s just…doing nothing. She is aware that there is still a battle present correct?” Oobleck commented.

The whole crowd was confused by this. Chelsea was humming while looking at the sky. “It’s all on you now Taeko.”

Sun didn’t know how to process what he just heard. “What’s going on?”

“Chelsea will not interfere with our fight.” The Faunus looked back Taeko. “She knows better of how I fight. The only way she’ll continue is if I fall in battle. Only then will your next opponent will be her.”

Sun actually chuckled at that. “So you’re more of the one on one type huh? I can get by that. So, shall we start the next round?”

Taeko lowered her head to where her bangs covered her eyes and flicked her sword. “There will be no next round. I will end this now.” Sun was now on guard after hearing that. The wind blow through them softly as Takeo lifted her head only to reveal that her eyes enlarged and her pupils became invisible. **“Twister.”** In the next second, she completely disappeared.

Akame gasped as she was very familiar with the move Taeko was performing. “This is bad. Sun, get out of there now!”

Sun shifted his right foot back and then all of a sudden, a twister appeared around him. Sun didn’t know what to make of it nor know what to do next. Next thing he knew, Sun was being slashed all over and couldn’t tell where the attacks were coming from. Outside of the twister, Sun’s aura gauge was dropping rapidly. The twister suddenly vanished and Sun was barely standing after taking all of those attacks. Taeko appeared in front of him with her sword sheathed but still gripped the handle. **“Zephyr.”** She lunged forward while drawing her sword and sudden bright light appeared. It faded just as quickly as Taeko was behind Sun with her sword extending forward. Sun’s aura gauge depleted to zero as Taeko flicked her sword and sheathed it once again. Sun dropped to his knees and fell down to the ground. “It’s over.”

The air horn blared. “And that’s the match! The winner is team KRCT!” Port announced and the crowd cheered.

Chelsea stood up and laughed a little. “Guess that’s it then.”

Rienna cheered at her teammate’s victory. “Alright! That’s another win for us!”

Kurome finished her fourth soda and smiled. “At least those two put up a better fight so I’ll credit them that.”

Not everyone was cheering for this victory. Blake was a little disheartened that Sun and his team lost. The rest of her team felt the same way. So did Akame and her team. Cornelia was in awe with Taeko’s performance during the match. _“So this is what Taeko is capable of.”_

Akame had similar thoughts. _“It seems Taeko hasn’t changed much considering her tactics in fighting. Still, I can imagine her training must’ve been vastly different compared back in our world.”_ One thing was for sure. Kurome’s team was formidable. The only question now is what’s next from them?

**B**

After the match (and the recovery.) RWBY and ALCE were with all of SSSN back in the fairgrounds. Sun and Neptune were feeling a little bummed about their loss. Blake thought she would cheer the two up. “At least you two put up a good fight.”

Neptune thought otherwise. “Sun maybe. Me? I got blown up.”

Scarlett didn’t think so. “Hey, you were up against someone who could use different semblances. I don’t think anyone could’ve done worse.”

It wasn’t much but Neptune decided to take it anyway. Yang thought to lighten up the mood. “Cheer up. So you lost the fight. Better luck next time right? It’s not like the end of the world or anything.”

She did bring a good point and that made Sun smile a little. “Eh, that’s true. The best we can do now is cheer you girls on through the rest of the tournament.” Everyone nodded at that.

Cornelia closed her eyes and crossed her arms. “Exactly. Like my papa always said. Defeat is not the end. It’s just another step forward.”

“There you all are.” Cornelia opened her eyes and everyone looked over to see Kurome and her team walking toward them. Already the blonde narrowed her eyes at Taeko.

Already Blake couldn’t tolerate their presence. “What are you doing here? Come to brag about your victory?”

Soon as the other team stopped in front of the group, Kurome sighed. “Thought I told you not to judge us as some antagonist or something. If we were here to brag, we’ve would’ve done so soon after the fight was finished.”

Weiss crossed her arms. “Then what are you here for then?”

Chelsea smiled at the question. “Just to say thanks for the fight. It was a lot better than the guys we've fought before. A word of advice, though, you've seriously got to work on that hydrophobia of yours." Sun hated to agree but she was right. That was something the whole team was working on for quite some time.

“That’s all we came to say. We’ll see all of you in the later matches.” Kurome and her team started to make their leave.

Sun put his hands together and put them behind his head. “I guess that’s something good from them.”

All of a sudden, KRCT stopped. “Oh, and a little heads up.” Kurome looked back at the other group. “I’m going to be the one fighting in the last round.”

 


	27. Five Words

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Seven: Five Words

“I’m going to be the one fighting in the last round.”

Akame felt her heartbeat speed up a little when she heard those words. With those words said, KRCT continued on leaving the other group of what to think of those words. Once they were far away, Chelsea had some opinions about her leader’s choice. “You sure it was a smart idea to let them know that?”

It was no surprise she would be concerned about that. “The last round is the singles. It won’t matter. Besides, I hope that Akame can participate in the singles too.”

Rienna noticed something strange whenever Kurome mentioned Akame. “What makes her stand out from the rest?”

That was a question Kurome wanted to know as well. “I’m not sure myself but I do want to fight her at some point. It’s not to prove a point or anything like that. I just want to fight her.”

It was strange for Chelsea for Kurome having an interest of a girl they barely even knew. _“Just what’s so special about that Akame chick anyway?”_ One thought came to mind for her and she didn’t like it. _“Don’t tell me…is she actually…”_ She shook her head. _"No, it can't be. She has me and we've been together for a while now."_

While Chelsea was silently freaking out, Taeko had a more logical explanation. "It could be because both of you are strong fighters. They're usually attracted to each other if two are ever in the same place.” Chelsea was about to say something about. “No Chelsea. Not that kind of attraction. I’m merely speaking in terms of strength.”

Kurome had to admit there was some truth to that. “I guess you’re right.” Off the corner of her eye, she saw that Taeko stopped for some reason and did so as well with the rest of the team following suit. “Something up Taeko?”

Taeko was looking across the fairgrounds and saw Babara looking directly at her. “I’m sorry but if you would excuse me. I have a matter to discuss.”

Her leader didn’t seem to mind. “Alright but make sure you come back. Got it?”

Taeko closed her eyes. “I understand.” She opened them once again and started to walk away from the group.

As the group saw Taeko leaving, Chelsea had one question on her mind. “So, what are doing next?”

Kurome just shrugged. "Just enjoy the rest of the day and see what fights come along." Everyone agreed to their leader's words and looked forward to seeing what the rest of the day had in store.

**B**

The day went on and so did the matches with the last match ending in JNPR’s victory. Leone was laughing while all of ALCE was walking around on the fairgrounds. “Chalk one up for JNPR. Not surprising since it was Nora and Pyrrha fighting.”

Cornelia giggled in agreement. “It would be more surprising if they didn’t win. With the matches done for today, I guess we’ll be fighting tomorrow. What do you think Akame?” She didn’t hear a reply and looked back at her leader seeing she was in thought. “Akame?”

Akame finally registered Cornelia’s voice. “Wh-What?”

The Faunus blonde sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Alright, fess up. You’re either thinking one of two things. Food or Kurome.”

Leone really did know her well and her girlfriend looked away. “I was thinking…I was thinking I should be the one fighting in the singles.”

That didn’t come as a surprise to the rest of the group but Cornelia still has some concerns. “Are you sure? I thought we all agreed to have Leone to fight in the singles.”

“It’s alright Cora.” The team looked over at Leone who gave a small smile. “This is important to Akame. If anything, she has to do this. So I say she should be the one to fight in the singles.”

Esdeath still saw one problem with this sudden change. “Still, is there a chance the two of them will ever fight in the singles?”

Akame had no doubt in her mind. “It doesn’t matter. I know Kurome and I know sooner or later, we will fight. It’s only a matter of time.” She looked back at her team while closing her hands tightly. “This is my only chance. To finally make things right.”

Everyone understood clearly. They knew their leader really wanted this. “Hey there!” The conversation was interrupted when they saw Yang and Blake walking up to them. “What are all of you talking about?”

Leone smiled at her mother. “Just team stuff that’s all.”

Esdeath noticed the lack of members with the other two girls. “Where’s Ruby and Weiss?”

Yang chuckled at the question. “Ruby’s gone ahead to our room while Weiss is with her sister to play catch up. Speaking of Ruby, come on Leone. It’s time. You too Blake.”

Blake couldn’t help but feel a little nervous about all of this. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Yang definitely thought so. “Uh-huh so don’t worry. Uncle Qrow is awesome. He’ll like you.” She looked over Leone. “The two of you.”

Akame raised an eyebrow at the name. “Who’s Qrow?”

The brawler was glad the other girl asked that. “He’s my and Ruby’s uncle. He’s also an awesome hunter and I want to introduce Blake and Leone to him. You wouldn’t mind if Leone went with us for a while right Akame?”

The leader shook her head. “Not at all.”

Leone snickered. “That time already huh? Awesome. Can’t wait to meet this guy.” Leone may be excited but Blake still couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. This’ll be the first time she would meet one of Yang’s family other than Ruby.

Now that everything was settled, Yang really wanted to get this started. “Alright then! Let’s get a move on girls!” She started to walk away from the other team with Blake and Leone not too far behind.

Now that Leone was gone, it was only the three of them. “So what should we do now?” Esdeath asked.

Akame turned around. “Let’s head back to the dorm for now.”

**B**

“Uncle Qrow!” Yang laughed happily as she saw her beloved uncle in their dorm room along with Ruby and gave him a hug.

Qrow laughed as he was happy to see his other niece. “Hey there Yang.” The blonde separated from the hug and smiled at her uncle. “How’s my firecracker doing?”

Yang always loved that small nickname her uncle has given her. “I’m doing fine. It’s surprising to know you’re here at Beacon. Ruby told the team how you just showed up and fought against Weiss’ sister.”

Her uncle laughed at that. “Did she now? How is your team anyway? Well, the other two. I already know you’re getting along with Ruby just fine.”

It was just the question Yang wanted to hear. “It’s a great team and we have a lot of fun together. So what are you doing here?”

Qrow seemed to accept the answer. “That’s good to know and it’s just here on some business that’s all.”

This was Yang’s chance. It was now or later and she definitely chose now. “So…Uncle Qrow. I do have something to tell you.”

The huntsmen crossed his arm as he was a little interested. “Go on.”

Yang put her arms behind her back. “I’m actually…seeing someone now.”

Now that Qrow thought he would never hear. "Really now? That's something else. So who's the lucky guy to win you over and how soon until Taiyang scares the living crap out of him? I know he can be a little overprotective when it comes to the both of you."

The blonde looked away from her uncle while scratching lightly with one finger to her cheek. “That’s the thing…”

Meanwhile, just outside the doorway, Blake and Leone were waiting for their time. The Faunus girl could actually hear her own heart beat racing. She gulped at the situation. _“Okay. Here goes.”_ After a little nudge from Leone, she looked back at her daughter and saw her wink. Blake smiled at Leone and took in a deep breath. Blake walked to the front of the entrance and looked at the people in the room while giving her best smile. “Hello there.” It obvious to her that the man in the room was Yang’s uncle. _“So this is Qrow. The same man who saved Yang and Ruby from being attacked by Grimm when they were young.”_

Blake started to walk over to Yang and stopped as she stood beside the blonde. For going the extra mile, the Faunus girl actually made a grab for Yang’s hand and held it tightly with her own. The two of them looked directly at Qrow. “Uncle Qrow, this is Blake Belladonna. She’s my partner, in more ways than one. She’s…my girlfriend.” It felt surreal for Yang to say that in front of her uncle. Now she just waited for his response.

Qrow did have to admit he was quite surprised to hear about this. He knew sooner or later Yang would develop an interest in others. She was a girl after all. Just not in this way. _“Raven is going to freak when I tell her this.”_ Still, he had to give it to his niece in being directly honest to him. He gave the both of them a serious stare. “Is that so? Tell me, Blake. What do you think of my niece?” He was doing the same as his niece’s father would do. Except Taiyang would be much more menacing.

Blake gulped at the question and felt a little afraid. “Yang is…Yang is…” She breathed in deeply and gave an unyielding look back at the huntsmen. “Yang is the most wonderful person I’ve met. What I love the most about her is how considerate she is to me. Not just me but to the whole team. Sometimes I do wonder how someone like me deserves to be with someone like her but it happened nonetheless.” She tightened her hand around Yang’s. “I love her sir and that is the absolute truth from me.” Blake really couldn’t believe she said all of that in front of Yang’s uncle. Ruby seemed to like as she silently cheered Blake and gave her a thumbs up.

If Qrow and Ruby weren’t in the room right now along with Leone still waiting outside in the hallway, Yang would totally knock Blake down to the floor and make out with her passionately nonstop. Qrow still didn’t let up his gaze. “Is that so…?” He looked deep into Blake’s amber eyes and sure enough, they looked very serious. He crossed his arms. “If that’s the case…” All of this tension Blake was feeling made her think she might pass out from it. “Make sure you continue treating my niece right. If you ever screw up anywhere along the way, not only you’ll have me to deal with but her old man too.” One more came to his mind. _“And possibly Raven as well.”_

The bumblebee pair laughed as Yang let go of her girlfriend’s hand and hugged her uncle once again. “You’re so awesome Uncle Qrow! Thank you!”

Ruby did the same. “You’re the best uncle ever!”

Qrow couldn't help but laugh at this. Blake let out a sigh of relief. "I understand sir. Your niece is important to me."

The two girls let go of their uncle. “I’ll hold you to that. I can’t imagine what Taiyang’s reaction will be when you tell him.” He still had more to say but decided to keep it to himself. Especially how Blake was hiding her cat ears with her bow. He knew the first time when he saw Blake, she was a Faunus.

Yang giggled nervously while Blake went back to being nervous. Qrow was one thing but Yang’s father was an entirely different matter. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Speaking of her dad, this was Yang’s next chance. “Speaking of dad Uncle Qrow…he…never cheated right?”

That was an odd question for his niece to ask. “Why would you ask that of all things? The guy was fully committed to both your mother and Summer.”

The blonde smiled on the inside. “Then…why did I meet a girl that looks similar to me?”

Leone grinned at the signal. _“My turn.”_ She was very glad Yang told her about this little plan of hers about wanting to scare her uncle.

Qrow raised an eyebrow to that. “What are you talking abou-” He stopped mid-sentence as soon as he saw Leone show up at the doorway and sure enough she looked very similar to his niece. Not only that but she sported a pair of lion ears which meant she was a Faunus as well.

Leone gave the huntsmen a bright smile as she waved at him. “Hey there Uncle Qrow! It’s nice to finally meet you.”

There were very little things to surprise Qrow. This was one of them and laughed lightly. “I’m either drunk without knowing it or I’m not drunk enough.” To make things even weirder, the new Faunus girl looked to be a cross between Yang and her girlfriend. Almost as if she were their daughter of sorts. _“Both Taiyang and Raven would have a cow if I told them that Yang has a kid of her own. Probably will at a later time just to see their reactions. Hell, Taiyang would freak out alone if he ever saw this girl.”_ He kinda waved back at Leone. “Hi there. It’s kinda weird seeing someone who looks kinda like my niece here.” He knew Taiyang would never cheat on either Raven or Summer but seeing this girl almost proved him wrong.

Leone and Yang thought the joke ran long enough and started to laugh together. Yang was the first to calm down. “That was totally worth it.” She took in a deep breath. “Uncle Qrow, this is Leone Wild. She goes here at Beacon and she’s on a team called ALCE. The resemblance between us is really uncanny huh?”

Qrow laughed as well. "I'll say. It's nice to meet you, Leone."

The Faunus blonde smiled back at him. “Same to you sir.” Even though the smile was friendly, Leone could tell Qrow was very strong. _“Man, the aura this guy is giving off. He’s on a whole different level compared to the rest of the people fighting in the tournament. So this is what a qualified hunter really is huh?”_

Qrow had similar thoughts about Leone. _“She may be young but I can tell she’s been in her fair share of fights and not the school ones.”_ He could figure out Leone’s past later on. Right now, all that was important was spending time with his two nieces.

Yang chuckled as she walked over to her daughter and wrapped her arm about Leone. “Another thing you should know Uncle Qrow. This girl right here, she actually beat me in a fight.” She smiled at that.

Now that surprised Qrow the most. “What? Come on. You lose a fight? Now I know you’re pulling my leg.”

“It’s true Uncle Qrow.” He looked over at Ruby. “Yang really lose a fight against Leone.”

Blake nodded in agreement. "We all saw it, sir."

With that kind of confirmation, Qrow had no choice but believe. _“For Yang to lose a fight, that girl must be something else.”_ He knew his niece being defeated was no small feat. Qrow did admit he never did watch the first round of the tournament so he didn’t know the full potential of what Leone could do. Then again, he really didn’t care much for the matches he did see at the bar he was drinking at.

Now that everyone was present, Ruby had an idea. “So Uncle Qrow, want to play a game with us while you’re still here?”

Her uncle nodded at the question. “Why not? It’s been a while since we had a little family time together.”

Hearing that was the two Faunus girl’s cue to leave. “If that’s the case, we’ll take our leave now. It was nice meeting you.” Blake turned around as she started to leave.

"Hold on there." Blake stopped and turned back around to look at Qrow. "You're staying too you know. Since you're dating my niece and all. The same goes for you, Leone. I do want to get to know the two of you better."

Leone really couldn’t say no to that offer. “If you say so.”

Blake really couldn't refuse either. "Since you asked…" Both Faunus girls joined in and everyone decided to play a fighting game. It soon apparent that neither Blake nor Leone was good at it. Especially Leone since she had a hard time learning the controls.

**B**

Weiss was feeling frustrated. The reason for it was because she kept failing to perform a summoning like her sister did before. It was some last minute advice Winter was giving her before she left for Atlas again. Concentrating was hard enough but time and again Weiss couldn’t help but think back about Esdeath’s proposal to Ruby about their date. That didn’t help any at all and Winter could tell so. After trying for a third time, the glyph broke and Weiss yelled in frustration. “Are you kidding me?!” She groaned. “I told you I can’t do this Winter.”

Her sister thought otherwise. True Weiss still had much to learn but she was capable of performing a summon. “Perhaps something is distracting you.”

The younger sister scoffed at that. “I am not.” She looked away from Winter.

Winter knew her sister better than anyone else. “Weiss, I know you’re hiding something from me. Something is on your mind.” Weiss continued to stay silent hoping that her sister would drop the current topic. “Is about what that girl said to your leader?” Now that she received a small response via a slight hiss from Weiss. "It appears I'm right. Tell me, Weiss, why is it that you're bothered by such a small thing."

Weiss really hoped her sister would drop the topic already. “I’m not so can you please stop talking about it.”

That only made Winter chuckle more. “Then you wouldn’t make it such a big deal about it.”

Now the younger Schnee was just being agitated at this point. She looked back at Winter with an angry look on her face. “I am not jealous Winter!”

Winter smiled at that world. “I never said you were jealous Weiss.” Weiss finally realized what she said and blushed as she looked away from her sister once again. Winter chuckled as she wasn’t exactly expecting this at all. “It seems my little sister has some trouble on her hands. Tell me, what is bothering you?”

Weiss really didn’t see why she had to explain a small annoyance to Winter. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Weiss…” Winter wasn’t going to let this go.

The younger sighed as she wasn’t going to win this. “Fine. Esdeath asked Ruby out on a date.”

Winter raised an eyebrow at that. “Is that all?”

Weiss just wanted this be over this already. “And she asked Ruby out to the dance earlier.”

Now the older Schnee was starting to understand the picture here. “Is that so? You’re jealous at the fact this Esdeath girl asked out your leader?”

It sounded just as childish as it was to Weiss. “Yes. Now can we please drop this?”

Winter was far from done with this. She had a slight feeling of her sister's jealousy. An idea came to her. "I suppose you're right. I mean, I can't see anyone trying to ask out a girl like Ruby."

Weiss caught on what her sister was trying to say. “What do you mean by that?”

Perfect. She was caught in Winter’s trap. “I mean, from what you described your leader in the letters you’ve sent me, it sounded like she wasn’t fit to be a leader of your group. I could tell by when I first saw her. I believe her coming to Beacon might’ve been a mistake on Ozpin’s part. You could’ve done much better if you had a more…competent partner Weiss.”

Anger flared up inside of Weiss and glared at her older sister. "How dare you! Ruby is one of the most amazing people I've met. Her coming here was not a mistake at all. Have you seen her fight with her weapon Crescent Rose? It was her skill that made her skip two years from Signal to enroll here at Beacon. I couldn't ask for a better partner than her! Yes, I admit she can be childish at times but I wouldn't choose any other leader to follow or any other team without her in it!" She took in a deep breath to calm down. That was short lived as the heiress heard Winter laugh. “What’s so funny!?”

Her sister continued to laugh until she settled down. “When I said I was thankful for your leader having an interest in you, I should’ve said it the other way.”

Now Weiss was just confused. “What are you talking about?”

Winter still couldn’t believe her sister was this oblivious. “Isn’t it obvious Weiss? Your jealousy toward Esdeath about Ruby and how you defended her in such a way.”

The younger sister was just about tired of this game. “Just get to the point already Winter!”

Winter might as well tell her since Weiss can’t seem to figure it out herself. “Fine then. The point is Weiss…” She smiled. “Is that you’ve developed feelings for your leader.”

Weiss didn’t quite understand that and slightly blushed. “W-What do you mean by that?! I most certainly not in love with Ruby!”

Again, Winter chuckled. “I never said you were in love either.” And Weiss fell into that one. “How adorable. My little sister falling for her leader.”

The heiress gritted her teeth in anger. “I am not-”

“Weiss.” Winter interrupted her sister. “I know I have no say in this but you cannot deny these feelings you are having whether you know it or not. It is these kinds of emotions that will most likely hinder you in the future. Not what you’re feeling but the feeling you’re trying to hold back.” She sighed and smiled at her sister. “Be honest Weiss. What do you really think of your leader?”

The heiress really didn’t know how to respond to the question. “What do I really think about Ruby…?” In truth, there weren’t enough words for Weiss to say about the young leader. All of this talk about love and feelings have developed some strange inner conflict within herself.

Winter seemed to have most of the answers she wanted. “Well, whatever the case, I’ll fully support you of your decision. You are my younger sister after all. Father, on the other hand, might think differently about this. It’s up to you in the end.” She turned away from her sister. “Speaking of father, it would be wise if you would stop avoiding him.”

Hearing that snapped Weiss out of her inner conflict. “What are you talking about? I’m not avoiding him.”

Her sister thought otherwise. “Tell me, Weiss. Have you been having difficulty with your card lately?”

Now that caught Weiss’ attention. “How did you-”

"I had a similar problem when I first joined the military." Winter turned back to her sister. "You have two choices, Weiss. Either stop avoiding father so you can continue using his money or…you can continue living as you are now with your own free will and seeing what the rest of Remnant has to offer.” A difficult decision for Weiss but ultimately, she knew the answer to that. Winter knew it as well. “In any case, I think I should take my leave now. It was nice seeing you again Weiss.” Weiss was feeling a little sad her sister was here only for a short time but was glad to see her as well. Both sisters began to exit out of the open building they were currently in. Before they could go their separate ways, Winter stopped once more. “I am serious about your feelings Weiss. Just be true to yourself to them. The longer you hold them back, the more they will do harm until you admit them.” Her sister still wasn’t sure about the whole love thing but she did admit there was something there every time the heiress was close to her leader. Winter smiled at her younger sister. “I hope to see you again soon Weiss.”

Weiss smiled back at her sister. “Yes. The same to you Winter.” After saying their goodbyes, the two sisters went their separate ways. Night soon came and Weiss saw Winter’s airship take off and she waved goodbye at it. After it was gone, the heiress felt her scroll vibrate and saw that it was her father once again. She just smiled and chose to ignore the call. The only thing left now was to return to her dorm room where her team was and where Ruby was.

**B**

"I'm back." Weiss announced as she opened the door.

The rest of team RWBY were already in their pajamas. Ruby was happy her partner was back. “Welcome back Weiss. How did things go with your sister?”

Now that the heiress looked at the younger girl, she did notice a slight increase in her heartbeat. "It went fine. How did your day go?" She walked over to the dresser to retrieve her nightgown.

Yang laughed. “It was awesome. I played an awesome prank on Uncle Qrow with Leone and we played a fighting video game with him. We kinda found out that Leone is really bad at playing them. She kept yelling out in frustration and saying something about how the controls were rigged.” Ironic to hear that since Leone was a very proficient fighter herself. Weiss went into the bathroom to change and started to remove her clothes.

Even though all four girls had fun and even learned about the team Qrow was on once, Blake couldn’t forget what he said about the White Fang. Just because they’ve stopped their plans for now didn’t mean they were done yet. It made her all the more worried about what they have really planned. Not only that, she still had to tell Leone about her past with the White Fang. The Faunus girl was now all too familiar with her daughter’s view of them. Weiss exited out of the bathroom wearing her nightgown and her hair down. “Alright, let’s get to bed already. We’ll need all the rest we can get if we want to be ready for tomorrow’s matches.”

Ruby couldn’t agree more. "Right. Let's get some shuteye, everyone!" Soon as Weiss went to her bed, everyone turned off the lights. “Good night everyone.”

“Night Ruby.”

“Good night.”

“Night.”

Everyone in the room soon quickly fell asleep. Almost everyone. “Psst. Weiss…”

The heiress was a little annoyed and she looked over at Ruby who had her head hanging at the end of her bunk looking back at her. With the moonlight going through their window, Weiss thought the silver eyes the younger leader had were beautiful. “What Ruby?”

Ruby smiled at her partner. “I hope you do well in the doubles round tomorrow.”

Weiss was actually thankful for her leader's support and turned her body to face the wall. "Thank you, Ruby. Now go to sleep."

Ruby giggled slightly. “Okay. Good night Weiss.” She retreated back to her bunk.

Weiss sighed as she can finally go to sleep but not without having a few final thoughts. More specifically, what Winter said about her having feelings for Ruby. In truth, Weiss did have thoughts of that kind toward what Winter said before, and most of all, Ruby. It all boiled down to five words. _“I’m in love with Ruby.”_

 


	28. What is Missing

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Eight: What is Missing

Most of team KRCT were sound asleep for the night with Rienna wearing a pink tank top and shorts smiling while laying on her front while Chelsea wearing a nightgown and Kurome wearing a normal size T-shirt and underwear slept in the same bed. The only one who wasn’t sleeping was Taeko wearing grey T-shirt and sweats who was still plagued by what her grandmother told her earlier. Not only that, she did notice the look Cornelia was giving her earlier today. _“Why would Cornelia look at me such a way? I don’t recall doing anything that displeased her.”_ Of course, Taeko didn’t know why she was thinking of such a trivial thing since she didn’t know Cornelia at all. The most she did know about her was that the blonde was an all-around nice girl. Taeko sighed as she sat up from her bed and stood up. With all of the thoughts swimming in her head, Taeko thought it would be best to go outside for some air to clear out the thoughts. She made her way to the door and opened it. After that, she left the room. Unbeknownst to Taeko, Chelsea opened up one eye. After making a few turns, Taeko found herself at an open balcony and welcomed the change in scenery. It was exactly what she needed. Or it would be if a certain someone didn’t follow her. “You can show yourself.”

Taeko heard a giggle as two eyes appeared from the wall and Chelsea suddenly appeared. “You know this place has a curfew rule right?”

Her teammate continued to stare out to the rest of school. “That didn’t seem to stop you from following me. How is it you managed to move away from Kurome?”

Chelsea giggled at that. “That shadow clone semblance that one girl had comes in handy. So, what’s got you thinking?” She didn’t hear a reply from the other girl so Chelsea made a guess of her own. “Is it about what granny told you earlier? Ever since you came back, you’ve been a little moodier than usual.”

Taeko chuckled at the guess. She hit the nail on the head. “You always seemed to know what I’m thinking about. Also, I thought my grandmother made it clear not to call her that.”

Now that Chelsea had to laugh. “Come on. We grew up together so basically Babara is my granny too.” Taeko knew her childhood friend wouldn’t change her mind about something no matter what. She learned a long time ago before they became partners. “So, spill it. What did granny tell you?”

The other girl might as well spill the beans. Chelsea wasn’t going to stop asking anytime soon. “Fine.” Taeko looked up at the moon. “Tell me, Chelsea. What do you think true strength is?”

Already Chelsea knew where this conversation was going. “Is this one of those philosopher questions?”

And of course, she didn’t take it seriously. “That’s what my grandmother asked me.”

Already Chelsea was lost. “How about you start from the beginning?”

Takeo thought the same. “Very well.”

_F_

After Taeko left her team, she walked up to her grandmother and the two made their way into the forest so no one could interrupt them. Once they were, Taeko kneeled down to the older woman as she closed her eyes and lowered her head while Babara had her back turned to her granddaughter. “It is good to see you again, grandmother.”

Babara gave a small chuckle to the younger girl. “Yes. It has been quite a while my grandchild. Not since you’ve enrolled at that school. Tell me, what is that you’ve learned?”

Taeko was silent for a few seconds. “A great deal ma’am. As you’ve seen, I am in a very formidable team.”

That Babara could tell. “I can see that and I see Chelsea is the same team as you. I should’ve expected as much. You two were always joined at the hip ever since childhood.”

Her granddaughter couldn’t agree more. “If you want more irony, she’s my partner as well.”

Now that Babara laughed. “Perhaps you two are bound by the red thread.”

Taeko didn’t find the joke funny. “No. She’s…already dating our leader.”

"I see." The time for jokes was done now. Babara decided to get to the point. "Your team is indeed strong. That much can be said with the teamwork all of you have demonstrated back in the first round.” Her granddaughter was pleased to hear the praise from Babara. “Your second match, on the other hand…”

Her granddaughter thought she may not have been pleased by her recent performance. "I apologize if the battle displeased you. If I had kept my composure, I would not have been dealt such an embarrassing display."

Babara sighed at Taeko’s words. “No need to concern yourself with such a thing. You are fighting against those from different lands. It’s only natural for you to be caught off guard. This is a tournament after all. What I am looking for in you is progress and I must say you have improved quite well.”

Hearing those words elated Taeko. “Thank you for the kind words grandmother.”

It was no secret Taeko looked up to her grandmother. Revered her actually. “Improved as you are now, you still have much to learn. Especially about yourself Taeko.”

Taeko looked up to see her grandmother. “And just what is it I have to learn?”

Babara was going to discuss this matter with her granddaughter sooner or later. It was important to her and soon enough, for Taeko. “Tell me, Taeko. What do you think true strength is?”

Naturally, Taeko thought she had the answer. “To overwhelm anything in your path I suppose.”

The older woman expected an answer like that. “While you are not wrong, there is more to it than simply overcoming your obstacles with sheer power alone.”

Taeko didn't quite understand that. "What do you mean grandmother? I thought to be strong is all that there was to survive in the world."

After hearing that, Babara knew her granddaughter still had much to learn. “Again, you are not wrong but power alone will not get you far.” She turned around to face Taeko. “True strength isn’t about overcoming everything you come across. It comes by overcoming yourself. That is what you’re missing and that is where you must start. Once you understand that, you’ll be ready to face the real challenges that lie ahead.”

While Taeko took the words of wisdom into consideration, she was confused by them as well. She opened her eyes and looked back at her grandmother. “Then…how do I know I have achieved it? Where do I even start if everything I’ve worked up to this point didn’t even matter in the first place?”

Babara continued to stare at her granddaughter. "That you will have to find out on your own. When I was young and beautiful, I thought the same as you did Taeko and realized how foolish I really was. It took most of my earlier years to finally figure it out. Your mother was able to as well at a younger age. In fact, the three members of the team you're currently on have figured it out that question. The same with several of the others participating in this tournament whether they know it or not. Now you face that same challenge. I can only hope you discover the answer lest you want to repeat the same mistakes I’ve made.”

All of sudden, Taeko felt a heavier weight on her shoulder. “I understand. I’ll take your words to heart.”

Her grandmother nodded at that. “Very well. Also…” She smiled at Taeko. “Do not be serious all the time. I realize you have our legacy to uphold but do not let that stop you from enjoying what your life has to offer. You are foremost a child first and an heir second.” Enjoy. That was a word most foreign to Taeko. Closest she had in having fun was with Chelsea back when they were children. In fact, she thanked Chelsea in showing her what fun was. Growing up in a strict household left little of what child could do. “That is all I wish to discuss with you. You may go now.”

Taeko lowered her head once again. “Thank you, grandmother. If I may ask, are you staying for the rest of the tournament?”

Her grandmother sighed. “I might as well since I’ve traveled all this way. I am interested in what this generation is capable of. With that said, I’ll see you at the end of this, Taeko.”

Taeko closed her eyes. “Of course, grandmother.”

_F_

“And that’s how it went.”

Chelsea, who was sucking on a lollipop that came from who knows where couldn't help but chuckle. "Looks like granny hasn't changed a bit. I find it funny I know the answer that you don't and even I don't know it. Still, leave it to her to ask that kind of thing."

Her partner had to agree. "Yes. That's my grandmother for you but I still don't understand what she said."

The other girl shrugged at that. “Who knows? You’re plenty strong as is to me.”

Taeko took Chelsea’s words as comfort. “Thank you for that.” She sighed. “I suppose we should be going back to our room. Who knows what the penalty is if we’re up past curfew.”

Now that was something Chelsea can agree on. “You got that right. Let’s head back.” She already started to make her way back to the door.

Taeko was too but she had one more thought. “Chelsea…”

The other girl stopped in front of the doorway and turned around to face her partner. “What now?”

Taeko knew better to ask Chelsea such a question but any opinion would be good right about now. “Earlier today, when we met up with RWBY and ALCE with their friends, one of them, Cornelia gave me quite an unusual look.”

Chelsea tilted her head sideways looking confused. “Unusual how?”

Taeko thought about it for a few seconds. “Like I did something that upset her. What it was I don’t understand considering we only just met.”

The only thing that was unusual to Chelsea was that Taeko was wondering such a thing. Her best response was a shrug. “Don’t know what to tell you but it is quite curious as to why you’re so worried about this one girl.” A thought suddenly hit her. “Unless…you actually like her.” She smiled at that last part.

Her partner slightly blushed at the accusation. “D-Don’t be ridiculous!” She turned around away from Chelsea. “It’s not like that.”

That only made Chelsea laugh as she hugged Taeko from behind. “Don’t deny it Taeko. You like this Cornelia chick huh? Why else would you worry about it?”

This was always the part that annoyed Taeko the most about her friend. Not dropping the topic. “That’s enough Chelsea! You’re obviously taking this the wrong way.”

Chelsea couldn’t help but smile. She always loved to tease the other girl. “That’s not what my intuition says.”

Now Taeko was getting annoyed and growled. “Chelsea!” Her partner giggled at the outburst.

“Ahem.”

Both girls froze as they heard a new voice. One they recognized very well. They looked back to see Kurome at the doorway with her arms crossed and not looking all too pleased. A chill went down Chelsea’s spine as she let go of Taeko. “K-Kurome.” She laughed nervously and put on her best smile.

Her leader narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend and teammate. She raised a finger. “One: did you really think a cheap clone would be enough to fool me?” She raised a second finger. “Two: you have until the count of three to-” And already Chelsea made a beeline to the doorway and back to their dorm room. “Works every time.”

Kurome continued to stare at Taeko. The other girl thought to explain. “Kurome, I-”

“Save it for the morning.” Kurome turned her back to her teammate. “We’ll discuss it then.” She walked away from the other girl.

Taeko sighed and suddenly felt tired. “Perhaps this is for the best. Still, I have a feeling Chelsea will be sleeping in the extra bed for tonight.” With those words said, she made her back to the dorm room.

**B**

Another day came for the tournament and the doubles round continued from yesterday. One of the fights Akame saw was one girl who looked very similar to Tsukushi except for the fact that Tsukushi was….a little bigger in a certain area. Still, she didn’t think this girl was actually Tsukushi like Cornelia. Akame did notice there was something strange with her aura. Like it was not natural at all. Leone noticed it as well. There was also the way she utilized the swords she possessed. It may seem they're controlled telepathically but to Leone's eyes, they were controlled by using wires that connected to her back. It was strange, to say the least. The next match after that was finally RWBY’s turn with Weiss and Yang versus a team from Atlas called FNKI which the name itself made Leone laugh. Speaking of the Faunus blonde, she did notice one of the members was a Faunus as well and taunted Yang. Both girls were actually surprised how one of the members fought with a horn which Akame has never seen before. Sure there was the Imperial Arms Heavy Pressure but a horn was another thing. In the end, the match was won by Weiss sacrificing herself and Yang taking out the two members of FNKI. All that was left for the next match to be announced.

To pass the time, both RWBY and ALCE were back at the fairgrounds enjoying another meal for the victory sitting down at a table. Leone laughed heartily at the celebration. “That was one hell of match you two. It was pretty fun to watch.”

Weiss thought otherwise. “Says you. At least you didn’t experience being blown up by a small eruption.”

Yang laughed at that. “Come on Weiss. It wasn’t that bad. In the end, you did carry out for us to win the match. Give yourself credit on that.”

The heiress will admit to that. “Fine. I will.”

Cornelia took a sip out of her soda. “So you’re qualified for the singles round. Who’s going to fight?”

Yang smiled at the question. “Me of course. Gotta represent the best of team RWBY you know.”

Ruby giggle in agreement. “Yeah. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we won the tournament? That would be the best thing ever!”

There was that same energy Esdeath liked so much. “I think that’s still a little too soon to be thinking of that.”

She had a point but still. “Yeah but come on. It would be pretty cool.”

“It would be something else.” Blake spoke as she took a bit out a tuna sub sandwich.

While the group was busy enjoying themselves, only a few noticed that someone was coming their way. "Surprise!"

Yang yelled out in shock as she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her next and looked back to see a recent familiar face. “Neon!?”

Already Blake didn’t like how close the other feline Faunus girl was to her girlfriend. “What are you doing here?”

Neon smiled at everyone. "Just came by to say hello." She let go Yang and everyone turned to her. One of them which grabbed Neon's attention. That someone was Leone. She did recognize the other Faunus girl and the team she was on. "Hey. Now that I get a closer look at you, you're top heavy too."

Unlike Yang who was offended by the same comment, Leone just smiled and crossed her arms under her breasts as she pushed them up to show them off. “So what of it? Just means I have the goods to show off and I know one particular person who enjoys them.” Akame lowered her head to hide her blush.

Neon just giggled at the response. “Wow. And you’re funny too. Now that I’m seeing you up close, you and Nyang look pretty similar.”

The name irked Blake for some reason. “Nyang?”

The other Faunus girl nodded. “Yep. That’s what I’m calling her. You don’t mind that right Nyang?”

And Yang found herself treading in dangerous waters. She laughed nervously. “Uh…not at all?” Despite being a fiery blonde, the brawler felt a chill go down her spine as she felt a very cold stare coming from her girlfriend.

The answer was good enough for Neon as she gave Yang another hug. “Awesome!” Yang found herself in a very awkward situation. Sure she still hasn’t forgotten about the insult from earlier but seemed to forgive her when Neon didn’t mind losing. “You know Nyang, I did mean it. You are really pretty.” And that comment alone made Yang blush. Neon separated from the hug and pulled out a slip of paper. “Here’s my scroll number. That’s the real reason I’m here. Give me a call when you want to party. I’ll see you later!” Neon winked at Yang as she waved goodbye and left the group.

Yang waved back in respect but that chill didn’t leave. She slowly turned her head to her girlfriend which Blake had fire in her eyes. “Uh…Blake?”

Everyone was silent as Cornelia took another sip of her soda. “Hell hath no fury like a jealous woman.”

“Is that another saying from your father?” Akame asked.

The blonde shook her head. “No. It’s basic common sense.”

Yang waved her hands in front of her. “H-Hey now, Blake. I’m pretty sure she was kidding about the whole pretty comment thing.”

Leone laughed at that. “No, she was serious.”

That spelled trouble for her mother. “Don’t tell me…”

The Faunus blonde nodded her head. “Yep. Looks like you made quite the impression on her in the match.” Yang groaned at that.

It was obvious to Blake she wasn't a big fan of this development. "She obviously needs to learn.”

As a cat Faunus herself, Leone had just the solution. “If you really want to make it clear, it’s easy. Just claim Yang as your territory.”

Yang raised an eyebrow to that. “What do you mean by territory?”

Leone stood up and walked behind Akame as she wrapped her arms around the other girl. “It’s simple. All you have to do and this is what I did…”

“Leone, don’t you dare-” It was too late. Leone leaned in and licked Akame’s ear. She bit it lightly afterward and let go. “And that’s how it’s done. Of course, you could always go farther if you really want to send the message.”

Mostly everyone blushed at that since they knew what that meant. “Are you always this much of a lecture?” Weiss asked.

The Faunus giggled as she pressed her breasts against Akame’s back. “Only when I have to be. Or want to be. Especially with Akame and if you think I’m bad, you haven’t seen what Akame could do with her-”

Cornelia clapped her hands a few times to interrupt much to everyone’s delight. Especially Akame who was blushing profusely. “Okay…I think we’ll stop there. We do have innocence among us.”

She looked over at Ruby who didn’t know what was going on. “What was Leone about to say?”

It was at that point all of them had a pretty good idea how innocent Ruby really was. Ironic since the girl can wield a scythe twice her size with ease and skill. Weiss leaned into Yang. "You haven't given her the talk yet?" The heiress whispered.

Yang just shrugged. “Me and dad are waiting until she’s a couple of years older. She still believes in Santa, believe it or not.” Of course, Ruby would believe in something like that.

“Leone…”

The Faunus blonde looked down at her girlfriend. “Yeah?”

Akame just had about enough already. “Can you please release me now?”

Leone chuckled. “You got it.” She let go. The Faunus blonde had her fill of fun for now. “In any case, all fun aside, that’s basically all you have to do. Simple right?”

Blake had to admit she hadn’t thought about it before. It was a tad embarrassing to the Faunus girl. “If you say so.”

Yang felt a little nervous as well. “I’m…kinda up to it. I mean it’s just a lick and a nibble right?” She wasn’t totally wrong.

Suddenly, all of them heard a notification alarm. _“The next match with team ALCE will start in thirty minutes. Please prepare for the arena.”_

_“Yes, and don’t be late!”_ They heard the mic close off.

Leone smiled at the announcement. “Well, our turn to shine. You two ready?”

Esdeath smiled back and nodded. “Yes. I hope it goes well.”

Ruby had no doubt in mind about that. “You’ll do great Esdeath. I’m sure of it.” She smiled at the other girl.

Esdeath was touched by the young leader’s words. “Thank you, Ruby.” Weiss quietly hissed through her teeth. Now that she came to terms with her feelings for Ruby, the heiress had to plan some way to convey them to her. The problem with that was when she should tell Ruby. Another problem was what did the young leader thought of Esdeath.

Everybody stood up from the table Yang smiled at Cornelia and Esdeath. “We’ll be heading to our seats now. Kick a lot of ass you two.” With that said, all of team RWBY left for the arena.

Akame had the same idea. “We should go as well. Good luck during the match.”

Hearing that made Esdeath feel joy. She instantly grabbed Akame’s hands and held them while giving her leader a beaming smile. “I won’t let you down. I swear!” Akame didn’t know it but Esdeath did want to live up to her expectations as a teammate she could count on. The doubles round proved to be a perfect opportunity.

“Esdeath…” Esdeath looked over at Leone who had the same look Blake had before.

Esdeath knew what the look meant and let go of Akame’s hands. “Right…sorry.”

Cornelia laughed at the scene. “Alright, come on. Let’s prep up for the fight ahead.” Everyone in the team nodded and went on their way to the arena.

**B**

The next match of the doubles round was about to begin and the crowd couldn’t wait for the fight to start. sing were two large steel tonfas that were sharpened at either end of them.

Esdeath gulped as she was feeling the weight of her team on her shoulders. _“I can do this. This is my chance.”_

Cornelia looked over at her teammate and chuckled a little. “Just relax. You’ll do fine.” Esdeath took note of the blonde’s advice but still felt a little nervous.

Ruby was glad she was able to watch Esdeath fight since she missed her team’s first match. “You can win this Esdeath! Go for it!” Weiss could do without her leader’s cheering for the other girl. It didn’t help with her situation at all.

In another part of the seats, Akame and Leone were overseeing their teammates. Akame had the utmost confidence in them. Leone thought the same. "Never thought I would say this but I'm glad Esdeath is on our side. This should be a cinch."

Her girlfriend nodded in agreement. “Yes, and with Cora down there, I have no doubt they’ll do well in the fight.” While Akame looked forward to the battle ahead, the back part of her mind kept pricking at her about a certain subject. “Leone…”

The Faunus blonde looked over at her girlfriend. “Yeah?”

Akame narrowed her eyes. “About what you told us last night…”

Leone knew what the other girl was talking. “Worried are we? Can’t say I blame you but what Qrow said is right. I can’t fault Ruby and the rest of her team for thinking like that. Anyone would after fighting against an organization like the White Fang.”

Akame looked up at the sky. “Just because they won a battle doesn’t mean the war has been decided. They’re biding their time. Waiting for the perfect chance to strike and the worst part is we don’t know when it’ll happen.”

The Faunus blonde agreed to that. “Yeah. Just like old times, huh?” That was a part Akame didn’t miss.

Speaking of people planning, Mercury and Emerald were there as well to confirm what Akame told them was true. Seeing their other teammates on the field proved them wrong. “So that chick did lie to us.”

Emerald put her arms behind her head. "I figured as much. She knew better than to tell us."

“How unfortunate.” Both of them looked behind to see Cinder taking her seat. “And here I thought we would learn more about those two since there isn’t much about them.” She gave a sly smile at the two members that were down at the arena. “Oh well. It won’t matter in the end once all of this is over.”

Kurome, as always, surrounded herself with food and soda from the stands. She took a bit out of a hot dog. “This’ll be an interesting fight if that one chick with the ice is fighting in it.”

Rienna was excited for the match to start and laughed. “This’ll be fun. I can’t wait to see what’ll happen.”

Taeko carefully watching Cornelia and Chelsea caught it. “Checking a certain someone out?” She asked with a mischievous smile.

Her partner sighed. "Let it go, Chelsea."

In another part of the crowd, Gozuki was finally happy to make it before his daughter’s match began. “This is a surprise.”

Gozuki looked to the side and chuckled as he saw a familiar face. “You’re the one from before.”

Esren smiled at Gozuki and took the seat next to him. “Here for the match?”

Gozuki didn’t mind the company and nodded. “Yeah. My daughter is fighting in this round.”

Esren laughed at that. “Is that right? So is my daughter.”

Now that was funny to Gozuki. "How about that. Both of our kids are on the same team and fighting together.”

Esren did see the humor in that. “Yeah. I guess that is kinda funny. I have to say your daughter is rather skilled.”

Gozuki accepted the compliment. “I could say the same with your daughter’s semblance. It’s rather stronger than most semblances I’ve seen.”

Esren sighed at that. “I’m aware of that. I did help out in controlling it when she was young.”

Gozuki raised an eyebrow to that. “I see. Well, you’ve done a good job far as I know.” He looked at the arena. “I guess we’ll see how she’ll fare in this next match.”

Esren looked at the two girls as well. “Yes. I can say the same for your daughter as well.”

Back at the arena, the girl from the other team blew up a bubble from the gum she was chewing and blew it as she took it back in again. “So Razor. What’s your assessment this time?”

Razor shifted his glasses as she observed the team in front. “Well…I knew they would choose the member who had the powerful semblance but I am quite surprised the Faunus member wasn’t chosen as well. I guess that’s good news for us as that would be a disadvantage for the both of us.”

The girl laughed at that. “Pretty much. I wouldn’t want to mess with the chick who can chuck a huge iceberg without a problem.”

“Quite.” Razor continued to observe the other two girls. “Far as I know, they’re set up as one who can fight close quarters while the other is more of a long range. While the one with the semblance is more of a threat, the other one should be easier to defeat.”

The girl smiled as she brought one of her gloved hands up. “Got it then.”

The screen popped up to reveal Port and Oobleck once again. Port cleared his throat. “Hello and welcome to the next match of the doubles round. For this matchup, we have team ALCE versus team LAZR. I’m sure this will be a delightful battle for all to enjoy.”

“Indeed. Now let us begin the selection.” Oobleck announced. Five of the randomizer selector screens appeared and started to rotate to choose the environments for the match. All five soon stopped and the environments were chosen. They were ocean, swamp, forest, mountain, and ruined city. The ground outside the center began to lower itself and the five chosen environments appeared. The whole stage was set and the combatants were ready.  “Now let the match…”

Razor brought up his tonfas. “Get ready Zarina.” Zarina pulled one of her gloves to tighten it.

Cornelia had Twin Knight ready while Esdeath cracked her fingers. _“Here we go.”_

“Commence!” The air horn blared out.

 


	29. The King's Resolve

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Twenty Nine: The King’s Resolve

As soon as the air horn blared, Cornelia didn’t waste any time making the first move with her weapons ready. “Esdeath, back me up!”

Esdeath nodded at the order. “Right!” She put her hands in front and icicles formed around her. **“Weiss Scenba-”** Esdeath stopped as soon she noticed something strange. Cornelia stopped moving all of a sudden.

Cornelia herself noticed it and struggled to move. “W-What’s going on?” Her answer came in the form of wires shimmering by the sunlight and they were coming from one of their opponents.

Zarina smiled as she immobilized one of their opponents. “Target captured.”

Razor set his sights on his opponent. “Let’s begin.” He rushed over to where Cornelia was but Zarina decided to shorten the distance a little and pulled on her wires to bring in the blonde closer as she screamed. Once Cornelia was close enough, Razor delivered a strong kick to her side. Once she was out of the way, he didn’t waste going after Esdeath next.

While he was doing that, Zarina looked over to Cornelia. “Where do you think you’re going?” She pulled the wires down and Cornelia along with them. The blonde was slammed into the ground and let out a pained gasp. Her aura gauge dropped down a small amount. “And team LAZR takes an early lead!” Port pointed out.

Esdeath knew she had to help out Cornelia and fast but first, she had to deal with her opponent. She dispersed the icicles around and slammed her hand onto the ground. Razor narrowed his eyes and jumped into the air as a giant ice spike emerged from the ground from where he was previously at. However, just he landed back on the ground, Esdeath raised her hand to the air. **“Hagel Sprung!”** A giant ice ball appeared above Razor and he looked up as it started to drop on top of him.

Port had to wince at that. “That couldn’t have felt good for him.”

With Razor out of the way for now, Esdeath started to make her way to aid Cornelia. As she was, the giant ice ball suddenly shattered into pieces and stopped only to see Razor standing up. “That was a close one.” He looked at Esdeath and rushed over toward her. As he came in close, Razor attacked with his tonfa from the right but Esdeath jumped back to dodge it. That didn’t stop Razor as he continued to swing both of his tonfas at his opponent and Esdeath continued to avoid them. “As I thought. You’re not very adept to hand to hand combat, are you?”

Just as he said that, Esdeath caught his left arm with her right hand and froze it solid which surprised him. “You would think so huh? Let me show you otherwise.” She pulled back her left arm and ice began to form around her hand. **“Gletscherbruch!”** Esdeath delivered her attack at Razor and struck him dead center in the chest. She managed to send him away and extended her other hand out in front. **“Weiss Schenbal!”** Icicles appeared around her and were sent toward Razor.

He managed to stand up and saw the attack coming at him. Razor placed his own arm in front. **“Shatter.”** In the next second, all of the icicles aimed at him broke apart into countless pieces.

Esdeath was rather shocked in seeing such a thing. “What?!”

Esren narrowed his eyes at what just happened. _“He managed to destroy Esdeath’s attack easily. I suppose that’s how he was able to destroy her earlier attack.”_

Razor put his hand down. “My semblance allows me to shatter anything with a solid structure no matter how strong it may be. It can’t be used on living beings, however. Still, it should prove more than enough for your ice since it already has a crystalline structure that’s easy to break.”

Esdeath gritted her teeth in frustration as she held out her hand out once more. **“Grau Horn!”** A giant ice spike came out of the ground and was headed toward Razor.

Razor placed both hands in front of the attack. **“Shatter!”** In the next instant, Esdeath attack was completely broken into pieces. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter how strong your attacks may be, I’ll be able to destroy it regardless.”

Chelsea whistled at what she was seeing. “Not bad. Add another to my collection.”

Ruby growled as she stood up from her seat. “Come on Esdeath! Beat him up!”

Leone already could tell this wasn’t good for the former general. “That’s just great. Even with the aura going through her ice, that guy can just break it no problem.”

Akame continued to observe the confrontation. “It is a problem but remember, this is Esdeath we’re talking about. If were that easy to overcome her, we wouldn’t have struggled so much against her.”

The Faunus blonde nodded at that. “Good point. Guess we’ll see what kind of tricks she’ll pull out.”

Razor shifted his glasses. “So now, what will you do next?”

Esdeath narrowed her eyes at her opponent. She spread her arms out and the wind started to circle around her and blow out. Razor covered his arms from the wind. Soon something was being collected in the wind as it grew in mass and hid Esdeath. Weiss figured out what it was. “That’s…hail”

**“Hölle Hagel”** The hail circling around Esdeath stopped and were sent over to where Razor was. He didn’t have time to activate his semblance as they pelted him all over his body. He continued to cross his arms to defend against the relentless attacks. While he was busy defending against the hail, Esdeath slammed her hand down to the ground. **“Eis Speer!”** From where Razor was standing, a large javelin made of ice erupted from the ground as it struck him and sent him up into the air. Esdeath took this chance as she created a sword made from her ice and jumped to where Razor was. **“Gefrorene Slash!”** When she came in close, Esdeath slashed at Razor as she passed him by. Once Esdeath was behind him, ice suddenly emerged where she slashed him in the first place. Both landed back on the ground with Esdeath landing without a hitch and Razor landing with a thud. His aura gauge already went to yellow.

The whole crowd cheered at what they saw. Especially Ruby. “Yeah! Go Esdeath!” Weiss was becoming increasingly annoyed with her love interest’s cheering for the girl.

“And a powerful blow from Esdeath Partas. She has shown that even when faced a disadvantage she managed to adapt to the situation.” Port spoke.

Esdeath flicked her ice sword. “I was never good at welding any of the weapons I had to choose from before. None of them seemed to fit me no matter what. However, I am good at with the weapons I create with my ice. They feel more natural to me that way.”

Leone laughed at what she saw. “There we go. That’s the Esdeath we really know. Right Akame?”

Her leader nodded in agreement. _“She’s right. Esdeath was always at her best during a fight, no matter how much of an advantage the opponent had over her.”_

Zarina hissed through her teeth when she heard that. “You’re kidding me, right?” She suddenly felt a slight tug from her strings and saw Cornelia stand up.

The blonde chuckled at the shift of battle. “Looks like we got one up yours.”

The other girl narrowed her eyes at her. “Oh really? Don't forget which end my wires are tied around to!" Zarina jumped into the air and pulled her wires over her.

Cornelia saw the wires still tied around her and where they were leading to. "Aw, crap." She screamed as Cornelia was lifted into the air and sent over Zarina.

Zarina had the perfect place for the landing. “Hope you’re feeling up for a swim!” She threw down her wires and Cornelia at the end all the way to the ocean part of the battlefield. Cornelia was flung into the water with a splash and Zarina laughed as she landed back on the ground. “How’s that?” She pulled back her hand so the wires could return back to her.

Leone scoffed at the usage of the girl’s weapon. “Really? That’s it? Lubb is a hell of a lot better than this chick.”

Zarina was waiting for her next chance as soon as her opponent came up for air. The funny thing was, she never did which raised an eyebrow. “What the? Where the hell is she?” Her answer came in the form of the ground shaking. She took a few steps back while looking around. “What’s going on?” The ground started to shake more violently and the water began to move just the same. All of a sudden, Cornelia finally managed to emerge out of the water with her weapon in its axe staff form. Zarina crossed her arms to ready her next attack. “There you are!” Before she could send her wires toward the other girl, Cornelia yelled as she raised her weapon above her and slammed the end of it into the water. The end result was the ground shaking powerfully and all the water around her suddenly rose up high. The water moved away from Cornelia became a tsunami which freaked Neptune out quite a lot and it was headed toward Zarina. "Oh, crap!"

The tsunami crashed into her and flooded the surrounding area and her aura gauge went down almost to half. Cornelia smiled as she held her weapon to the side. “How was that?”

Port was rather impressed with the blonde’s performance. “And a smart tactic by Cornelia King. She was able to use her surroundings to her advantage and what a payoff it was.”

Gozuki laughed as he clapped. “Great job there Cora!”

Akame could say the same thing. “That was incredible.”

Leone snickered at what she saw. “I’ll say. That was freaking awesome.”

Over to Esdeath, she saw what happened and gave a small giggle. “We may win this yet.”

“Is that so?” She looked over to Razor who was standing up after taking Esdeath’s last attack. “Last time I checked, this fight is still going.” He took a running start at Esdeath.

Esdeath took a step back and placed both of her hands in front. **“Hölle Hagel!”** She sent countless hailstones again at him.

However, Razor was prepared this time. **“Shatter!”** He destroyed all of the hailstones in front before they even reached him. Esdeath gasped in shock as a result. “Your tricks only work once!” He brought one of his tonfas to him while Esdeath readied her ice sword. Both of them brought their weapons close to each other. **“Shatter.”** Before the sword could even reach him, it broke apart in an instant. That gave Razor the opening he needed and began to deliver a series of attacks onto Esdeath. After a couple of hits, he would turn around to continue the barrage of attacks. This lasted for several seconds longer until after his last hit, Razor crouched down with the tonfa brought in near his body. He suddenly swung his weapon upward at Esdeath and struck her into the air. He didn’t stop at there. Razor pointed his tonfas at her and began to shoot her. The onslaught of bullets juggled Esdeath in place all the while her aura gauge was steadily going down. Razor stopped shooting as he pulled his arms back and Esdeath began falling back down. As she came close to the ground, Razor delivered a powerful kick to her side and sent her away.

“No, Esdeath!” Ruby called out in worry as she saw the other girl crash back to the ground away from Razor. Even Weiss couldn’t help but feel worried as well after seeing Esdeath take all of those attacks.

Razor shifted his glasses once again as he stared at Esdeath’s motionless body. “And Esdeath Partas has taken a significant amount of damage after all of those attacks.”

Oobleck nodded in agreement with Port’s statement. “Quite right. I imagine it’ll be very difficult for her to get back up after that.”

Cornelia looked over at where Esdeath currently was. “Esdeath!” She separated her weapon back into two and tried to rush over to her downed teammate but stopped all of a sudden. Cornelia felt something tied around her arm and looked at it to see it was those same wires from before.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The blonde looked over to where the wires came from and saw Zarina standing up with her hand out. “We’re not done here yet.”

The blonde didn’t have time for her but being tied up left her with one other option. She ran over to the other girl with her axes ready. _“If I can’t get away from her, I’ll come to her instead!”_

Zarina expected the other girl to try the tactic and smiled. Cornelia closed in and swung one of her axes at her but Zarina moved her other hand with her wires in front to block the attack. The ax clashed with the wires and already Cornelia noticed something strange about them. _“They shouldn’t feel that strong to begin with.”_

Zarina whipped her wires to break off the oncoming attack and the two girls separated for a moment. That moment was all she needed as Zarina quickly passed Cornelia by while striking her with the wires. Normally a person wouldn’t use a weapon like hers for such an attack. Cornelia thought otherwise as she felt the immense power behind each of the wires as she felt each individual wire cutting her. Zarina smiled as she turned around and recalled the wires wrapped around the blonde’s arm and started to lash at her multiple times to the back. There was definitely something up with the wires she was using and Cornelia could feel it. They seem to be stronger they appeared to be. Zarina spun around and whipped the blonde one more time and Cornelia cried out once more as she let go of Twin Knight.

“Cora!” Akame was experiencing a familiar feeling. It was the same one when she first saw Cornelia after her fight to the death against Taeko.

Cornelia heard Akame’s cry and slightly looked over to her to see that scared looked from before. _“Akame…”_ She dropped to her hands and knees as did her aura gauge below half.

"Oh, that looked like it hurt. This doesn't bode well for team ALCE." Port pointed out.

Razor looked over at the screen and saw the different lengths each aura gauge was at. “We’re almost done here.”

For some reason, Takeo couldn’t help but feel a little angry for what Zarina did to Cornelia. Chelsea could tell as well. “Uh-oh. Things don’t look too good for them.”

Gozuki narrowed his eyes at his adoptive daughter. _“Cora…”_

Zarina seemed pleased with her work and recalled her wires back. She started to walk over to Cornelia. “In case you’re wondering about it, my semblance allows me to control the weight of what I want. In this case, my wires. I can make them heavy enough deal damage. Versatile and powerful.” She stood in front of her opponent. “I say this is about it for you. No hard feelings but you losing to me proves I’m just the better one.” She brought up her arm up close to her.

Cornelia was unmoving as she couldn’t forget Akame’s face from before. _“I don’t want you to cry. I’ve known you for a while now and I can tell seeing you cry like that, it doesn’t really suit you.”_

“Time to end this!” Zarina started to swing her arm with her wires ready to deliver the final blow but all of sudden, Cornelia stood up and grabbed her opponent’s arm tightly. Already Zarina was shocked and confused by this. “Wait, what the hell are you doing?”

Akame’s eyes widened as she recognized what Cornelia was planning to do. _“She’s…”_

Cornelia raised her head and smiled at her opponent as she pulled back her arm as her semblance started to surround her fist. _“Akame. I meant what I said. You look better when you’re not crying and I won’t let you now.”_

The blonde thought back to when Akame first told the truth about them. _“The two of you are different and yet somehow the same. You couldn’t imagine how I felt when I saw you again. It was like I was seeing a ghost and…I was happy to see you again.”_

Now that she thought about it, being reminded of those words strengthened her resolve. _Cornelia…I’ll carry on what you started. I’ll make sure to watch over Akame in your place.”_

Akame couldn’t look away as she believed her eyes were starting to play tricks on her. Who she was seeing right now wasn’t the Cornelia on her team but the Cornelia she knew from before. Akame could’ve sworn she saw the blonde turning her head at her and smiled. _“Cora…”_

Zarina punched Cornelia a few times with her other fist in hopes of separating from the other girl. “Let go! Let go of me dammit!” Despite all the punches, the blonde didn’t let up her grip. In fact, she made it tighter.

Razor growled at his partner’s situation. “Damn it. Hang on!” He started to run over toward them but a giant wall of ice blocked his path.

He stopped and looked over at Esdeath who was standing back up and breathing heavily. “We’re not finished yet.” Ruby giggled happily now she knew Esdeath was still alright.

As Zarina continued to try to break Cornelia’s grip, Gozuki had a sense of pride swelling up inside of him. _“Cornelia may not be my own blood but she sure as hell inherited a few traits from me. She’s the best daughter I could ever have. That much was true even back then.”_

_F_

In a hospital room, a young Cornelia was lying in a bed looking out the window. She heard the door open and saw the man that rescued her from the fire. “You’re awake. That’s good.”

Cornelia could only remember a little about the man before her but he did save her from the building she called home that was on fire. Still, even if she was safe, there was a question she desperately needed to know. “Where’s my papa and my mama?”

The man before looked away from her with a sad face. “I’m sorry to say this but…they didn’t make it out.”

Hearing that crushed Cornelia. Her parents were gone and now she was alone. Tears started to come out of her eyes and started to sob. “Mama…papa…”

The man looked back at her and walked over to her. “I know it’s hard to take their loss and I’m sure you’re scared being all alone in this world without them.” He placed his hand on her head and Cornelia looked at him with tears still coming out of them. “Which is why I’ve decided to take you in as my own. I may not be your real father but I’ll look after you the best I can.”

Cornelia didn’t know how to take the news. This man in front of whom she really didn’t know that saved her wanted to take her in as his own daughter. Her response was to cry once more but this time giving the man in front a hug. The man sighed as he hugged her back. “I’ll make sure to do everything I can to make you happy again.”

_F_

Gozuki remembered from that day on, both of their worlds changed for the better. Cornelia brought out the father he thought he never had before and that was one of the things he was grateful to her. Gozuki can’t believe the girl he was seeing now was the same one he took in all those years ago. _“To think…Cora has gotten so far since that day. It not only changed her life but mine as well. There were times I thought I couldn’t be dad she wanted but it all worked out in the end. Cora…I’m glad to have become your father. Now show her what a King is capable of.”_

Cornelia gave the other girl a confident smile. “I’m not going down just yet. There’s someone out there that’s important to me and I don’t want her to worry anymore.” The power of her semblance continued to increase. “I don’t ever want her to experience the same kind of pain she felt before and I’ll make sure she’ll never have to be sad again!” She remembered what Akame told Cornelia a little more about herself a few nights ago.

_F_

Team ALCE was getting ready for bed after playing a board game to pass the time after the matches were finished. “Hey, Akame?”

Akame looked over to Cornelia who was sitting on her bed. "What is it, Cora?"

Cornelia had a question she’s been meaning to ask her leader for some time after hearing her explanation earlier today. “It’s about those Imperial Arms weapons you mentioned before. Did I…ever use one?”

Akame knew she was going to ask that question sooner or later. She smiled at the other girl. “No, you didn’t. In fact, I didn’t use an Imperial Arms either while I was with the Elite Seven. We used different weapons called Shingu. They’re similar to Imperial Arms but not as powerful.”

Cornelia smiled at the explanation. “I see. So what was the Shingu I used called?”

Akame was rather glad her former teammate asked that. “It was called…

_F_

Cornelia charged the attack to the fullest and yelled with all of her might as she punched Zarina dead center to the stomach. **"PULVERIZATION KING!"** The force behind of the attack erupted from the back of the arm in the form of the wind. The wind blew out intensely as Cornelia continued to add more pressure to the attack while screaming out loud. Zarina was screaming as well but more in pain.

While all of this was going on, Taeko couldn’t take her eyes off of what was happening before her. For some reason, she remembered her grandmother’s words from before. _"True strength isn't about overcoming everything you come across. It comes by overcoming yourself.”_

It finally made sense to her now by seeing Cornelia fight. _“So…that’s it then…”_

With a final thrust forward, Cornelia managed to send away Zarina with a bang. Zarina screamed in terror as she was sent out into the arena and hit the force field. She fell down to the ground unconscious and her aura gauge went to zero. Everyone in the crowd was amazed that Cornelia pulled off such a win. Gozuki smiled as he couldn’t be prouder of his daughter. _“That’s my girl.”_

“And that’s one member of team LAZR out of the match. This has now become a two on one.” Oobleck pointed out.

Razor gritted his teeth when he heard that. _“That’s just great but…”_

Cornelia stumbled a few steps forward before falling down forward. “It’s up to you now…Esdeath…” She fell to the floor and didn't move anymore. It was then her aura gauge finally went into the red.

“It seems a member of team ALCE cannot also continue to the match. Looks like we’re starting a singles match a little early.” Port announced.

Even if Cornelia couldn't continue on, Akame felt overjoyed that her teammate gave it her all to the end. _“Even in this world, you never cease to amaze me, Cora.”_

One on one suited Razor much more now one of his opponents is down and all that was left was Esdeath. He easily had the match in his hand. Or so he thought. Esdeath had her head lowered with her bangs covering her eyes. She took in Cornelia’s last words before she couldn’t continue on any longer. Razor looked over at her and noticed the change but ignored it. “Well? Shall we finish this up?”

Esdeath raised her head and had a strong determined look in her eye as she spread apart her arms. “Of course.” Everything was riding on her now and it was exactly what she wanted. _“Leave it me, everyone. I won’t let all of you down!”_

 


	30. No Right Answer

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty: No Right Answer

The match between team ALCE and team LAZR continued on with Cornelia winning one for her team but fell herself during the match. The ones left to continue the match was Razor and Esdeath. Still,

Gozuki nodded in agreement. “Yes.” He continued to stare at his daughter who now laid on the arena floor. _“I don’t remember teaching Cornelia something like that before.”_ He thought back to Cornelia’s previous attack. _"To outright grab her opponent's arm unarmed and take advantage of her opponent's shock while being in close proximity with that kind of attack. It was a high-risk move right there. Not to mention the way she used her semblance with that attack._ _Just where did she learn something like that?”_ He looked across to where Akame and Leone were. _“I have a feeling her leader had something to do with that.”_ Gozuki looked back at the arena. _“Still, that’s my daughter for you. She really is like her father at times. You’ve earned to rest. Now all that’s left is for her teammate to win this but that’ll prove to be difficult considering what her opponent can do. Guess we’ll just see what’ll happen next.”_

Leone was clapping at her teammate’s previous performance. “Damn that was awesome. Chalk one up for Cornelia. I can see why you looked up to her Akame.”

That same overjoyed feeling didn’t leave Akame. She was extremely proud of what Cornelia did. _“I knew you could do it, Cora.”_

Chelsea grinned while having another lollipop in her mouth. "Wow. Gotta hand it to her that was pretty cool what she did. What do you think Taeko?" She looked over at her partner and saw an unusual look on her. "Taeko?" Taeko continued to stare at Cornelia while still feeling her heart beating at an unusually fast pace. 

Kurome munched on more popcorn in her mouth. “Now it’s just one on one. This’ll be good.” Rienna giggled in agreement.

Yang had to admit she was enjoying this match a lot. "Now that's what I call a punch. Man, she wrecked that chick good."

While Blake did agree with her girlfriend, she also saw the trouble. “Yeah but this fight will go either way now. Both Esdeath and that guy have taken a lot of damage and he can destroy her ice with no problem.”

“Esdeath’s going to win.” Everyone looked over at Ruby who had a confident smile. “I know she can win.”

Weiss looked back at Esdeath. “If you say so, Ruby.” She was having so much mixed feelings about this whole thing. She was jealous that Esdeath had all of Ruby’s attention but she didn’t want Akame’s team to lose this match because that would make her leader sad. She sighed at the predicament. _“Why does love always have to be so confusing?”_

Back at in the battlefield, Razor sighed at the blow his side had taken. _“This is just great. Zarina is out and now it’s just me. At least they lost one of their own so that’s not too bad. Plus, with the advantage I have over her, I should be able to do this.”_ He raised up his arms. “Well? How about we end this already?”

Esdeath closed her hands tightly as she gave her opponent an unwavering stare. _“Cora’s down and it’s up to me for the team to pull through. If anything, this is my chance to prove to the team, to prove Akame and Leone that I’m not the person they knew back in their world. This, I solemnly swear!”_ The wind started to blow out around Esdeath. “Anything that gets in my way…will freeze.”

Razor looked around as he noticed the temperature around was slightly lowered. _“What’s she planning?”_ He discarded that last thought and ran straight at her. _“Doesn’t matter. I’ll end this now!”_

Esdeath stood still as she lowered her head. **“Walzer der Zorn des Winters.”** In the next instant, a powerful blizzard blew out everywhere throughout the arena strong and harsh.

Razor stopped as he crossed his arms to protect himself from the frigid winds. “What’s going on!?”

The blizzard had an effect on the crowd as well as they felt just how cold the surrounding area had become. Neon was certainly not a fan. “Nya! It’s so cold!” She grabbed ahold of herself trying to warm up.

Flynt held onto his hat from being blown away. “Have to say, that’s some trick she’s got.”

Emerald rubbed her arms with her hands trying to cope with the sudden weather. “I’m freaking freezing here!”

Mercury laughed despite himself feeling the same way. “That’s what you get for wearing that outfit.”

Cinder was felt the effects of the weather as well but maintained her composure. Her interest in Esdeath increased. “This girl…”

Sun was feeling the worst of all as he rubbed his arm furiously. “I am seriously underdressed for this!” Neptune couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Velvet was clearly not a fan of the blizzard-like everyone else. "Coco!"

Coco had no choice but take off her sunglasses as seeing through them obscured her vision of seeing what was going on. “Well, that guy is pretty much screwed.”

Others, however, took this in a much different way. “Ha ha! Cool! She made an awesome blizzard! Look! I can see my breath. Check it out!” Nora exhaled and saw her breath.  Her team, on the other hand, didn’t think the same as they were shivering from the cold.

Blake was not at all a fan of the cold weather as she cuddled up with Yang trying to warm up. The blonde was the same. “Jeez! Esdeath could do this all along?!”

Ruby was amazed by Esdeath’s power. “This is…so incredible.”

Weiss who was the only one not bothered by the cold was mesmerized by the power before her. _“This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Akame and Leone actually fought against someone like her back in their world?”_

Both Akame and Leone braced against the harsh cold. “Yeah, that’s definitely more like the Esdeath we knew back then huh?”

Akame had no choice but to agree with that. “And to think…this is just Esdeath around our age. Just imagine what she can do once she reached the age she originally was back in our world.” That thought terrified her.

Chelsea now had a very clear idea of how strong Esdeath’s semblance really was. “Okay, yeah, no way I’m going to have that same kind of power as that chick.”

Even Taeko admitted Esdeath’s power was something else to her. “To think she would be this powerful with just her semblance alone.”

Kurome groaned at all of this. “This freaking sucks!”

“I know. This weather is really strong huh?” Rienna spoke.

“Not that!” Kurome’s team looked over at her and saw that the food she had around was gone. “She blew away all of my food!”

_“Of course she would complain about that.”_ Everyone thought at the same time.

Gozuki was pretty impressed by the amount of power the blizzard possessed. “Looks like your daughter is something else as well.”

Esren seemed to be unaffected by the weather as he kept a close eye on his daughter. _“So, you’re finally going to unleash it Esdeath.”_

Back in the arena, Razor struggled trying to cope with the drastic drop in temperature. _"Is she planning on freezing everything in sight?"_ He saw Esdeath take one step forward and ice began to appear and cover the ground around her quickly. _“She’s freezing over the entire arena!?”_ The ice bypassed him and sure enough, ice completely covered the arena.

Both Oobleck and Port were amazed by this. "Incredible. Esdeath Partas has completely frozen the arena. She now has the home field advantage!"

While impressive, Oobleck noticed something else. “Yes but there is no sign of her teammate considering what happened to her not too long ago.”

Esdeath had already planned ahead for that. All she needed to do was win the match and she wasn’t going to hold back. She spread out her arms as the cold winds surrounded her arms. **“Kalt Mahlstrom!”** Esdeath crossed her arms and a vortex of snow and ice surrounded Razor as he screamed in terror.

Esdeath raised her arms and the vortex rose up into the air. She uncrossed her arms and the attack ceased leaving Razor high in the air. This time, she left one arm extended pointed at Razor. "Let's see how you like it when you're pelted in midair.” Countless hailstones formed around her once again. **“Hölle Hagel!”** The hailstones were instantly sent over to where Razor currently was and every one of them pelted him all over. Esdeath ceased the attack and her opponent started to drop to the ground. As Razor neared it, she clapped her hands together. **“Große Schlucht!”** Two large walls of ice appeared from the sides and slammed into each other with Razor in the middle of them. Esdeath then raised her hand to the air. **“Hagel Sprung!”** Another giant ice ball appeared from above and Esdeath set her arm down. The attack dropped on top of the previous attack. The ice beneath was crushed and scattered everywhere. Esdeath snapped her fingers and the ice ball was destroyed as well only leaving Razor lying on the cold ice floor. She leered in at her opponent. “Well?”

Razor groaned as he was not only in a great amount of pain but his whole body was freezing due to the cold weather. He started to stand up but had some difficulty doing so and was breathing heavily. As he fully stood up, it was apparent even his glasses were destroyed. “What…just what the hell are you? Some kind of monster?”

The statement hit closer to him than he thought. Monster. Esdeath was called that before among other things like the nickname Ice Queen. However, it didn't bother her as much. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe I am a monster like everyone says but you know what? I'll never become the kind of monster she once was."

Razor didn’t quite understand that. “Who’s she?”

Esdeath didn’t both replying as she spread her arms out and a large powerful whirlwind surrounded her. **“EISBOHRER!”**  She spun her arms around counter-clockwise and two large powerful waves of ice appeared in a spiral formation as it was headed straight at Razor.

Razor held out his own arm to break apart the oncoming attack. **“Shatter!”** The attack was destroyed but only for a second as it continued on. _“It’s still going?!”_ That was the last thought he had before the attack struck him through and screamed once again. The attack continued on until it hit the force field where it dispersed everywhere else. Once it was all gone, all that was left was Razor unconscious by the attack and he fell down to the ground along with his aura gauge to zero.

Esdeath snapped her fingers and the blizzard ceased. No one in the crowd made a sound when they saw the still ice covered arena. Esdeath lowered her body and placed her hand on the ground. The ice around began to vanish around her and soon spread throughout the arena. One area in particular that was rather oddly shaped as a lump vanished as well revealing Cornelia who seemed to be unaffected by what happened previously. Esdeath turned to the large screen. “There’s Cornelia and she hasn’t been affected this entire time.”

Oobleck nodded as that was all he needed to know. “Very well. The winner of this doubles match is team ALCE!”

The crowd continued to be silent for a few more seconds before roaring in cheer. Esdeath looked around to the crowd and couldn't believe these people were cheering for her. No, not her. Her team and made her feel…happy. Esdeath smiled as she looked over to where Cornelia was and walked over to her. Good timing because the blonde was starting to come to. She opened her eyes and felt surprisingly warm for some reason. "How are you feeling?"

Cornelia sat up and looked to Esdeath who was smiling at her. “Esdeath? What happened? Did we win?”

Esdeath giggled as she held out her hand to her teammate. “Of course.”

Cornelia took the other girl’s hand and Esdeath brought her up. Many in the crowd clapped, including their friends and Esdeath’s father. Among the applause, Cinder clapped her hands a few times before standing up and making her leave. Mercury and Emerald noticed and followed soon after. As they made their way to the exit, Emerald looked back at the arena. “Hey, Cinder. Do you think-”

“One at a time Emerald.” Cinder interrupted. “We’re here for one thing only. Don’t forget that. Besides, not until we have all of our facts gathered.” She smiled slyly. _“Her power is greater than what it should be normally. Quite the team member you have…Akame.”_

Port cleared his throat. "Well, with this match's end, the double's round finally comes to a close. Stick around for as we approach the single's round. Now for those were affected by the harsh cold, please head toward the nearest hot cocoa stand.”

**B**

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Everyone in team ALCE clinked their drinks of hot cocoa. All of them were sitting at a table after their hard-fought win in the doubles match. Cornelia brought the cup to her and blew on it to cool down. “So…” She took a sip of her hot cocoa. “What did happen while I was out?”

Esdeath giggled at the question. "Well, for one, I created a small pocket for you with my ice. It covered your body so you wouldn't be affected by what I was about to do next." She took a sip of her hot cocoa next.

It made the most sense to blonde. “Oh, I see. What did you do?”

Leone snickered. “She freaking made a blizzard and froze the entire arena, you included so that’s where I’m guessing she made that pocket for you. After that, Esdeath totally overpowered the guy.”

Hearing that made Esdeath blush a little. “It was nothing, really. I was just…doing my part for the team.”

Akame sipped her cup and smiled at her. “Well, you did a great job and now we’re in the singles.” Esdeath felt a sense of warmth spread throughout in her chest when she heard those words from her leader.

“Hey there!” Everyone looked over to the voice and saw team RWBY walking up to them holding cups of hot cocoa as well. Ruby giggled as she ran up to the other team.

Esdeath smiled at the young leader as she happy to see her again. “Ruby.”

The younger girl stopped in front of her. “We just came by to say congratulations on her victory. You were so awesome in your fight and Cornelia too.”

Cornelia giggled nervously at that. “Thanks even though I kinda fell before the last stretch of the match.”

Yang saw a problem with that. "Eh, don't worry about it. Still, I've gotta hand it to ya, that was some attack you did."

The other blonde smiled at that. “Thanks. I guess you can say I was inspired by someone close to me.” She looked over at Akame and the two girls smiled at each other.

Yang was pleased with the explanation and took a sip out of her cup. “Well, in any case, looks like both of our teams are in the single's round. You ready for it, Leone?"

The other team looked at each other for a few seconds before looking back at the other team. "About that. We...made a change. Akame's going to fight in the single's round."

It was…mildly surprising to hear that but Blake somehow expected that. “Is it because of Kurome?” The silence was the only answer Akame gave. 

Yang was let down a little her daughter wasn’t going to participate in the single’s round but could see why the final decision was made. “I understand but are you sure about this?”

Akame nodded at the question. “There is no doubt in my mind.”

Everyone in RWBY could tell Akame was serious given the look in her eye. “Why hello there.”

The group looked over to see Esren and Gozuki walking over to them. “Father/Papa?”

Both fathers smiled at their daughter’s and their team members. “Nice seeing all of you again." Gozuki pointed out. He walked over to Cornelia and placed his hand on his daughter's head. "You made me helluva proud out on that fight of yours Cora." Cornelia laughed happily at the compliment.

Esren crossed his arms as he looked at his own daughter. “Esdeath…”

Esdeath straightened out more than usual when her father spoke to her. “Yes, father?”

Her father smiled at her as he chuckled. “How did it feel Esdeath? Having that crowd cheering for you?”

His daughter was caught off guard for a few seconds by the question but recollected herself. “It was…good. Great even. To have that kind of support in mass, it was unlike anything I’ve experienced before.”

The answer was more than enough for Esren. He wasn’t at all surprised by his daughter’s reaction to the crowd. Far as he remembered, people resented Esdeath because of her unusual semblance. Still, no matter what, Esren did the best he could in raising his daughter in respect of his late wife’s last wish. It took a long time but now Esdeath finally had the life she longed for. “That’s good. I’m happy that you’re around people who are fond of you. Your friends and your team.”

“Of course we are.” Esren looked past his daughter at Ruby. “Esdeath’s really incredible and she’s a great person too. I think it’s pretty awesome how she fights without a weapon.”

Esren blinked a few times at the young leader and smiled at him. “Judging by how you’re praising my daughter so much, I guess you must this Ruby Esdeath told me so much about. You’re exactly what she described you to be and more.”

Ruby tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Really? What did she describe me?"

Esren was all too glad to be asked that question. “Well, to start off-”

“No no no no no no! Father!” Esdeath jumped in front of her dad waving her arms frantically.

Esren got a kick out of his daughter’s embarrassment. “Why not snow cone? You don’t want her to know what you said about her in the letters you wrote.”

Esdeath’s face went deep red. “Don’t call me that!”

Yang, like Leone before, snickered at the nickname. “Wow. Snow cone? I didn’t expect a name like for you.”

Blake saw the irony in that. “This coming from the girl whose uncle calls her firecracker.”

That was a low blow from her girlfriend right there. “Hey! For your information, I happen to like that nickname. Unlike snow cone here.”

Esdeath whined at the name. “Don’t say that name! It’s so embarrassing.”

Ruby giggled as she actually liked this side of Esdeath. “I don’t know. It kinda sounds cute.”

Weiss decided to ignore the compliment her leader made for Esdeath. She was more focused on what kind of person Esdeath was. _“It’s hard to believe not too long ago in her match, Esdeath was relentless with her attacks and now…”_ She saw the scene between Esdeath continuing being embarrassed by her other nickname while Ruby continued to talk to her. _“Seeing her now, it’s almost unreal she’s the same person we’re seeing before us. And to think, this is just the Esdeath from our world. I would hate to see…what the Esdeath Akame and Leone fought before was really like.”_ She continued to observe both Esdeath and her leader. The heiress closed her hands tightly. _“I have to tell Ruby and hopefully soon.”_

Gozuki rather liked the scene before him and chuckled. "If it'll make you feel any better, I could always some of Cora’s embarrassing stories.” His daughter suddenly had a bad feeling about it. “There was this one time when she was eight that-”

Cornelia already knew what her dad was going to tell them. “You’re not telling them that!”

Gozuki laughed as he expected that kind of reaction from her. “Why not? This way, both you and Esdeath can be on the same boat.”

Leone was getting a kick out of all of this. “I certainly want to know what happened when you were eight.” Akame had to admit she was also rather curious more of Cornelia’s past.

The human blonde crossed her arms in front. “Absolutely not!”

“Excuse me.”

_“Oh thank god.”_ Both Esdeath and Cornelia were thankful for the person interrupting this moment.

To Cornelia, she recognized the voice. The group looked over to the one person they expected the least to show up. “Taeko?” The two fathers recognized her from the previous fights.

Akame seized up momentarily for a few seconds. “What are you doing here? Did Kurome send you?”

To her surprise, Taeko shook her head. “No. I came here on my volition for the sole purpose of talking to Cornelia. Alone.” Akame's breathing slightly hitched when she heard that.

“Sure if that’s what you want.” She looked over to her father. “You don’t mind, right papa?”

Gozuki smiled at her. “Not at all. Go on right ahead.”

With that, Cornelia nodded at him and walked toward over to Taeko. Akame felt that same familiar fear from before. She took a step forward and tried to say something. "It'll be okay Akame." Akame stopped when she heard that. The blonde looked back at her and smiled. "I promise I'll back so don't worry." She gave the other girl a wink and looked forward as she walked along with Taeko away from the group.

Even with those words, Akame still couldn’t help but feel worried. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Leone smiling at her. “Just relax.” Akame had to admit there was no other choice but believe and hope that history didn’t repeat itself. The Faunus blonde looked over to Gozuki. “Now, about what happened to Cora when she was eight...”

**B**

Taeko and Cornelia were in a part of the forest near the fairgrounds where they were alone. Both girls were looking straight at each other while the wind blew softly through them. Cornelia did admit she was rather feeling a little uneasy confronting her killer face to face. “Alight. So, what is it you want to ask me about?”

The other girl didn’t let up her gaze at the blonde. “I’ll ask one question. Tell me, Cornelia. What do you think true strength means?”

It was a rather odd question to be asked. “What do I think?” She pondered the question a few seconds before she had the answer. “Well, to start off, there’s no right answer to that question.” Takeo silently gasped at the answer. “True strength is different for each person so they have their own answer to that question. To me, true strength is…” Cornelia thought back to Akame and everything she had to go through. She smiled at Taeko. “Is making sure the person that’s important to me not feel the same kind of suffering she felt from before. In order do that, I have to become strong no matter what. Not only for her but for everyone else close to me. That’s my true strength.”

Taeko was surprised by the answer she heard. Hearing it now made much more sense thinking back to Cornelia’s feat during her match. It confirmed her thoughts and lowered her head. _“I see. It seems I still have much to learn. Now that I think about it, the answer is that much obvious when it comes to my team. For Chelsea, it’s Kurome. For Kurome, it’s testing herself how strong she has become. For Rienna, the memory of her late father. Grandmother...was this the lesson I was supposed to learn?”_

Cornelia thought it was a little weird the other girl was silent for some reason. "Hey, are you alright?" What happened next was Taeko on her hands and knees with her head to the ground. She was bowing to the other girl. Cornelia didn't know how to take this kinda thing in. "H-Hey. What are you doing?"

Taeko had her eyes closed while bowing down. “I thank you for your time. You’ve taught me something valuable and for that, you have my gratitude.”

The blonde chuckled awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her head. “Thanks….I guess but this is kinda embarrassing.”

Embarrassing or not, in the end, Taeko was still thankful to her. There was one more issue to address. “If I may, I would also like to apologize.”

Cornelia tilted her head sideways looking confused. "Apologize for what?"

Taeko continued to refuse to look at the other girl. "For whatever I did to displease you even if we haven’t known each other for long. I noticed the look you gave to me last we met.”

Now Cornelia knew what Taeko was talking about. In fact, it made her think about something else. _“That’s right. She was one who killed me because we were enemies before but…”_ She smiled at the next thought. _“That doesn’t mean we can’t be friends now. Perhaps…this is another chance to make things right between us. I mean…she is kinda nice and prett-”_ She stopped at that last thought and shook her head. The blonde made up her mind and walked toward Taeko. “Don’t worry about it. In fact….” She stopped in front of the other girl. “I actually want to be your friend. That is…you’ll have me as one.”

Taeko raised her head and saw Cornelia holding out her hand to her. Taeko thought the other girl’s offer was strange but somehow made her happy. She smiled at the blonde. “Of course.” She took Cornelia’s hand with her own and the blonde pulled her back up. A little too quickly it seemed as Cornelia lost her balance trying to help Taeko up and fell down backwards bringing Taeko with her with both girls ended up on the ground.  Cornelia groaned as she tried to get up but couldn’t because of a weight on top of her. There was something else she felt. She opened her eyes and gave out a muffled gasp. The reason why it was like that was because something was pressed against her lips. Cornelia also saw a similar expression Taeko had. It quickly dawned on both girls that their lips accidentally came into contact with each other. To make the scene a little more awkward, Cornelia felt something grab her. More specifically, her breast. Both girls blushed profusely at the position they were in. They were in that same position for a few seconds longer than usual before Taeko broke the accidental kiss and both girls shrieked. Both of them sat up and turned away from each other still feeling and embarrassed and felt their burning blushes. “I-I…uh. What I mean is…I’m trying to say…” Taeko really couldn’t think of a coherent sentence right now.

Cornelia was a little more collected but not that much. “I-It’s alright. It was…just an accident…right?”

Taeko was quick to agree. “Y-Yes. It was an accident. Nothing more.” There was an awkward silence between the two girls.

Cornelia was the first to stand up. “So…I guess our teams will see each other in the finals?”

Taeko stood up as well. “Indeed they will.”

The silence returned to the both of them. "I'll…see you around. Okay, Taeko?"

The other girl nodded. “Yes. Until we meet again.”

The silence was still present. “Great. Uh…bye then.”

 “Goodbye.” Even with the farewells said, Cornelia stayed for a few more seconds before finally leaving. As she did, Taeko placed a hand on the top of her chest and felt her heart beat madly. She lightly traced her lips with the two fingers from her other hand while blushing slightly while her eyes were half shut. _“I can still feel them on my lips. She was…Cornelia was…my first kiss.”_ For some reason, Taeko really didn’t mind that at all. She shook her head to snap out of her daze. _“That’s enough. I did what I had to do and should go back to Kurome and the others and there is no chance in hell I will let Chelsea know about this. I’ll never hear the end of it.”_ With those thoughts, Taeko started to make her way back to her team. There was one more thing that troubled her. “I do hope that…spectacle didn’t change the way she thought about me. I would like us to start out as friends.”

Little did Taeko know Cornelia had similar thoughts about what happened before as she was walking back to her team with two of her fingers lightly tracing her lips. “I can’t believe that happened. Taeko was literally my first kiss." She trailed her fingers to the top of her chest and placed her hand on it where she felt her heart beat at a fast pace. "My heart won't stop pounding. Then again, it’s…not like I didn’t enjoy it. I…kinda liked it and her lips were soft and-” She stopped herself from talking anymore and shook her head. “In any case, I hope things won’t be awkward between us when we see each other again.” Cornelia sighed. “I am so not telling the rest of the team about this. I’ll never hear the end of it from either Leone or papa-” She finally realized something. “Oh crap! Papa is probably telling them that right now!” Cornelia made a beeline back to her team before her father had a chance to them.

**B**

In another part of the fairgrounds, team JNPR was enjoying their own cups of hot cocoa after Esdeath's display of power. Jaune was too happy to warm up again after almost freezing to death. "Oh, hot chocolate. Never have you tasted so good to me before.”

 Nora still enjoyed the hell out of Esdeath’s part of the match. “Esdeath sure knows how to make a winter wonderland. I bet she’s really good at snowball fights. Ooh! How about we have a snowball fight tournament? That would be totally awesome!”

Jaune and Ren didn’t know if that would be fun. Pyrrha still laughed, though. She suddenly felt her scroll go off and brought it out to see a message was sent to her. Pyrrha opened it and read the message carefully. It was then she gasped which Ren noticed. “Something the matter Pyrrha?”

Jaune and Nora looked over to her and saw the worry on her face. “It’s from Professor Ozpin. He wants me to meet him right away.”

It was unusual, to say the least for Jaune. "Any idea why?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, but it says this is important.”

Everyone didn't have a say in the matter against that. "If it's from Professor Ozpin, guess you have to go, huh?"

Pyrrha nodded at Jaune. “Of course. I’ll be back soon everyone.” She left her team and headed toward Ozpin’s office.

Nora waved goodbye to her teammate. “See ya Pyrrha! Let us know how it goes!”

As they saw Pyrrha walk away from them, Ren asked the question that was on the rest of the team’s mind. “I wonder what Professor Ozpin wants with Pyrrha in the first place.”

 


	31. Regret

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty One: Regret

Night had fallen over Beacon as the teams who made it to the Single’s round. Yang stretched out her arms as she laid down on Blake’s bed in her pajamas. “Well, tomorrow is the big day. Can’t wait for it to start.”

Blake in her yukata

The blonde chuckled as she sat up and looked over at Blake. “I feel awesome. Everything we've been through has led up to this." The Faunus girl felt the same way. The festival turned out more fun than she thought. “So when does the Single’s start anyway?”

Blake pulled out her scroll and opened it to check. “Unlike the previous rounds, the Single’s round won’t start until at night.”

Yang smiled upon hearing that. “Really now?”

The Faunus girl knew that smile all too well. “What are you thinking Yang?”

Her girlfriend continued to smile. “Just a really awesome idea.” Blake couldn’t wait what the blonde was thinking of. Yang has noticed a lack of two certain girls from the room. “So…what’s taking Ruby and Weiss?”

Blake was wondering the same thing same. “I don’t know. I don’t think it would take that long to tell Ruby something.”

She had to agree with that but also had other thoughts. “Good point, though it kinda depends on what Weiss wants to talk to Ruby about.” Another idea came to the blonde. “Hey Blaake.”

The Faunus girl knew all too well what that tone of voice meant. “What is it this time?”

Yang grinned as she crawled closer to her girlfriend and soon was over her body. Blake was granted a very good view of the blonde’s cleavage her top was giving off. “Since they’re not here for the time being and we haven’t had time to ourselves for a while…wanna make out?” Blake only gave silence as she stared at her girlfriend. Then she suddenly wrapped her arms around Yang and pulled the blonde down onto her.

**B**

While the Bumblebee pairing was…busy, Weiss and Ruby were out on the closest balcony still wearing their regular clothes. Ruby thought it was rather odd that the heiress wanted to talk to her out of nowhere as she did before but was willing to hear her out. “So what is it you wanted to talk about Weiss?”

Even though Weiss was keeping a straight face, she was actually freaking out inside. It was sooner than she wanted it to be but Weiss had to do it. She had to confess to Ruby. But first, she had to confirm something. “I want to ask a question.”

Ruby wondered what the heiress wanted to know. “Okay. What is it?”

Weiss closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath and breathed out as she opened them again. “What do you think of Esdeath?”

This was becoming stranger by the second for the younger leader as she crossed her arms. “What do I think of Esdeath? What’s this about Weiss?”

“Just answer the question! How do you feel about her?” For better or for worse, Weiss needed to know the truth.

Ruby decided to play by Weiss’ rules and answer her. “Well, there isn’t already what I said about her before. She’s awesome, a great fighter, nice-”

“Even though what she was before?” Weiss added.

Hearing that made the young leader glare at her partner. “Now that’s not fair! Just because she was some crazy person back in Akame’s world doesn’t mean she’s like that now. We both know she’s a really nice person here.”

Weiss knew she was going to hit a sensitive spot when she mentioned that. “Fine, you made your point. Now answer me this. What do you feel about her?”

Ruby put in some thought into the question. “How do I feel about her? Well…I feel she’s a good person and a friend if that’s what you want to know.”

The answer wasn’t good enough for the heiress. “What else?”

The young leader tried to think more but couldn’t anymore. “That’s about it. She’s just a really good friend. Why is this important to you all of a sudden Weiss?” A sudden thought came to her. “Wait. Don’t tell me…”

Weiss’ façade was beginning to crack. _“Has she figured me out already?”_

“Weiss…” The heiress gulped as she awaited the next words. “Do you like Esdeath?”

And that question made Weiss fall over but quickly stood up again. "Y-You dolt! Of course, I don't like her! Not in that sense!”

Ruby was certain that was the case. “Then why did you ask me that in the first place?”

Her partner just growled and looked away. “Just forget it.”

The young leader took a step forward toward the other girl. “Weiss-”

“I said forget it Ruby!”

Ruby recognized this scene all too well. When Weiss was like this, it was difficult to reason with her. "Alright, Weiss. If this is all you wanted to talk about, we’re done here. I’ll see you back at the room.” She walked past the heiress and left the balcony.

Soon as she was gone, Weiss gritted her teeth. “Damn it!” She turned around as a glyph appeared and punched it. She couldn't believe what had happened. "You did a great job, Weiss. You just had to blow it didn't you?" She sighed at the fact and the glyph disappeared. "Why is it so difficult just say those five words? It was easy saying them to myself but to Ruby is a different matter entirely. I’ll have to apologize to her later on.” She made her way back to the doorway and toward the dorm room as she was thinking of a different way. _“Think Weiss. There has to be an easier way to tell her.”_ An idea suddenly hit her. _“I know. A gift. That’s how I’ll be able to tell Ruby but the problem now is what gift I should give her.”_ Weiss shook her head. _“I’ll figure out that later. For now, I’m glad that Ruby doesn’t hold any feelings for Esdeath but I can’t say the same for the latter. I guess I can say this is my own battle. Me versus Esdeath for Ruby.”_

**B**

Meanwhile, in team ALCE’s room, Leone was laughing her ass off while Cornelia was furious at her. “It’s not funny Leone!”

The Faunus blonde continued to laugh. “I beg to differ…Miss wild child.”

Cornelia growled at the other girl. “I was eight okay!”

Esdeath was quite enjoying the scene before her. She glanced over at Akame who seemed downed. “What’s the matter Akame?”

The other two girls looked over at their leader who was hugging a pillow near her. Leone could tell what was on her mind. “Thinking about tomorrow?” Akame quietly gasped and looked over at her team. Leone hit the mark. “You’re worried, aren’t you?” Her girlfriend buried her face deeper in the pillow. The Faunus blonde sighed. She knew what Akame’s problem was. “Look Akame, this is totally different than last time. There's a number of things that it won't end the same. You're both not using Imperial Arms, you'll be fighting with hundreds of people watching, there isn’t any risk involved, you two aren’t enemies in this world. So come on, try to lighten up.”

Even with those words, Akame still kept the same expression. “I still remember.” The rest of the team listened closely to her. “I still remember what it felt like. Holding Kurome's body in my arms while the night was raining."

Now Leone was just feeling pissed at this point. “I told you it’s not going to end the same as last time!”

The other two members looked back and forth between the former assassins. Cornelia knew what she was going to be in when she asked her question. “Tell me…” Both Akame and Leone looked over at her. “How did Kurome…die?” Akame held the pillow tighter. “I know it’s a sensitive topic and-”

“Kurome challenged me.” Everyone heard their leader speak. “She wanted to settle the score between us once and for all. It was my chance to save her.”

“Save her from what?” Esdeath asked.

Leone sighed as she looked down at the floor. “Remember what I said when we first explained who we really are? Kurome was subjected to experiments that ruined her body and mind. So much it was shortening her lifespan.”

They did remember Leone saying that to Yang back then. “When I left the Empire, I wanted to take Kurome with me but she refused. The reason why is that leaving the Empire would mean the same as betrayal to those she once fought alongside with. That was when she saw me as an enemy. I joined the Revolutionary Army to save her. I even planned to take her to a place called God’s Secret Hot Spring. It was a place where there were hot springs said to be medical and therapeutic. I planned to take Kurome in hopes of healing her and hoped that her lifespan would expand.”

Esdeath had never heard a much sadder tale. “Then…what happened that drove you to do such a thing?”

Leone decided to answer that. “When Akame made her way to meet up with Kurome, Tatsumi and I followed to make sure no else would interrupt. At first, they chatted like normally as sisters. Then….” She remembered the fight Akame and Kurome had. “Their fight was intense. Neither of them let up. That is…until…” Leone slightly closed her eyes. The other two kinda figured what was the end result.

“It was then Wave appeared and he was furious at the outcome. I don’t blame him being angry at me. If anything, I deserve it. I couldn’t save Kurome and in the end…” Akame closed her eyes. “I took her life.”

The silence was present in the room. What Cornelia and Esdeath heard was nothing more than a failed attempted to rescue her younger sister with the worst possible outcome happening. Cornelia lowered her head with a look of sadness on her face. “I can see why now. You’re afraid of that same outcome happening if you fought against Kurome again.” She lifted up her head and gave her leader a small smile. “But…like Leone said, it won’t happen again. It’s like she said before, there’s a lot of things that are different this time around. This is your second chance to make things right not only for you but what you couldn’t do for Kurome. You want to be sisters with her again right?”

Cornelia wasn't wrong. There wasn't anything more Akame yearned more than returning to Kurome as sister once more. Tears started to come out of her eyes and started to cry quietly. Before Leone could go over to her for comfort, Cornelia beat her to it as she held her leader close to her. “There there." She had Akame cry on her shoulder.

Seeing the scene before her made Leone slightly angry. “Cornelia…”

The other blonde giggled softly. “There was something Akame told me one time. She told I acted like the big sister in her previous team so that’s what I’m doing. Being a big sister to her. You don’t mind that right, Leone?”

Leone did recall Akame saying that before and had no choice but to accept it. “Fine but don’t let it get to your head.” Esdeath giggled happily and everyone enjoyed this tender moment together.

**B**

The day of the Single’s round had finally arrived. The excitement was buzzing in the air as the people and the one's fighting couldn't wait for it to start. Including Leone as her team were spending time in the fairgrounds once again walking around. The Faunus blonde yawned as she stretched out her arms. "Wish the Single's round would just start already. It kinda sucks we have to wait until night." She laughed at that last part. "Never thought I should say that." The Faunus blonde looked behind at her girlfriend. "How are you feeling Akame?"

The other girl smiled at Leone. “Just fine. Maybe a little nervous.”

Leone thought she might feel that way. “Don’t worry. Loosen up and have fun. That’s what we did back on Romari Road.” Akame smiled as she remembered that. She also remembered how good Leone looked in her bikini back then too.

“Just the girl I wanted to see.” Once again, the group heard Yang’s voice coming from the side and looked over to see her and Blake walking towards them.

Leone smiled as she would always be happy seeing her parents. “Hey there Yang, Blake.” She noticed two certain other girls were absent.

So did Esdeath. “Where are Ruby and Weiss?”

Yang laughed nervously at that the question. “Weiss took Ruby somewhere else in the fairgrounds as an apology for some reason so it’s just us. Works out great if you ask me.” Esdeath didn’t know why but she a slightly bad feeling when she heard that.

Cornelia raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

The brawler smiled as she took Leone’s arm. “Come on Leone. Let’s have a little family time together before the Singles start.”

Her daughter didn’t know what to think of the sudden idea and looked back at her girlfriend. “Uh…Akame?”

Akame just smiled at the Faunus blonde. “You can go ahead. I’ll be fine and enjoy myself while I can.”

That was all Yang wanted to hear. “Great! Time’s a wasting!” She dragged Leone away from the other team.

Team ALCE was now one member short. Esdeath looked at her two teammates. "So, what should we do to pass the time?"

A growling sound from Akame gave the answer as she placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. “How about we get something to eat first?”

**B**

The day continued on as usual as Yang, Blake, and Leone enjoyed their time together. The brawler really wanted to try out this idea of hers since this was the closest thing she would have to her own actual family. Her as the mother, Blake as the father and Leone, their daughter. What better way to enjoy a day before the Single’s round then with them? As of now, the three girls were sitting down at a table enjoying their lunch together. "So Yang…" Leone took a bite out of her hot dog. "How are you feeling for the Single's round?"

Yang was all too glad to hear that question. “Pretty awesome. I can’t wait for it to start. Not mention the people I’ll be beating.”

Her daughter chuckled at that. “Even though Akame is one of them? Tell me something. What would you do if you had to fight Akame in the Singles?”

Yang really didn’t think about that. “Not sure. Has she had any experience fighting people with their fists?”

Leone thought back on that question. “Just one. Wave and his Imperial Arms Grand Chariot. It’s an armor type like Incursio but it was like the final product to that.”

Her mother took a sip out of her soda. “I see. Considering that, I’m not sure how I’ll fare against her. There’s my semblance so I think that’ll give me the edge.”

Leone would like to see Yang fight against Akame just to see how it’ll go. “And the off chance you have to fight Kurome?”

That was the hard question. It was very unlikely but it could happen. “I know how important she is to Akame. If anything, I would still give it my all but…I think I’ll lose on purpose. I know I want to win but her fighting Kurome is a lot more important.” It was a good answer from her. Yang may have her pride as a fighter but she knew what was more important if something else came up. Since they were all here, Yang could finally ask a question she’s meaning to approach for quite some time. “Hey, Leone…”

The Faunus blonde munched on some fries. “Yes?”

Yang looked straight at her daughter. “How did you and Akame hook up in the first place? I mean, the two of you knew each other for a long time so what made you take the next step?”

Leone chuckled at the question as she sipped her soda. “It’s a funny story I’ll tell you that. For a lack of a better description…we started off as friends with benefits.”

That was something the other two girls didn’t expect. “Wait…you mean…”

Leone nodded at Blake’s question. “Yep and that started off when both me and Akame were drunk one time and we kinda ended up in the same bed naked.”

There one thing Blake caught in that detail. “Wait a minute. You mean you actually drank alcohol?”

Her daughter laughed nervously. _“Oh right. They still don’t know I’m actually in my early twenties. Not like I’m going to tell them that.”_ She smiled at the other Faunus girl. “Yep. Drinking age was a little different back in my world. It was awkward at first but we didn’t deny that we liked it. And…that’s how it started. It went on for a while and neither us complained about it. Sometimes…” She lowered her head as Leone did remember certain nights. “There were times she really needed to be comforted whenever we lost are friends. It was like an escape for her. All except for her sister.” Yang kept quiet and didn’t bother speaking. “That night, I just held her close to me in my room crying until she fell asleep.”

It was rather sweet of Leone to do that and Yang was proud of her daughter to be that supportive. It still didn’t answer her question, though. “Is that when you two decided to just be a couple?”

To her surprise, Leone shook her head. “No. To be honest, we…recently became a couple. The night before the Revolutionary Army came to the Capital, both of us knew how important tomorrow was and that was when we just…let it all out.” Yang knew all too well what that meant. “It was also the night where we…well, you know…” She blushed slightly at the detail.

The other two girls didn’t quite understand. “You two what? You guys had sex so what else was there?”

Leone never thought she would be embarrassed in telling them. “We…we…” She just sighed and recollected herself. “We broke each other’s hymens.”

Both girls blushed when they heard that little detail and slightly looked away. “O-Oh.” That was Blake managed to say while Yang continued to be silent.

Leone continued to blush. She really didn’t want to say that exact detail but how else were they supposed to know. At least they had the general idea. “Yeah.” The two looked back at their daughter. “Truth is I kinda had a thing for her since we first met. I mean…how could I not fall for her?”

“And was that when you two finally got together?” Yang asked.

Again, Leone shook her head. “It wasn’t that simple. When the day of the revolution arrived, all of us went on to our intended targets. That was when everything went to shit. From that damn giant robot destroying the Capital to that damn Minster shooting me several times."

“You were shot?!” Yang yelled out as she stood up. Blake brought a finger to her lips and shushed her. “Oh. Sorry.” She sat back down but this time felt a little worried. “You were actually shot?”

Leone nodded at the question. "Yeah. Lost count, though. I think it was five or six times and that was after he destroyed Lionel which gave me the power to heal my wounds. Still, I didn't give in and managed to bash his face in to a bloody pulp. After that, everything pretty much settled down and I kinda struggled getting back to the others. Once I reached the boss, that’s when I blacked out.”

“What happened after that? What about Akame?” Yang asked.

Her daughter took another sip. “Well…”

_F_

Leone groaned as she started to open her eyes to see green ceiling. It soon came to her that green ceiling was actually a tent. _“Where am I? The last thing I remember was walking to the boss and…”_ She started to sit up and suddenly felt a sharp pain. “Ah! Son of a bitch!” Leone placed a hand on her stomach and felt something odd. The blonde looked down and saw that she was bandaged up around her stomach.

“Ah, so you’re awake.”

Leone heard a voice and looked to the side to see one of the doctors. “Doc…”

He drank of a cup of coffee. “You’re incredibly lucky you know. There aren’t that many people who can live through being shot multiple times and still walk away. I say you pulling through the operation was nothing short of a miracle.”

The blonde laughed at the fact. “Even without Lionel, I’m still plenty of strong.” Her cheerful persona dropped. “So what happened?”

The doctor was about to answer until they both heard some noise outside. “Let me through! I have to see her now!”

“Wait, you can’t go in ther-”

The tent opened up and Akame appeared. Leone was glad she was alright but noticed the strange markings she had. “Akame. Your body-”

“Leone!” Akame rushed over to the other girl’s side and hugged her closely.

The blonde cringed in pain but was able to hug back. “Glad to see you too.”

The doctor smiled as he finished his coffee. “I’ll leave the two of you alone.” He made his way out of the tent.

As soon as he was gone, the two girls separated and Leone smiled at Akame. “Hey there. How did you know where to find me?”

Akame smiled back as she held the blonde’s hand. “The boss told me and she told what happened. I’m just glad you’re alright. I thought I was going to lose you too.”

Leone chuckled at that. “Come on Akame. You of all people should know better. I won’t croak that easily. So where’s Tatsumi?”

The question made Akame lower her head and look sad. “Tatsumi is…”

She gave a quick explanation to Leone. Naturally, she shared the same feeling as the other girl. “Goddamnit. I really did think he would make it all the way to the end.” Akame thought the same. In the end, he broke his promise to her. “And what about you? Akame, those scars on your body…”

Akame grabbed her arm and looked away. “I had no choice but to use Murasame’s trump card against Esdeath and managed to kill her”

That was the best kind of news for Leone to hear. “Well, I’ll be damned. I knew you could do it. I had no doubt about it.” She took a closer look at Akame. “But your body…”

“It’s okay.” Akame looked back at the other girl. “I’m okay with it. I accepted the full responsibility." She knew the risks involved if Akame should ever use her trump card and now she was branded with the sins of the people she had killed with Murasame. Leone could hardly believe that this war, this whole ordeal was finally over but not without its costs.  They lost good people along the way. There was only one question now. “What happens to us now?”

Leone looked at the other girl in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Akame knew this was coming if she ever survived her battle against Esdeath and to be honest, it was even more difficult. “I mean…” She held the blonde’s hand. “What about us? Everything we did?”

If Leone had to be honest, she really didn’t know. “Far as I know, we were just…friends with benefits." The blonde felt a small stab in the heart when she said that. Of course, they were more than that.

So did Akame. “Is that all there was between us? Even though we…last night?”

Leone knew where the conversation was going. “It’s not like that. I did like what we had from before and I still do.”

The answer wasn’t good enough for Akame. “Then how do you really feel about me?”

The other girl stalled for a few seconds trying to come up with an answer. “I….I….” She swallowed. _“Damnit. Come on! Say those damn words to her.”_ Leone gritted her teeth. “You’re important to me.” Those were not the words she wanted to it say. _“DAMN IT!”_

It wasn’t the answer Akame was looking for. “Is that so? I guess…this is it, huh?” She stood up from the bed and looked away from the other girl. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow. There isn’t anything else for me here.” With that said, Akame left the tent.

With her gone now, Leone closed her hand tightly and hit the bed. “Damn it! Just goddamnit.”

_F_

Leone took a longer sip of her soda this time around after that explanation and sighed. "After that, Akame and me said our goodbyes and I left without looking back and since then I regretted every day not saying those three words to her since that day." 

This wasn’t exactly the love story Blake was expecting from her daughter. “Why didn’t you say them from the start if you really loved her?”

Leone herself would love to know that as well. “I don’t know and to be honest, it was stupid of me not saying them in the first place. If I had, maybe we could’ve started a lot earlier.”

Even with that, Yang still saw the bright side. “In the end, you still ended up with Akame. That’s what matters and you’re happy with her now.”

Leone admitted her mother had a point. “Yeah…you’re right but I still kinda blame myself for not telling her earlier. If I did…”

“Ah bu bu bu. No ifs Leone. You’re with Akame now and that’s final.” Yang pointed out.

The Faunus blonde didn’t have a choice but to accept that. “Alright. You made it clear. Can’t complain about the past when I already have her now.”

That was enough for Yang. “Alright, that’s more like it.” She stood up from the table. “Come on. Let’s finish up and enjoy the rest of the day while we still can.” Blake and Leone couldn’t agree more.

**B**

Time flew by quickly for the small family and it was the most fun Leone had in a long time. Soon the sun was setting and the three were walking in one of the parks the school had. Leone actually liked spending time with her new parents. It gave her a feeling like no other. Not even with Akame. It was like something she was missing was finally beginning to fill in. Yang noticed a bench coming up and smiled. “How about we have a quick sit down?”

The other two didn’t object and they sat down. Well, Yang and Blake did. The brawler had other plans for her daughter. “Leone…come lay her head on my lap.” She patted her lap as encouragement. Leone didn’t object and laid down on the bench with her head on Yang’s lap. The blonde loved this just as much whenever Blake laid on her lap. “Good girl.” She proceeded to scratch Leone behind her cat ears.

That brought out a reaction of her daughter. “That feels good.” She closed her eyes and smiled at the pleasing feeling.

Yang giggled as knew that would work. She’s done it before with Blake whenever they were like this. “We have such a lovable daughter, don’t we Blake?”

Blake smiled in agreement. “Yes, we do.” Blake had never thought something like this would happen to her. Having a girlfriend like Yang and having a daughter like Leone. It almost seemed unreal for her. Having a life like this considering what her previous one was before and to be honest, it was the trade up she loved the most out of it. Yang continued to gently scratch behind Leone’s ear and her daughter began to doze off. It seemed to be a perfect moment for Blake as she slightly raised her head and closed her eyes. She began singing different voice vocals that sounded heavenly to both Yang and Leone. The blonde girl never knew her girlfriend could sing like that. To Leone, her eyes began to stir and started to see images.

_F_

_“That singing. It sounds…familiar.”_

She heard cheerful laughter from a young girl. _“You sing so good mommy.”_

_“Who was that?”_

She heard another giggle but this time from an older woman. _“Leone…my sweet strong little lion.”_

_“That voice…”_ Leone was sure she heard of it before. The whole scene started to become clearer as she saw what it looked to be a rundown shack that seemed familiar to her. There wasn’t much in as there was a worn down table, a stove, and there were holes in the roof where the moonlight was beaming through. On the ground, there was a patch of hay with a ragged blanket over it and there was a woman that seemed familiar to her and a young girl lying beside her. _“Who…are they?”_ Leone could tell the woman had long blonde hair wearing a simple white dress and was barefoot but couldn’t make out the face.

She saw the young girl hug the woman closely. _“Can you sing it again mommy?”_

_“Of course, my little lion.”_ She raised her head and started to sing once more.

The singing was so familiar to Leone and yet she couldn’t place it. The singing was interrupted by the woman coughing. _“Mommy! Are you okay?”_

The woman continued to cough until she settled down. _“Of course. Nothing more than a little cold. Nothing to worry about. Which reminds me…”_ She reached down further under the blanket and pulled out something familiar to Leone. The woman presented it to the young girl. _“Happy birthday my little lion.”_

The young girl smiled and giggled happily. _"Thank you so much, mommy! It's the best gift ever!"_ She wrapped the scarf around her neck.

Leone’s eyes widened in shock. _“That’s my…”_ She grabbed the scarf around her neck.

The scene began to change and heard coughing from the woman except for this time they sounded worse. _“Mommy!”_

The Faunus blonde saw the woman lying on the blanket breathing heavily. _“I’m okay…”_

The girl shook her head. _"No, you're not. You're sick!"_ Tears were coming out of her eyes.

The woman weakly laughed as she caressed the girl’s cheek gently. _“Do not cry my sweet lion. Be strong for you…and for me…Leone…”_

Her hand dropped to the ground and didn't speak anymore. _“Mommy…?”_ Young Leone shook her mother a few times. _“Say something mommy. Mommy please…”_ Leone breathing heavily at the scene before her. _“Mommy, please wake up. Wake up, mommy. MOMMY!”_ Leone couldn’t’ take it anymore and screamed.

_F_

At that moment, Leone woke continuing to scream as she sat up. “NOO!” She breathing with a slight sweat.

“Leone, hey!” She turned around to Yang and Blake who looked very worried. “You were having a bad dream.”

The Faunus blonde placed a hand her face. “Blake…how did you know that song?”

Blake thought it was an odd question for her daughter to ask. “My mother used to sing it for me when I was little to help me sleep. Why did you want to know?”

Leone calmed down and took her hand off. She didn’t feel any better. “I remember now. I remember…my mother.”

Both Yang and Blake were surprised to hear that. “When you say your mother, do you actually mean-”

“My real mother.” Leone interrupted Yang. She grabbed her scarf. “I remember now. She was the one who gave me this scarf as a present. She was sick and I couldn’t do anything about it.” She closed her hand tightly. “I couldn’t help my mother. To think I’ve forgotten about her…of all people…” She began to cry. “I’m sorry mom…”

Suddenly, Yang brought her daughter in and held her close with Leone’s head placed on top of her breasts. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She began stroking Leone’s hair. “It’s okay to let it out you know. I’m sorry you lost your mother. I know how you feel about it.”

Leone closed her eyes once more. _“This feeling…”_ The Faunus blonde recognized the feeling as it was warm. It reminded her several times with her actual mother. “After my mother died, that was when I decided to work at the massage parlor. I didn’t know what else to do until I got Lionel and killed those two bastards trying to make a game out of some helpless people. I finally had a purpose. I could make a difference helping people. They wouldn’t have to go through like I did. I knew what was going to happen when I took up in assassination but it didn’t make taking the losses any better. I lost them all just like how I lost my mother and now…I don’t want to lose any of you. All of you been…it’s been like we got back what we lost. All of you, us having fun. It was like old times again back with Night Raid. We may have been assassins but that didn’t mean we didn’t think each other as family. And I don’t want to lose that again. I don’t want to lose you like I how I lost my mom and everyone else.”

Yang continued to stroke her daughter’s hair “I’ll tell you this. Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I promise.” Hearing that brought hope to her. The sun fully set and night finally came.

All of them heard an announcement in the next instant. _“Attention everyone. The Single’s round will begin in half an hour. All combatants chosen please come to the main arena."_

_“Yes, and if you are late, you will be immediately disqualified! That is all!”_ The announcement ended.

Leone separated from her mother as Yang stood up and stretched out her arms. “Well…guess it’s about time.”

The other two girls stood up as well and Blake smiled at her. “Good luck out there Yang.” She pulled in the blonde close to her and gave the brawler a heartwarming kiss.

She broke the kiss and Yang couldn’t help but smile. “And who said black cats were bad luck?” Yang looked back at Leone. “You want to come along? Chances are Akame is heading there now.”

Leone smiled at her and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get going.” With all of that said, the three girls made their way to the arena. While doing so, Leone thoughts trailed back to Yang. _“Is Yang really…”_ She shook her head and quietly laughed to herself. _“Maybe it’s best not to think about it too much.”_

**B**

The crowd was roaring in excitement as the Single’s round was finally here. Blake made her way to where her other teammates were. “Hey there.”

Ruby and Weiss looked over to her and Ruby was happy to see her again. “Blake!”

“How have you been doing?”

Blake sat down next to Weiss. “I’ve been good. How did things go with you two?”

The young leader smiled. “It was so great! Weiss took me all over and it was so much fun! Thanks again Weiss.”

The heiress smiled back at her partner. “It was nothing. I had to make up for my outburst last night.” She had other thoughts about the day. _“Still, I couldn’t find the right gift to give Ruby. I guess I always have tomorrow.”_

Leone made her way back to her team as well. “Miss me?”

Cornelia laughed at her teammate’s arrival. “Hey there. How did it go with your parents?”

The Faunus blonde sat down in her seat. “It was…good.” She looked down at the arena and saw Akame. _“Wish I could’ve given her a good luck kiss too.”_ Leone also noticed a few other recognizable people, including Kurome.

Esdeath was riled up with anticipation. “This is so exciting.”

Down at the arena, Akame was making last minute checks on the competition around her. _“Yang is here, that’s no surprise. Pyrrha as well.”_ She looked over at another familiar face. _"That girl with the strange aura is here too. I can't place it but for some reason, her aura reminds me of Su."_ Akame looked over at another and narrowed her eyes. _“One of Cinder’s is here too. Most importantly…”_ She looked at the far end and saw Kurome.

“Good luck out there Kurome!” Chelsea cheered as she sat back down.

Taeko observed each of the people down at the arena. “So this is the best this tournament has to offer. I can tell Kurome will have her time here.”

Rienna took in some popcorn into her mouth. “She’s going to have a lot of fun.”

“Go get them out there Pyrrha! Break their legs!”

Nora giggled as she sat back down in her seat. “You can do it Pyrrha!” Ren called out.

“Go Pyrrha!” Even though Jaune was glad she was going to fight, he was still worried that Pyrrha’s been acting strange ever since she came back from Ozpin’s meeting. _“Oh well. I’m sure it’s nothing major.”_

The large screen appeared as Port and Oobleck were now present. “Welcome everyone to the Single’s round of the Vytal Festival. The fights in this round will be different than the rest. Just as huntsmen have no time to prepare in the real world, these combatants chosen will face a similar situation. It will be a true one on one battle using nothing but their skill, cunning, and overall, prowess!”

Akame narrowed her eyes at the description. _“So this will be no holds bar battle between all of us.”_

While all of this was going on, a lone figure was looking down and smiled at the participants below at the arena. More importantly, Akame. _“I wonder. What have you learned since coming to this world? What is that you have gained? Most importantly, what will you do now that you are faced what you are most guilty of?”_

“Let us choose who will be fighting in the first match of the Single’s round!” The images of the people chosen appeared on the screen and started to randomize. Mercury smiled as he knew what was going to come up.

Unknown to all of them, the figure pointed her finger at the screen below. _“My apologies. This is something that must happen for the sake of her. If not, she will never come to heal both heart and spirit.”_

The randomization process continued as everyone felt a little anxious. Almost everyone. Mercury had a confident smile while Kurome was waiting patiently. Finally, it stopped and the two to fight were selected. Everyone gasped in surprise. “And now we have our first matchup!” Leone, including the rest of ALCE, RWBY, and JNPR couldn’t believe it. “The first matchup is Akame Night versus Kurome Chariot!”

 


	32. The Fated Rematch

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Two: The Fated Rematch

Akame could only stare in disbelief at the matchup chosen. To her, it felt like time slowed to a crawl and the noise of the crowd faded. Her only focus was on images being shown. Leone felt the same way. Her breathing became shaky as she continued to stare. _“Akame fighting against Kurome? Right off the bat?”_

Kurome could only smile at the matchup. _“How about that.”_

Mercury hissed through his teeth as he narrowed his eyes at the screen. _“What the hell? This wasn’t the matchup chosen.”_

Emerald thought the same. She took out her scroll and used speed dial. “Yeah, Cinder? We got a problem.”

The match was set. “Now that the two have been chosen, will everyone else be clear the arena.”

Everyone followed the order and started to make their way out of the arena. Yang passed by Akame and briefly put her hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “Good luck out there.” She took her hand off and decided to join the rest of her team.

Once all of them left, it was only Akame and Kurome left. The two girls looked at each other in the eye. _“To think I’ll be fighting against Kurome in the first match.”_

Kurome didn’t show it but she was ecstatic about the choosing. _“This is a little sooner than I thought.”_

Yang reunited back with her team and couldn’t help being worried. “That was something. I hope everything will turn out alright.”

She sat next down to Blake. “Guess that good luck kiss was for naught then.”

Her girlfriend chuckled at that. “Eh, don’t worry about it. You’ll just have to give me two next time.”

Weiss could feel how heavy this matchup actually was. “Now the only question is what’ll happen next.”

Ruby continued to look at the two sisters. Well, Kurome didn’t know Akame was her sister but still. _“Akame…”_

Leone was close being a nervous wreck about this whole thing. “Come on. I know this was random but what are the chances of those two fighting right at the start?”

Esdeath had her hands folded together looking worried. “I hope…things will be okay after what Akame told us about what happened last time.”

“It won’t be like that.” The rest of the team looked over at Cornelia. “What happened then and what’s happening now are two different things. Like I said, this is her second chance.”

The whole team looked back at their leader and Kurome. “Let’s hope you’re right, Cora.” Leone could only hope at this point.

Emerald was waiting around the exit when she saw Mercury coming over to her with a distained look on his face. Not long after, Cinder arrived as well. “So tell me Emerald, what happened?”

Mercury scoffed at the question. “That.” He pointed at the arena where Akame and Kurome were currently. “What gives Cinder? I thought I was supposed to fight blondie.”

Cinder looked at the arena. It was strange that her choosing was altered. How it happened is what made her curious. Regardless, she smiled. “So what of it?” The two were surprised to hear that. “One little mishap won’t harm us. We’ll still continue the plan as usual. For now, let’s enjoy the show.” She looked behind. “Isn’t that right?”

From behind, another girl appeared and smiled at the two. Emerald raised an eyebrow. “What’s she doing here?”

Cinder chuckled as she stepped away from the other girl. “I decided for Neo to come along. She doesn’t have anything else to do for now so why not enjoy herself? Isn’t that right, Neo?” The disguised mute girl nodded. “Shall we return to our seats then?”

Mercury sighed at the suggestion. "This fight better be good. At least we'll see what that chick can actually do." That's just what Cinder wanted to know as well.

Back at the arena, Akame and Kurome took their places across from each other. Kurome smiled at the other leader and closed her eyes. “If I had to be honest, I’m a little disappointed.” Akame didn’t understand what she meant by that. “I was hoping we would fight in the finals. That way it would’ve been way better.” The platform began to rise and she opened her eyes back up. “Oh well. Can’t change what’s already been done right?”

She had no idea how wrong she was. For Akame, this was the most important thing she can change. “The first match of the Single’s round will now begin! Akame Night from team ALCE…” Akame drew out Yatsufusa. “Versus Kurome Chariot from team KRCT!” Kurome drew out Trisula and pressed the switch for it to extend. “Let the battle…”

Akame steeled herself. It was sooner than she anticipated but it was the moment she was waiting for. _“Kurome…”_

“Begin!” The air horn blared out.

In the next instant, both girls rushed at each other with their weapons pulled back. Once they were close enough, they swung their weapons at each other and they clashed. The two girls didn’t let up for a few seconds until Kurome smiled and jumped back to gain distance. Akame wasn’t going to let her go as she dashed after her. She swung her sword again but Kurome managed to deflect the attack up with her own weapon. Kurome brought her weapon back to her and attempted to swing at Akame a second time. Akame growled as she took control and spun around to block the incoming attack. While doing so, she pressed the switch to elongate Yatsufusa and Kurome’s weapon clashed against it once again except this time the initial contact sent Kurome away. It was at that point Akame took control of the battle and started to whip her sword at her former sister multiple times. Kurome was blocked every of one of the attacks. During the attacks, Akame spun around again after the last attack and the sword was coming straight at Kurome. The other leader swung Trisula to stop the attack but it was lower than usual. She missed and the blade wrapped around her led. _“Oh crap.”_

Akame jumped back while pulling back the sword with Kurome along with it. Akame raised her sword and slammed it down quickly and Kurome at the end crashing back onto the floor. Her aura gauge went down a slight sliver. “And Kurome takes the first hit!”

Akame landed back on the floor and raised her sword to retract back into its original form. Kurome laid on the floor for a few seconds before she managed to stand up. “Not bad. You showed some promise with that sword of yours. I knew you would be fun.” She dusted herself off and smiled at the other leader.

Her unknown sister narrowed her eyes. “You weren’t even trying. You were gauging my fighting capabilities.”

Kurome snapped her fingers. “Damn. And here I thought I was being discrete. Good eye on you. Now then…” She set her weapon in front with her other hand near the blade. “We’re past the warmup stage. How about we get serious now?” Her hair and her clothes began to flow. She grinned. **“Amplify times two.”** A strong pulse coursed through her body.

Chelsea smiled as she knew the show was about to start. “And here we go.”

Kurome leaned in forward and rushed over to Akame at a fast speed and Akame noticed it. _“She’s become faster.”_

She swung her sword at her former sister but she disappeared. Akame’s eyes widened in shock. “Behind you.” Akame gasped as she was struck from behind and sent away from Kurome. Her aura gauge went down a by a quarter.

Leone became worried about her girlfriend. “Akame!”

Akame managed to stand up but Kurome wasn’t going to allow her to attack for a while longer. “I’m not done yet!” She rushed over to Akame slashed her she passed by. Kurome stopped as she rushed at Akame again and slashing at her another time. This process repeated itself countless times as Akame was struck from all around.

Blake saw the severity of the situation. “This is bad. She’s chipping away at Akame.”

Ruby couldn’t help but notice something weird. “How is it she’s so fast all of a sudden? I thought I was the only one who could go that fast.”

“It’s not just that.” The team looked over at Weiss. “We’ve seen this before. Back when she took out Cardin and his team. Remember? She knocked out four of them almost simultaneously. If Kurome wanted to, she could easily knock out Akame the same way. She wants this to last. In short, she’s like a combination of both Ruby and Yang.”

Yang whistled at that. “That’s a deadly combination right there and Akame is the one fighting her.” All of them looked back at the fight.

Mercury had a bored look on his face. “Now this is just disappointing. Sorry to say this Cinder but it looks like that girl isn’t all that after all if she’s taking a beating like that.” Cinder continued to observe the fight before her.

Kurome chuckled as she had the fight in her hands. “Let’s end this already!” She stopped at a small distance away from Akame and came in close for the final blow. As Kurome neared Akame, she swung her weapon at her. What happened next surprised everyone. Akame managed to stop Kurome’s attack with her weapon. The whole crowd was silent in shock as was Kurome. “How in the-”

She yelled as Akame pushed her former sister away from her. Leone chuckled at what she saw. _“That’s my girl.”_

Kurome managed to stop and saw Akame flick her sword. “I thank you Kurome. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a fight like this. Far too long.”

The other leader chuckled at that. “Really now? Did I light a fire in your stomach or something? If so, maybe now things can get-” Kurome gasped as she saw Akame suddenly close to her. She instantly swung her weapon at her but it went through her instead. _“What?”_

“Behind you.” In the next instant, Kurome was slashed several times from the back as Akame passed her from behind.

Kurome stumbled a few steps forward before looking at Akame. “How did you…”

Leone clapped her hands while she laughed. “That’s more like it Akame. You’re finally getting back in the groove of things.”

“Back in the groove?” Cornelia had no idea what that meant.

Neither did Esdeath. “What do you mean by that?”

Chelsea couldn’t believe her eyes at what happened. “No way. She managed to keep up with Kurome?”

“It is rare for someone to do such a thing.” Taeko added.

Leone continued to smile at her girlfriend. "Yeah. Remember, Akame was trained as an assassin and she’s been in a lot of tough fights. Life or death may I remind you. But after six months, I could tell it would be awhile before she was back to her old fighting self. Akame was still there but not fully.”

Cornelia could hardly believe it. “So…back then when we first fought and all the other times…”

“Akame was starting to get back into it.” The Faunus blonde finished. “She always did fight best when there was a reason. In other words…Akame is back and you’ll see what she can really do now.”

Akame lowered her body and disappeared. What Kurome saw next was Akame circling around. She looked back and forth. _“There? No there. Wait, there.”_ She was seeing Akame’s after images around her. Kurome took a few steps back. _“Where’s she going to attack? The front? From behind? Where?”_ She had never fought against an opponent with an ability like this before. _“Is it a semblance? No, it can’t be. She already would’ve used it at the start.”_ Akame took advantage of Kurome’s confusion and started her attack from the side. Kurome saw the attack coming and thought to block it. As Akame neared her former sister, she suddenly disappeared and Kurome gasped. _“A fake out?!”_ Kurome lowered her eyes and saw that Akame was below Trisula while her weapon was pulled back. Akame swung her weapon while pressing the switch to make it longer. The sword wrapped around Kurome’s body and Akame pulled her forward as she did the same. Akame raised up her free arm and delivered a powerful punch to the side of her face. The punch sent Kurome away and landed on the floor as Akame recalled back her sword. Kurome’s aura gauge dropped down to past quarter.

Yang was clapping while smiling. “Nice one Akame. I approve.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea couldn’t believe it. “No way. She’s out powering Kurome?”

Rienna shared the same expression. “Just what is this girl? No one’s ever landed on a hit on Kurome in her times two.”

Kurome groaned as she stood up and rubbed her check. “Damn that hurt. Just how the hell strong are you?” She looked over at Akame. “Still, this is something else. I say you’re the first who’s ever kept up with my times two.”

Akame narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been wondering about that. This times two, it’s your semblance and what it does is increase your fighting performance. Am I wrong?”

Her former sister chuckled at the guess. “Right you are. That’s my semblance. It increases my speed, strength, agility, and everything else that’s good for a fight. Thought I made that clear when I kicked what’s his name’s ass and his lousy team.”

Hearing that confirmed Akame’s suspicions right when Kurome used her semblance. _"Her semblance is exactly like the drug enhancements she took back from our world. Except for this time, she doesn't have any of the side effects. That makes her all the more dangerous."_

Kurome stretched her neck. “So then, Akame. You can keep up at times two. Think you can handle the next level?” Akame gasped as Kurome held her weapon to the side. **“Amplify…times three.”** A stronger pulse came from her body and smiled. “Let the fun start.”

She instantly vanished and reappeared in front of Akame. Akame just registered what happened. _“She’s faster now.”_

Kurome continued to smile as she suddenly struck the other leader and she was sent away almost to the end of the arena. Kurome vanished again and appeared once more behind her former sister. “I’m not letting this end by a ring out!” She hit Akame from behind and sent away again. She crashed near the center the arena. Akame struggled to stand up while Kurome was casually walking up to her. “I usually save this for some of the bigger Grimm game.” She looked over at the screen and saw Akame’s aura gauge. “Some aura you have there. Those attacks were strong enough to cleave a Death Stalker in two. So what trick are you going to pull out of your hat this time?” Akame managed to stand up while looking away from Kurome but didn’t hear anything. “No answer? Guess I’ll find out for myself!” She launched herself right at the other leader. As Kurome neared her, Akame suddenly turned around and managed to deflect the oncoming attack with her sword. The sudden clash of weapons resulted in a thunderous boom. Kurome slid across the floor and stopped. “What the hell!? How did you even manage to counter that?!” She gasped she finally saw Akame turned around. “What?”

What Kurome saw was that Akame had her eyes closed. It was a strange tactic to say the least. Akame positioned the sword in front of her. _“Block out your surroundings. Focus on your opponent. Clear your mind. Sense where and when the attacks will be coming from.”_ Akame sense aura all around her but none were as strong as Kurome’s in front. _“Her aura has definitely increased. It’s powerful and that’s where her weakness lies.”_

Kurome didn’t know what her opponent was planning but sure as hell wasn’t going to wait. “Like closing your eyes is going to help you!” She vanished again and reappeared in front of Akame and swung her sword. Akame did the same in the next instant and blocked the attack. Kurome growled as she continued to attack from every direction but her former sister kept blocking each attack successfully. _“Times three and she’s still keeping up with me? How is she doing this?!”_

Mercury was wondering the same question. “Seriously, how the hell is that chick keeping up? I doubt she’s following the sound of the attack because it would hit her before she would notice it.”

Cinder, in the meantime, was enjoying the little spectacle. _“You’re becoming more impressive by the minute.”_

Kurome continued her onslaught of attacks without any succession. After her next attack at Akame, she suddenly disappeared. _“Again?”_ Kurome then felt a strong hit to the side of her cheek again from a handle from behind and was sent through air spiraling until she hit the floor. She groaned as Kurome managed to stand up again and turned around to see Akame with her eyes still closed. The former sister began to laugh. “You’re something else, you know that? Times two and times three. I’ve never met one person who can keep up the pace with them and still keep going. You're definitely a lot more than what I expected. Hell, you went beyond my expectations!" She continued to laugh. "It's been a while since I've had this much fun. Even longer for this next part. Now…" Kurome pointed her weapon at Akame. **“Amplify…times four!”** A more powerful pulse appeared from Kurome.

Her team couldn't believe what their leader was doing. "Times four!? Is she really going to go that far!?"

Taeko thought the same as Chelsea. “Times four. She wouldn’t go so far if this wasn’t serious to her.”

Rienna was a little afraid of what was going to happen next. “I think…I might be worried for her opponent. The last she went times four was when all of us were cornered by a lot of Grimm. She killed all of them in seconds flat. And she’s going to use that on a person?”

Akame’s expression changed as she sensed how powerful her former sister’s aura had become now. _“Just how much can Kurome put herself through?”_ She steadied her breathing. _“No. Stay calm. Remain focused. Don’t be distracted.”_ In the next second, Kurome had already launched her into the air. Akame had her eyes open after that attack. _“W-Wha-”_ She struck down by Kurome from above and back down to the arena. Akame had just barely registered what had just happened. _“I couldn’t even sense her.”_  She started to stand up but as Akame did, she was struck again and was sent hurtling toward the end of the arena where she was struck again to the other where in turn, was struck again. Akame was being struck all over arena like a pinball and Kurome was the bumpers. Soon as she was struck again all the way to the center, Akame was elbowed in the stomach by Kurome and let out a pained gasp. Even after all of that pummeling, aura gauge was nearly to a quarter left.

Kurome removed her elbow and Akame took a few steps forward before she fell down to the floor. “Akame!” Even with Leone’s beast eyes, she had a time following Kurome’s attack pattern. _"Kurome's a hell of a lot stronger. No way was she this powerful back in our world."_

Chelsea sighed at the end result. “I knew this was going to happen. Still, have to hand it to the girl. All of those beatings and only a quarter left of her aura.”

Taeko closed her eyes. “This match is over now.”

Rienna noticed something from the arena. “Hey, she’s still moving.” The other two team members were surprised to hear that and took a closer look as well.

Kurome saw it clearly as Akame was slowly moving her hand. "Kuro…me…"

The other leader sighed. "Really now? Are you still moving after all of that? You really don't know when to quit, huh?"

“Kuro…me…” Akame grabbed her former sister’s leg.

Emerald rolled her eyes at the sight. “Oh come on. This is just sad now. Just freaking lose already!”

Kurome was looking down at her former sister who was still struggling. “Remember what I said before? That I can’t stand those who won’t quit when they lost? You’re becoming that person Akame.” The other girl continued to stare at Kurome before her grip loosened up and let go as her head dropped. Kurome smiled at her opponent. “That’s more like it.” She stepped away from the other leader as the whole crowd went silent.

**_???_ **

Akame found herself in a strange place where there was blood red mist everywhere and couldn’t see anything else. _“Where…am I?”_

“You’re kidding me, right? That’s all you have?”

Akame gasped as she turned around and saw the last person she expected. “It…can’t be. Kurome?” It was the Kurome she knew. Her sister.

Her younger sister smiled at her. “I’m so touched you still remember me, big sister.”

Akame tried to reach out to her sister. "H-How are you here? Where are we?"

She narrowed her eyes at Akame. “What do you think? You were the one who killed me with Murasame. We’re inside your soul or what’s left of it after you used your trump card. We’re all here Akame. The ones you killed. And you’re going to lose to this other me?” Kurome chuckled. “That’s the biggest joke I’ve heard. Tell me, why are you going through this in the first place?”

Akame looked away from her younger sister. “I meant what I said. Killing you, I’ve never forgiven myself. The one thing I wanted the most was us to be sisters again but…” She closed her eyes.

Kurome sighed. “I’ve heard that song before. Do you really think by doing this, you’ll have what you want? Even after what you did to me? Do you actually think you can make it up with this other me? You two aren’t even related in the world you’re in now.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Akame looked back at her sister. “Because Yang is right! It’s true we may not be related by blood in this world but doesn’t mean I think of you, of her any less than my little sister. It’s the closest I have in making up the mistakes I’ve made. Some I know I’ll never forgive myself for doing but…I just want to make things right to the closest they’ll ever be.”

Kurome closed her eyes and let out another sigh. “I’ve known you’ve been suffering a long time, blaming for my death but I got to say, you’ve been having a pretty good life in that world of yours. You made a lot of new friends, hooked up with that blonde girl, and having a life you thought never was possible. And then this other me shows up. If this is what you truly think, what you want, then get back up. Show her what you can really do and you know what I'm talking about. You've been holding it in all this time and now it's time to let it out. Do you want to make things right? Just let it all out." She began walking toward Akame. "Show her and everyone else out there what my big sister can really do." Kurome stopped in front of her sister and held out her hand. "What do you say, Akame?"

Akame looked at her sister’s hand and sighed. “I promise to make things right this time Kurome.” She grabbed Kurome’s hand.

Her sister smiled. “Good luck out there, Akame.”

**_???_ **

The crowd continued to be silent as Kurome had her back turned at Akame. Oobleck and Port looked at each other and nodded. Oobleck looked back at the arena. "Since Akame Night has not moved, we hereby…" Leone lowered her head as she knew Akame had lost the fight. "Declare-"

A thick red swirling smoke suddenly erupted out of Akame’s body and skyrocketed into the air. The whole crowd was caught off guard and Kurome turned back around to see it. “What the hell?!”

The smoke began to take form into a large demonic looking skull with horns laughing evilly. The skull then began to deform and started to be sucked back down all into one point. As more of the smoke was being sucked in, everyone saw where it was going. Akame was standing up with her eyes closed as the smoke continued to be absorbed into her body and becoming red markings all over it. Leone’s eyes widened as she knew what they were. “No way. Just no way.” Not only her but the rest of her team, RWBY and JNPR recognized the markings as well. While all of this was going on, the Grimm in the destroyed city were howling and started to move.

The last of the smoke made its way inside of Akame and large pulse erupted out of her and spread throughout the arena. Akame opened her eyes to reveal they had turned black while still having her red eye color. To Kurome, it almost as if she had eyes of a demon. Akame raised her weapon and held it up to the side. Both girls looked at each other. One didn't know what to think while the other had a strongly determined look. Akame narrowed her eye at her former sister. "Let's finish this once and for all, Kurome."

 


	33. Sisters

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Three: Sisters

  _“While I was traveling, I’ve always wondered one question. Why? Why did I continue to live when there was nothing else out there for me? Day in and day out, I fought for survival as I’ve always done except, it didn’t have any meaning. The only company that I’ve had was the sins of those I’ve killed. I even sometimes contemplated of taking my own life just to end it all. And yet, I never did. I continued walking for as long and as far as I could while surviving. That was when I hit the end of my rope at that forest and accepted my death. Then Leone saved me and we reunited once more. Since then, we both traveled to this new world, left our lives as assassins and began having a normal life. We’ve made new friends and reclaimed what I’ve lost. What we’ve lost.  And now, I’ll set things right by making up the biggest mistake I’ve made in my life._

**_???_ **

The crowd felt an eerie sense in the air. All of them were staring at Akame and what had just happened. Flynt whistled at what just happened. “There’s something you don’t see every day. That’s some mad trick that girl pulled out.”

“I’m scared.” Flynt looked over to Neon who shaking badly.

Flynt raised an eyebrow? “Neon?”

Neon continued to shake and her breathing was the same. “I’m really scared. I feel like I need to crawl into the deepest hole and hope I’m safe. She’s dangerous. Like really dangerous.” In the time Flynt had known Neon, not once has he seen her act like this before.

Sun had the same feeling. “I don’t know about you guys but I’m seriously one scare away from crapping in my pants.”

Neptune had never seen his friend act like this before. “Is it because of what happened because of Akame?”

Sun nodded at the question. “Oh yeah. Whatever Akame did, I’m freaking out here. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only Faunus feeling this creepy feeling.”

“Coco…”

Coco held Velvet close to her as the rabbit Faunus was clearly scared out of her mind. She looked over to Fox who seemed to be baring his fangs. _“Even Fox is freaking out on this.”_ Coco looked over at the arena and at Akame closely. _“Just what in the hell did Akame do? She was barely hanging on and now this? Whatever happened, I have a feeling the fight is just getting started."_

Blake was breathing heavily at what she was seeing. Every fiber of her being told her to run. Yang had noticed this as well. “Blake? Are you feeling okay?”

The Faunus girl shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’ve never felt this afraid before. Afraid of a person like Akame.”

Yang had to admit she was feeling the same as she looked back at Akame. “I know what you mean. The one thing I don’t get is why is this happening now? I mean we’ve never felt this before when Akame showed us the markings. So why now?”

Weiss had a theory for that. “I think it’s because of Kurome.” The rest of the team looked over at the heiress. “Think about it. Akame is facing against someone who is basically her sister. Who else would get her riled up like this?” Everyone looked back at Akame and Kurome.

Ruby could only hope that things would play out differently this time. _“Please be careful you two.”_

Not everyone was afraid of this sudden development. For Penny, she was just mostly confused. “Ciel, do you understand what is happening?”

Ciel could only stare at disbelief which Penny hasn’t seen before. “I…I don’t know.”

Neo was trembling in fear. Even more so then the time that woman appeared out of nowhere before she could finish off her blonde opponent. This fear was on a whole different level. Emerald could barely stand the air as it was now after Akame’s transformation. “What the hell is this girl? What’s with those freaky markings of hers?”

That was something Mercury wanted to know as well. “O…kay. Now things are getting interesting. Now let’s see what this chick can really do.”

Unknown to them, Cinder had never felt so excited before. Her expression didn’t show it but she was beyond impressed at what Akame had just done. _“I knew there was something about you.”_

Gozuki narrowed his eyes at his daughter’s leader. _“The Faunus here are freaking out. All of them are reacting to this sudden development. Just what is this girl?”_

Esren had a similar thought. _“I’ve never felt so much malice and hate emanating from one person. I doubt it belongs to her. This girl’s been holding that much in her this entire time? Most people I know would’ve been driven insane by that amount.”_ One thing both fathers thought the same was that their daughters sure as hell picked a leader to follow.

Babara was mostly in awe in what she was seeing. _“Young child. I had no idea you were carrying such a heavy burden within yourself.”_

Chelsea rarely felt fear but in this case, she was very afraid. Not just because of what Akame just did but for the safety of her girlfriend. “Kurome…please be safe.”

Taeko shivered a little at she was seeing before her. “Never in my life have I felt anything like this before.”

Rienna was the most afraid out of them. “What…what’s happening? Kurome was winning until this just happened. Just what’s going on here?”

Out of everyone, Leone knew exactly what was happening to Akame. “Akame…you’re really going that far again, huh?”

Cornelia was trying her best to understand what had happened. “I don’t get it. What happened to Akame?”

“It’s her trump card.” Cornelia looked over at her Faunus teammate. “What we’re seeing now is the trump card Akame used to kill Esdeath. Seeing the scars on her body from it told me that much but this is the first time I’m actually seeing it.”

The other blonde looked back at her leader. “But we saw the markings before. Why is this different now?”

Leone had a guess of her own. “My best bet is this. Like my trump card with Lionel was my fast regeneration, I’m guessing it’s the same for Akame. In other words, what we’re seeing now might be her semblance.”

“Her semblance?” Now that Cornelia thought about it, not once has she any practically anyone else what Akame’s semblance was and she was plenty strong as is even before this fight.

Esdeath couldn’t take her eyes off of Akame and groaned slightly as she placed a hand on her head. Cornelia noticed it. “Are you okay Esdeath?”

Her teammate cringed at the pain she feeling while her eyes were close. “I’m fine. I just suddenly have a small headache is all.” She opened one of her eyes and continued to watch Akame. _“Why do I feel like I’ve…seen this before? Not seen it but felt it too.”_

Both Port and Oobleck were in the same boat as they’ve never seen anything like this before. Port shook his head and cleared his throat. “Yes, uh…Doctor Oobleck. Do you have any indication for this sudden turn of events?”

Oobleck shifted his glasses. “From what I can gather, Akame Night’s recent…doing has led me to believe her semblance has finally awakened.” Some of the crowd found that hard to believe.

“You’re kidding me, right?!”

“That’s a semblance?!”

“What kind of a person has a semblance like that?!”

While all of them had their own opinions of what happened, Kurome ignored them all. All she could do was stare into Akame's demonic looking eyes. Kurome felt a slight shaking and looked at her hand holding the weapon. _“This shaking. Am I…afraid? Afraid of her?”_ She looked back Akame who didn’t let up her gaze. _“This is…insane.”_

Kurome saw Akame take a step forward while positioning the sword over her shoulder while her other hand was holding the blade. Esdeath’s eyes widened. Leone and the rest of her friends saw it before. As did Esdeath. _“That stance…I’ve seen it before.”_ All of a sudden she had some image flash in her mind. It was Akame standing in front of her in that same position but they were surrounded to be what it looked debris from a destroyed building and walls of ice.

Akame continued to stare at her former sister and narrowed her eyes. “It’s time to end this now, Kurome.”

Afraid or not, Kurome had to steel herself from the fight ahead. She knew the rest of the fight won't be easy. She steadied her hand and pulled back her weapon. “Alright then, if that’s what you want.” Her clothes began to flow again. **“Amplify…”** It was now or never and Kurome knew the risks of using this last resort. **“TIMES FIVE!”** A pulse came out from her and spread throughout the arena.

Chelsea couldn’t believe what she had just done. “Times five!? She never goes times five!”

“That just proves Kurome is done playing around.” Chelsea looked back at Taeko. “She knows this’ll be a fight to the finish. Not only that but it won’t be long until all of that strain on her body will begin to take its toll. With amplify, she puts more strain on her body and now Kurome has reached the final limit. At this point, it’s either go big or go home no matter what.”

Rienna just groaned at all of this. “What happened with this being just a match? How did everything get so out of control?”

Kurome felt a slight pain going through her head. _“Great. I don’t need some headache with what I’m doing now.”_ She ignored the pain and focused on her opponent. "Let's end this show for good!" Both girls were still for a few seconds. Waiting for the other to make a move. Both girls vanished at in instant and the next thing everyone knew was that there sounds of thunder going off everywhere in the arena. The best they could see the action was Akame and Kurome with their weapons clashing in one spot before they disappeared to another. Many of them of them happened in a short time before Kurome appeared in the center by herself. She looked around to see where Akame went. “Where did she go?”

In the next second, Kurome raised Trisula up to block Akame’s attack from above. A rush of wind erupted from the interception. _“I can’t run anymore.”_ Kurome gasped when she heard a familiar voice.

_“We’re almost there. You do it, Kurome!”_

Kurome managed to shake off Akame and threw her almost near the edge of the arena. Kurome was panting and slightly confused. _“What was that? Why did I hear voices in my head?”_

This time, an image flashed through her mind. It was a young girl stabbing an animal that wasn't like a Grimm. _“Don’t touch my sister!”_

Kurome groaned at the pain she was feeling inside her head. _“What the hell is going on?”_

_“I will help my big sister.”_ Kurome couldn’t shake the voices out of her head.

Meanwhile, Akame pulled back her sword and a dark red energy spiraled down all the way to her hand. **“Shrieking Sinner.”** She slammed down to the floor and that energy was headed toward Kurome while it sounded like it was shrieking.

Kurome saw the attack and struck where she was. Or previously since she dodged out of the in time. It was then she saw Akame coming right at her with the sword ready. Kurome didn't have time to block or evade. She could only stare in disbelief.  “Big…sister?” Akame heard the words and stopped with the blade barely in front of Kurome. Her eyes were widened with surprise. It was the first expression Kurome had seen. She gritted her teeth and used this opponent to strike back at Akame. The attack managed to send Akame away back to the other side. Kurome was breathing heavily while still trying to figure what had just happened. _“Where did that even come from? Why did I say that?”_ A stronger pain appeared inside her head and Kurome groaned as she dropped to her knees. _“Damn it. Why is this happening?”_

"Kurome!" At this point, Chelsea didn't care if Kurome won the match. All she care about now was her girlfriend's safety. _“Is she hitting her limit already?”_

Kurome grabbed her head trying to deal with the pain while images and voices flashed before her eyes. _“Big sis! Big sis!”_

_“Kurome!”_

Kurome continued trying to make sense of what she seeing. _“What is this? It’s like…I’m watching someone’s memories. And that voice…it sounds the same as mine but how?”_

Another image appeared in front of Kurome. Some of the faces were blurred out to her. _"It's been a long time hasn't it big sister? I've wanted to see you for so long now."_ This time, she saw that same girl holding a sword in the air and a giant bone monster of some kind came out of the ground. She was standing on the hand. _"I've grown a lot stronger since the last time we met big sister."_

_“Big sister, big sister, big sister. That’s all she talks about it. Who’s she talking to?”_ Kurome tried to make out of the face of the girl the one speaking was talking to but it was blurry at best. The scene changed again and that same girl was standing in front of the other girl she was talking to before except this time there were others. One in particular she recognized. _“Wait a minute. That blonde girl next to her. That’s the Faunus from Akame’s team.”_ Kurome realized something. _“Wait. Does that mean the girl this person is talking to is…?”_ The blurriness began to clear and she saw who the person was. _“Akame?! Why? Why am I seeing her in this?”_

_“Big sis…We Jaegers will hunt down anyone who disturbs the peace! No matter who that might be!”_

A revelation hit Kurome. _“Wait a minute. Is Akame the big sister this person is talking about?”_ The scene changed before her once again and it was Akame enjoying snacks on top of a wall in the middle of some ruins with that same girl. _“Where am I now? Who is this person?”_

_“Let’s stay together from here on out as well…sis.”_ Kurome couldn’t make out the face but the voice was so familiar to her. The scene garbled for a bit and was sped up a bit. _“I can’t forgive you but I love you. Those two opposing thoughts keeping going round and round inside my head.”_ She saw the girl jump off the wall. _“I don’t want you to kill anyone else but me!”_

Kurome questioned the logic in that. _“They’re supposed to be sisters right? Why does she want Akame to kill her? Is she nuts?”_ She saw the two sisters beginning fighting and for some reason, it felt familiar to her. It was something Kurome couldn't take her eyes off. _“They’re seriously trying to kill each other. Why? Why am I watching this?”_ The fight continued without either girl letting up until the other was slowing down and Akame was having the upper hand.

Akame was panting heavily but not as much as the girl she was fighting against and it started to rain. She chuckled a little madly. _“Let’s end this now. We both know only one of us is going to come out this.”_

Kurome held out her hand. _“Wait, hold on.”_ Both girls took a running start at each other with their swords ready. _“Stop, please!”_ They started to scream at each other as they neared. _“Don’t do it!”_ They finally reached each other. Kurome screamed and suddenly realized she was back at the arena. Her breathing was shaky and looked around.

Some of the crowd looked at each other wondering if Kurome was okay. Chelsea being among them. “Is…Kurome okay? She kinda freaked out for no reason.”

Taeko was trying to figure that out as well. “Maybe she’s finally hit her limit.”

Kurome controlled her breathing and saw Akame standing up. She became angry at her all of a sudden. “You…” Kurome started to stand up as well. “Just who in the hell are you!?!” She suddenly dropped back down and grunted in pain. _“Damn it. Not now.”_ Kurome tried to stand back up again.

Taeko narrowed her eyes at her leader. _“It’s happening. Her body can’t take much more of the strain at this point.”_

Cornelia had no idea what was going on. “Do you have any idea what’s going on Leone?”

_“For Kurome to ask something like that, could it be…”_ Both blondes heard a noise and looked over at Esdeath who seemed to be in pain. "Something wrong Esdeath?"

Her teammate continued to groan. “I’m…not sure. I keep seeing them.”

“Seeing what?” Cornelia asked.

Esdeath continued to grunt in pain. “These images I keep seeing. I’m seeing myself fighting against Akame but it’s not really me. It’s like I’m seeing them through someone else’s eyes. That’s why Akame’s new look is so familiar to me. It’s because I feel like I fought against her in that before.”

Now Leone understood and looked back at the fight. “I get it. Akame’s semblance awakened must’ve triggered memories of the people she’s killed from using Murasame to the ones who are here now. What you’re seeing now are the memories of the Esdeath Akame fought before.”

It did make the most sense to Esdeath. “You really think so?”

The Faunus blonde nodded. "Yeah and I'm betting the same is happening to Kurome. That's why she freaked out before. The question now is, what’s going happen now after that.” Leone could only hope this wouldn’t be like the last time.

Kurome could feel her whole body was riddled in pain. She knew it wasn’t going to last much longer and needed to finish this fight quickly. _“I can worry about all of that weird stuff later. Right now I have to focus on the fight.”_ She didn’t waste any time as Kurome rushed over to Akame. She swung her weapon at the other leader but Akame managed to block it. Now up close, Kurome saw something that was very unusual. Tears coming out of her eyes. _“She’s crying?”_ Akame managed to push Kurome away and now were at a distance from each other. Kurome still couldn’t understand what she previously saw. _“Why is she crying in the first place?”_ She disregarded the question and ran back at her opponent. Akame did the same and the two’s weapons clashed against each other in the middle. Both girls pulled back their swords and struck each them again with neither girl giving up. Akame applied more force and managed to push the other girl back.

Akame chased after her former sister and swung her weapon at her. Kurome swung her own to block the attack. After the attack was blocked, Akame disappeared and Kurome chased after her. Once again, both of them attacked each other all over the arena moving from one place to the next at a breakneck speed. They reappeared in the center where their weapons disengage and both girls circled around only for their weapons to hit against each other again. They separated their weapons again and began to exchange attacks at each other. As the two continued to fight, Kurome noticed something strange. _“Why does this feel so familiar?”_ She blocked another attack and Akame disappeared and reappeared to the side but Kurome blocked that attack as well. _“It’s like we had this fight before but this is my first time fighting against her.”_  Kurome broke off the attack and swung her weapon from the side. Akame jumped back to avoid the attack but Kurome didn’t let up and jumped at her while raising the weapon. _“It feels so…natural to me”_ She swung her weapon down but Akame had blocked the attack and sent her away. She chased after the other leader but Kurome thought to save the time and come to her once more. She swung her weapon from the side again but Akame jumped back and the attack missed. Akame disappeared and reappeared from behind but Kurome turned around and blocked the attack.

It was then she decided to go on the offensive as she sent Akame away from her and jumped after her immediately. Each attack Kurome did push Akame back with every strike. So, what do you say? Let’s end this now.”

Akame’s grip on her sword tightened when she heard those words. She wasn’t wrong, though. The beating she received earlier from Kurome added more to the fatigue. Akame hadn’t felt this exhausted in a long time. She pulled back her sword to the side as Akame was ready. Kurome positioned herself for her last attack as she pulled back her weapon as well. Akame was going to make sure this wouldn’t end like last time. Both leaders stood still for a few silent moments. With a slight shift from one of their feet, that marked as their signal. Both girls came at each other with everything they had with their one final attack. “KUROME…!”

“AKAME…!”

The two girls swung their weapons at each other once they met and then ended up at the other end with their weapons extending outwards. No one in the crowd could make out what happened. Not even Leone. Both of them kept standing without moving. Then the sound of one of the weapons dropping to the floor could be heard. Akame started to fall forward and hit the floor with the markings disappearing. Kurome smiled at the end result. “You put up one hell of a fight. The toughest I’d ever have. And for that…I thank you.” She dropped her weapon and fell down to the floor as well.

It took everyone in the crowd a few seconds to register what had just happened. Port snapped out of it and cleared his throat. “Yes…well, since both of the combatants are unable to continue, the first match of the Single’s round has ended in a draw.” There was no applause to be heard. The only thing there was that both Chelsea and Leone were finally relieved this match was finally over. Leone more so since this fight didn’t end the same as the last one.

Several of the medics came onto the scene to check the condition both girls were in. He took a close look at Kurome. “This one is in pretty rough shape. I’m surprised her body endured all of that for the duration of the match.” He looked over to the other team. “What’s the story on her?”

The other medic finished his evaluation. “Same here. Maybe a little worse considering what her body went through.”

The first medic nodded. “Alright then. Let’s take them to the infirmary for treatment. Hop to it!” They put the two girls on stretchers and carried the two out of the arena.

With the two of them gone, everyone from the crowd started to leave. Leone breathed out in relief. “Finally, it’s over.” She looked over at Esdeath. “How are you feeling?”

Her teammate roughly felt the same. “Tired after seeing that and the headache seems to be gone now.”

Cornelia could only chuckle at this point. “What do you say we visit Akame in the morning? I bet she’ll want to see us soon as she wakes up.”

Leone couldn’t agree more. “Sounds good to me.”

Ruby and her team were already making their way to the exit all with different thoughts about the fight. “Do you think…that’s how their first fight was?”

Weiss just sighed in exhaustion. “I’m too tired to answer that. I’m going to bed once we head back to our room.”

Yang was in agreement to that. “No kidding after the fight we just saw. It makes me wonder what some of the other fights Akame and Leone were in before.”

Blake would like to know that as well. "I don't know but considering who they were before, they must’ve been vastly different compared to what we've recently experienced."

Chelsea was all too happy the match had ended. “I’m going to Kurome first thing when I wake.”

Taeko chuckled as she had no problem with that. “Go right ahead. We’ll do the same. Right, Rienna?”

The blonde giggled happily. “Yeah. We’ll give Kurome a big hug when she wakes up.”

As people were leaving, some remained seated. One of them was Cinder’s group and Emerald groaned. “You know, I’m kinda glad we didn’t end fighting one of them. Seriously, what a couple of monsters.”

All of a sudden, they heard some laughter and looked back to see Cinder with her hand over her eyes and laughing which was unusual since they’ve never seen her laugh in the first place. Mercury thought it was just creepy. “Uh, Cinder? What’s so funny?”

Cinder laughed a little more before settling down. "Akame Night. She was so much more than what I expected when I first saw her. What she displayed was phenomenal. And that power of her…" She loved that the most. "Akame may not know it but she's helped us out. All of that hatred, all of that anger, you've felt it right? Chances are, so did the Grimm. As of now, I’m sure they’ve stopped. All we need now is one…more…push…”

Mercury had a feeling what that meant. “Wait, does this mean I won’t be fighting blondie after all?”

Cinder smiled at the question. “I’m afraid so Mercury.”

Mercury snapped his fingers as he let out a frustrated moan. “Damnit. And here I thought I was going to frame her.”

Emerald laughed at her partner’s misfortune. “Too bad so sad for you.” She looked at Cinder. “So, we’re sticking to the plan?”

Cinder stood up and smiled at her two subordinates. “But of course. Akame started the work for us and we’re going to finish it.” She looked over to the mute girl. “Neo, time to prepare for tomorrow. Do you understand?” Neo smiled at her and nodded. “Good.” Cinder looked up at the ceiling. “It’s almost time now.”

Out of the crowd, only one person truly saw how dangerous Akame was. James Ironwood was making his way to a certain destination. _“Ozpin, it’s time we had a discussion.”_

 


	34. To what we were Once Before

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Four: To what we were Once Before

James Ironwood slammed his hands on Ozpin’s desk as he was furious of what transpired in the first match of the Single’s Round. “Just what the hell happened Ozpin? Answer me! What exactly is that student of yours?!”

“James.” The general looked over to Glynda who had a serious look on her face. “Calm down. We’re all a little on edge after that fight. As of now, both Akame and Kurome have not suffered any serious damage but it will be some time before they’ll wake up.”

"That's great and all but there's still the Goliath in the room here." Qrow spoke up. He was leaning against one of the pillars in the room. He gave the headmaster a glare. "So tell us Ozpin. Something you want to get off your chest?"

Ozpin rested his elbows on his desk with his hands folded into each other and sighed. “I suppose all of you do need to know in regards of Akame Night and Leone Wild.”

Qrow raised an eyebrow to that. “Leone? You mean that lion Faunus girl?”

Ozpin nodded at the question. "Yes. I won't beat around the bush. The truth about the two of them is that they were once assassins."

Both Qrow and Ironwood were caught off guard when they heard that. It was almost unbelievable. Certainty to the general. “Assassins Ozpin!? You mean to tell me that those two, who are your students attending your school are nothing more than murderers?!”

It did make more sense to Qrow. "Come to think of it, when I first met Leone, she did have a different air than the rest of the students here. I didn't expect kids like them to be those sort of people. Still though, those two assassins? They don't seem to be any younger than Yang."

Ozpin could share the same feeling with him. “That was because Akame was trained to be an assassin early in her life. Childhood even.”

Hearing that made the general sick. “How could anyone do such a thing?”

Qrow agreed. “No kidding. Training kids as assassins? Who the hell came up with that?”

Ozpin knew they would arrive at this point of the explanation. "There is another fact you should know. These two young girls are actually not of this world."

It was one surprise after another for Ironwood and Qrow. “What? Ozpin, I swear if this is a joke-”

“Since when I have been the comedian in this?” Ozpin interrupted. “It is true. When they first arrived in our world, they had no knowledge of Grimm or huntsmen. They did tell us much about the world they were from before.”

Now Qrow’s curiosity grew. “Okay. So what was their world like?”

Ozpin continued to stare at his two friends. “To start off, the kind of world they lived in was a dangerous one. As you said before Qrow, the kind that would raise children to be assassins. It was a world full of chaos, disorder, and for lack of a better word, evil.” Qrow really couldn’t imagine a place like that in his imagination. “These two girls were from such a world and they once fought against a terrifying enemy known as the Empire.”

Already Ironwood didn’t like the sound of where the explanation was going. “Explain.”

Ozpin would gladly to. “From what those two had told us, this Empire was absolutely corrupted by the hands of who they call Prime Minister Honest. The emperor who ruled over this Empire was nothing more than a child who this Honest took advantage of. Because of this, the Empire was sent into total disarray. Not only that but the people who were in this Empire were some of the absolute worst. Words can’t even describe what a horrid place it was.”

Ironwood had a feeling that explanation only scratched the surface of what this Empire truly was. “And these two fought against such an enemy on their own?”

Ozpin shook his head. “No. You see, they were part of an assassin group call Night Raid created by people who called themselves by the Revolutionary Army. This army was created for the sole purpose of overthrowing the corrupt Empire and user in of rule and peace.”

Qrow was rather interested in that. “Wait, so you’re telling us these two-”

“I did mention they were assassins before except the kind of people they killed were those who were corrupt or harmed other innocents for their own selfish gain.”

It made sense to Qrow. The two girls weren't the kind of assassins for hire. They were assassins fighting for a better tomorrow. Still, he had a problem with it. "That's great and all just because they killed for the right reason doesn't make them any less of murderers."

“And they would agree with you.” Qrow was surprised to hear that from Ozpin. “They knew full well of the actions they were doing. Them and the team they were formerly on.”

_“Assassins with a conscious. That’s a new one.”_ There was one other thing he would like to know. “Alright then. So what happened for them to be sent to our world? On top of that, what happened to the team they were previously on?”

Ozpin sighed at the question. “To answer your second question Qrow, the other members of their team…have all died.” Qrow silent to that. “One by one, the members of their team who also served as a pseudo family to them fell one after another. I couldn’t imagine the hardships they’ve seen and experienced after seeing all of that.”

Qrow closed his hand tightly. If there was one thing he could share in common with, it was losing a valued team member. “And my first question?”

Ozpin continued to stare at Qrow. "That is something I can't explain myself because they themselves don't know. The best they know is that they were sleeping in a forest from their world and in the next morning, they woke up in the Emerald Forest. That was where Ruby and her team first encountered them."

That didn’t answer Qrow’s question at all. One out two still wasn’t bad. Now there was only one thing that worried both him and Ironwood. “Although it is regretful they have lost their own, how could you enroll such people in your school in the first place?”

Ozpin had the perfect counter for that. “Tell me, James. Do you what happens to soldiers once they have nothing left to fight for?”

It was a strange question to the general but he did know the answer. "I've seen my fair share. There are some who devoted their life in fighting but then became empty shells of the people they once were once it was over. Where are you going with this Ozpin?"

Ozpin thought back to where he first met Akame and Leone. “Those two girls were exactly like that. They had no sense of purpose when I first saw them. What I did was give them a new purpose they could live. To strive for. I didn’t see the assassins they told us. What I saw were two lost children who didn’t know what to do.  That is all.”

It was like Ozpin to help out those in need but Ironwood was still skeptical about it. “Fine. I can accept that but they can actually live the life of normal students? They were former assassins.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, James.” Ironwood looked over at Glynda. “They’ve actually assimilated quite well to student life. Akame has high marks both in combat and in her studies despite barely having an education to begin with. Her friend and teammate Leone has shown difficulty trying to keep up her grades. Just like any other student. They’ve also become rather good friends with the other students, including team RWBY.”

Qrow thought back to when he played games with his niece. “Come to think of it, that Leone girl really didn’t act like an assassin at all. She was even frustrated at the fact that girl isn’t even that good at a video game.”

I am glad that neither of them is harmed seriously. Now then, are there any other concerns?"

Ironwood still had something to say. “Yes. Do any of the other teachers know about this?”

Ozpin nodded at the question. “Yes. I explained it to them the situation and they observed the behavior of those two girls. As Glynda said before, they have adapted quite well to this life.”

Qrow had a concern of his own. “And what about their friends and teammates? Do they know that these two were assassins?”

Again, Ozpin nodded. “Yes. They’re fully aware what their previous identity was. They trusted them enough to tell them. That secret is only kept in that group.”

The answer seemed to please Qrow enough as he chuckled. "Alright then. After meeting one of them, they seem nice enough. Plus Yang really seems to like that Leone girl and she's always had a good judge of character on other people."

He may have been content with it but Ironwood still had some doubts. “There is still the fact of Akame Night’s semblance awaking. Soon as it appeared, there was a heavy feeling in the air. Like there was intense hatred all around. With something that powerful, I have no doubt the Grimm nearby had sensed it.”

Ozpin knew where the general was going with this. “Is that so? And you’re worried that if Akame would release that power again-”

“I’m just being cautious.” Ironwood interrupted. “Just as long she doesn’t use that semblance again for the time being. Also, I'm wondering where all of that power came from. There has never been a semblance like hers before. If you can even call it that.”

“If you’re that curious about it, you can always ask her person. One trait I do like about Akame is that she can be honest when it comes to certain things.” Ozpin advised.

Ironwood has thought of that before. He wanted to know what kind of a person Akame was for himself. “Maybe later. As of now and if I am right, I’ll position more my soldiers near the city to stave off any oncoming Grimm nearby. We are still having a tournament going on.”

Ozpin agreed to that. “Very well. If that is all gentleman.” Most of their questions were asked and started to leave the room without saying another word.

**B**

Akame groaned as she opened up her eyes to see a familiar ceiling. She already could tell she was in the infirmary. Akame could also tell judging by the light coming through the windows, it was day. _“How long was I out for?”_ The last thing Akame remembered was fighting against Kurome. Kurome…Kurome… “Kurome!” She instantly sat up from the bed.

“Hey there, Akame.”

Akame gasped quietly as she looked to the side to see Leone sitting down and smiling. “Leone…” The Faunus blonde chuckled at her girlfriend.

“Nice of you to wake up.”

Akame heard another familiar voice and looked to the other side seeing Kurome laying in her bed with Chelsea by her side. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. _“She’s okay. It didn’t end like last time.”_

Chelsea couldn’t help but chuckle at this scene. “Looks like we’ve something in common huh?”

Akame didn’t quite understand what she meant by that. Leone knew this was going to be very ironic. “Yeah, Akame? Turns out these two are…dating.”

Her girlfriend didn’t quite catch that correctly. “W-What?”

This was the reaction Leone was expected from Akame. When she first heard about it, the Faunus blonde couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. “Kurome…and Chelsea are dating.”

All Akame could do was stare in disbelief at the other two girls. She was hit by the biggest wave of irony. Chelsea laughed at this whole thing. “If it’s any consolation, we’re surprised you two are in the same boat. And a Faunus no less.”

Akame groaned as she covered her face with her hand. She needed some time to get used to this new information. “What time is it?”

“Two in the afternoon. Kurome here woke up an hour before you. Both me and Chelsea didn’t leave either of you two alone.” Leone explained.

Akame expected as much. In fact, this reminded her back when she went to see Leone after her fight with Esdeath. Speaking of the former general. "Where's everyone else?"

The Faunus blonde knew Akame would ask that question. “Out and about. I’d tell the team and Ruby’s you’ve woken up soon as you did.”

“The same with our team just FYI.” Chelsea added.

Akame was glad to hear that. She could imagine how worried they were after the kind of fight from last night. Now what Akame was awake, Kurome decided now it was time. “Chelsea, can you leave the room for a moment? I need to talk to Akame. Alone.”

Already Chelsea doubted her girlfriend’s orders. “But Kurome-”

“It’s fine.” She looked over to Akame. “Leone…”

The Faunus blonde stood up. “Got it. Come on Chelsea.”

Chelsea sighed as she knew better anyone else when Kurome had something on her mind, it was best not to argue or persuade. “Fine. Just shout if you need anything.” With said, both girlfriends made their way out of the room and closed the door.

Now it was just Akame and Kurome left in the room. Kurome was staring intently at the other girl. Akame knew what the conversation was going to be. "Back during our fight, I saw something wierd. I saw these...images, scenes I think that played out in front of me. It was almost like I was seeing the memories of someone else and all of them focused on you. I asked you a question from before and I'll ask it again. Just who are you? More importantly, who are you to me?"

Akame sighed as she closed her eyes. She knew this moment would come and wanted to tell her. Now that time had finally come. The only problem now was…would she believe her? There was only one way to find the answer to that. “I supposed I owe you that much and I’ll gladly tell you.” She opened her eyes and gave the other girl a serious look. “Kurome, the truth is…I’m your older sister.”

The whole room was in silence after Akame had said that. It didn’t help her anticipation any better knowing what Kurome might’ve thought of that. “That’s…” Kurome hesitated but then looked a little made. “That’s complete and utter bullshit! You? My sister and my older sister at that?! I don’t have any family related to me! I’ve known that much my entire life!” Akame expected a reaction like that from the very start. Of course, she would say those kinds of things. “So why is it that I believe you?” That was something Akame didn’t expect to hear. She saw Kurome’s expression turn somber and lowered her head. “That girl who kept saying big sister to you, that was me, wasn’t it? And in that last scene I saw, you…kill her. Or should I say me” She gripped the sheets tightly and looked directly at Akame. “Just what was that all of about?” She just wanted answers at this point.

This time, Akame lowered her head. She had come clean and explain everything to her. "In all honesty, who you saw was the Kurome I knew back in another world. We were once sisters, sold as slaves and trained to be killers. We always protected each other but were separated. I wanted to save her but in the end, I was the one who took her life.”

Kurome had so many questions after hearing that but she only asked one. “If you wanted to save her, why did you kill her?”

Once again, Akame felt that same guilt from before. “During our separation, she was being experimented on countless times on drugs. All of that changed her. Made her dependent on it and was ruining her body. I wanted to save her but in doing so, she believed that coming with me meant betrayal to those that fought alongside her.”

Kurome couldn’t help but laugh at that. “That kinda sounds like me. Except for the whole drug use.”

The difference was at least this time, they were on the same side and Kurome was subjected to the same kind of thing in this world. "Even if I wanted to save her, it was all up to her whether she wanted my help or not. That resulted in me ending my own sister's life. There wasn't a day after that I couldn't stop thinking about that moment. Even when I hid it from everyone else, the guilt I felt was heavy. Taking her life was the one death I regretted the most. Even now…" She placed a hand on her arm. "That sin is still within me. All I ever wanted, more than anything, was to be sisters again be like what were before but I knew that would never happen.” Akame closed her eyes. “Then I saw you. I just couldn’t believe it. It was like I was seeing a ghost from my past. Seeing you again…was the happiest I’d ever felt. I thought this was a second chance. For me to make things right with her. With you.”

Kurome had no idea Akame had this much trouble. She actually felt bad for the other girl. “To be honest, that’s a little weird to hear. Even more so since I kinda doubt we’re even related.”

Akame had already known about that a long time ago. "I know that but still. It's true you're not the Kurome I once knew but I still want to make things right. That’s my only wish.”

Kurome really had to think about this whole thing. Apparently and from what Taeko would say about this, she was the reincarnation of Akame’s younger sister. Technically, Akame is her sister and wanted nothing more than be to sisters with her again.  The thought of having an older sister was still strange to her. Strange as all of this seemed, she actually wasn’t against it. Kurome got out of her bed and walked over to Akame’s bed. Akame still had her eyes closed but opened them when she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her. Kurome was hugging her. “You know, I really can’t blame you for losing your sister. You tried everything you could do. None of it was your fault. It was just…beyond your control.” Akame carefully wrapped her arms around Kurome and returned the hug. “You know I really don’t mind being your little sister if you'll have me as your sister. On the condition, you tell me everything. Not matter how freaking weird or far-fetched it is."

Never had Akame thought she would hear those words. She buried her face into Kurome’s shoulder and cried. “I would happily be your big sister again, Kurome.” Kurome smiled at the words. After death and another world, the two sisters were finally reunited and this time, they’ll make it right.

Outside of the infirmary, Leone and Chelsea were waiting for the talk to end. Chelsea couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. “What do you think they’ll talking about?”

Leone shrugged. “Beats me but must be something important.” That was a lie. Leone knew exactly what they were talking about. She had already texted the team and Ruby about Akame waking up.

The door suddenly opened and out came Akame and Kurome. Chelsea was relieved Kurome was out of the room.  “Finally. What did you two talk about?”

Kurome giggled nervously and Akame just smiled. “Yeah…here’s the thing. Chelsea, Akame here is…my older sister.”

Chelsea really didn’t know what to think about that.  “She’s your what now!?” Leone couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction.

 


	35. The Calm before the Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Five: The Calm before the Storm

“So…you were an assassin?”

“Yes.”

“And you actually killed people.”

“Yes.”

“Like, people who were alive?”

“Yes.”

“And that Faunus girl was an assassin too?”

“Yes.”

Kurome shook her head as she laughed at what Akame had told her. “I’ll be damned.”

Kurome and Akame were currently sitting a table at the fairgrounds having lunch together. If Akame would call lunch with Kurome almost having every kind of food there is from the every stand. Apparently, her sister had her former appetite. The crowd around them did give them strange looks. Probably because of the fight the two sisters had from the night before but they didn’t mind them one bit.  “The people we killed were those who harmed innocent people. Some were targets we were ordered because of how dangerous they were.”

Kurome took a bite out of her burger. “So…you guys were like vigilantes. Bringing justice on your own?”

Akame chuckled at the explanation. “It’s something like that.”

Her sister shook her head. "Wow. I don't think there are many people who can say that their sister was a former assassin from another world. Aren't I a lucky girl? So you and that Faunus girl actually known each other a long time huh?"

Akame just ate some french fries and downed them with a soda. "Yes. We've been on the same team for a long time."

Kurome chuckled at that. “Least you two have each other. If you ask me, you really struck gold with her.” She could see why her sister ended up with a girl like Leone. It was also funny they were both dating girls. Sister. That term was still foreign to her but she liked spending quality time with Akame and getting to know her. Even if some of the details were a little out there. “So how did you two end up in Remnant in the first place?”

Akame tried to recall the details. “We slept in a forest in our world and then we woke up in the Emerald Forest. Leone once told me something about that forest. There was some deity who lived there that helped those who have a wish. What I wished for was to have a new life. Start over. That wish brought the both of us here.”

At this point, Kurome was willing to believe anything her sister said. "I’d say it worked out. You’re trying to make it as a huntress, you have a good girlfriend, a lot of friends. I call that a good trade up. Oh, and you have your little sister again. There’s that too.” Akame admitted that was true and continued to eat with her sister.

From a distance, Chelsea was peeking behind from one of the concession stands with Rienna. The blonde still didn’t know what her teammate’s problem was. “Why are we spying on Kurome again?”

Chelsea continued to observe the two girls. “Because I won’t believe what Kurome said to me. Akame is her sister? You know as well as I do she doesn’t have any family and now Kurome says that girl is her older sister?”

Rienna did think that was slightly weird. “Yeah but now that I see it, they do kinda look similar.”

Chelsea groaned at that. “Oh don’t go saying that too and where’s Taeko? Thought I sent her a text saying to meet up with the rest of us.”

“Taeko is somewhere else right now.” Rienna replied.

“And what do we have here?” Both girls gasped and turned around to see Leone smiling at them. “So what are you two doing?”

“Nothing!” The two girls replied at once.

The Faunus blonde chuckled at their reactions. “Oh, okay then. If it’s nothing, what do we say we get something to eat together?” She held up two cards. “It’ll be on me.”

For some reason, one of the cards looked familiar to Chelsea. “Hey, wait a minute.” She patted her pockets and Rienna did the same. They soon found out about something. “Those are our cards!”

Leone was loving their expressions. “You got it.” She threw the cards back at them and they caught them. “So what are you two actually doing?”

Chelsea glared at the Faunus girl. “Wondering what the hell your leader did my girlfriend. I’ve known Kurome for a long time and I know she doesn’t have any family related to her. Then all of a sudden she says Akame is her long lost older sister? Something about this just doesn’t make sense.”

If only Chelsea knew what Kurome really did to her back in Leone’s world. She decided to play along. “Hey, I’m kinda surprised by this whole thing too but you don’t see me freaking out about it.”

“But it doesn’t make sense!” Chelsea retorted.

Leone crossed her arms under her breasts. “Look, I get it. You’re freaking out about this whole and maybe a little worried your girlfriend-” That sounded very weird for Leone to say that considering what happened to her before. “Is going to spend more time than with you. If you ask me, just roll with it and it’ll be better. That’s what I’m doing.”

Chelsea groaned as she closed her eyes and pinched her eyebrows. “It’s just…weird for me, that’s all.”

Rienna placed a hand on her teammate’s shoulder. “There there. It’ll be okay Chelsea. If you ask me, this is great for Kurome. Family is important.” She smiled sadly. “I should know.”

This whole thing still didn’t make sense to Chelsea and sighed. “Fine.” She removed her fingers and opened her eyes. “Doesn’t mean I’ll get used to this anytime soon.” Now she had a question of her own. “So what are you doing here?”

“Same as you. Checking up on my girl and her sister.” Leone replied.

Rienna looked confused. “Akame is your girl?”

Chelsea held up her hand to her. “Later on that. Why aren’t you with your team then?”

Leone had a very good reason. “Cora went somewhere and Esdeath…I really don’t know where she is. We are going to meet up when the next match starts. What about you two? Going to spy on your leader for the rest of the day?”

That was the initial plan before all of this “Probably not. I think we’ll just wander around the fairgrounds until the match starts. What about you?”

Leone was going to answer Chelsea’s question before she felt her scroll vibrate. She took it out of her pocket and checked the message. Leone smiled at the text. “Same as you but I gotta meet up with someone. I’ll see you later.” She left the two girls with that same smile on her face.

Chelsea looked over at Kurome who was laughing with Akame. She smiled at the scene. “Now that I think about it, I really never did see Kurome laugh like that. Even with me.”

Rienna was also happy that her leader was happy. “We should leave her alone. It wouldn’t be nice to interrupt family.” 

The other girl admitted Rienna had a point and smiled “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.” The blonde nodded and the two left while the new sisters continued to enjoy each other’s company.

**B**

“So can I see it?”

“Of course.” Taeko pulled out her weapon from the sheath slowly until it was fully drawn. “Here it is.”

Cornelia marveled at the blade’s beauty. “So that’s the sword you use. What’s its name?”

“Tsugaku-Hime.” Taeko replied.

Cornelia really like the name. As of now both of them were in Taeko’s team room. Cornelia received the text from Leone and read that Akame is awake and well. She was very happy to know that her leader was alright but she was already with Taeko at this time. The reason why there were in the room in the first place was so Cornelia could see what kind of weapon Taeko used and how it was. The blonde took a closer look at the sword and noticed something unusual. “This sword isn’t like any of the other weapons. It’s kinda the same with Jaune’s.”

Taeko knew what she was talking about. “My family has always thoughts weapons like these were superior to the modern day weaponry. None of the complications of machinery. This sword has been in my family for generations. My grandmother wielded and my mother before me."

It was rather sweet for Cornelia to hear that. “So it’s like a family heirloom you can still use. I can tell it is pretty powerful considering the way you use it along with your semblance.”

The other girl smiled at the compliment. “Thank you.” She sheathed her sword and placed it against the wall. “Are you sure you don’t want to reconvene with your team? You did say your leader woke up.”

Cornelia shook her head. “I’m good thanks. Besides, we’ll see each when the next match starts. That and I wanted to spend more time with you considering…” She slightly blushed.

Taeko blushed as well since she knew what the other girl was talking about. “Y-Yes. Let us not be reminded such an act.”

Both girls needed a topic to discuss. One did cross Cornelia’s mind. “Your family. What’s it like?” She asked as she sat down on one of the beds.

Taeko was more than happy to discuss that to avoid thinking about that scene as she sat down as well. “My family…my family has been around for a long time. Farthest I know was my grandmother’s grandmother.”

Cornelia whistled at that. “Wow.”

The other girl chuckled. “Yes. From what I know, my household was very strict. Especially with me since I lost both of my parents from an important mission. From then on, my grandmother looked over me. I'm the sole heiress to the family. It's quite the heavy weight I carry." 

The blonde share a similar feeling. "I lost my parents in a fire. I wasn't in some high-end family. I could barely remember my parent's faces. I was taken in by a hunter and I became his adopted daughter. He’s the reason why I wanted to be a huntress in the first place. I wanted to save and change lives like he did. Like he did for me.” Taeko thought that was a very noble goal. “We do have a couple of things in common. We both may have lost our real parents but we have people who still care for us today. You know what that’s like right?”

Taeko knew Cornelia wasn’t wrong. Despite the constant looking over of her family, she was grateful for her grandmother and for having a friend like Chelsea to get through the hard times. “Yes, I do. I am eternally grateful to them.” She shifted her body a little and both girls gasped when they felt a slight contact with each other’s hands. Both girls looked at their hands. “I-I’m sorry.” She started to move her hand away.

“Don’t.” Cornelia placed her hand over Taeko’s and both girl’s looked at each other. “I’ve…never really gotten that moment out of my head you know. I do think you’re a…really nice person and…I think you’re…pretty too.”

Taeko blushed at the compliment. She slightly moved her eyes to the side to avoid looking. She had her fair share of compliments from other people and just waved them off but hearing that Cornelia actually made her heart skip a beat. “T-Thank you.”

“Taeko, look at me.” The other girl did just so and saw the serious look in the blonde’s eye. “What do you think of me? I’m pretty sure you still remember that moment of ours, right?”

Taeko tried so hard to forget that moment but her mind said otherwise. So did her other senses as she couldn’t forget the feel of Cornelia’s lips on her own. It was like an overpowering force came over her and couldn’t stop thinking about it. “I…I do.”

Cornelia held the other girl’s hand. “Then I’m sure you’re feeling what I’m feeling.”

The other girl felt her heart racing. “Is this…why you truly wanted to spend time with me?”

The blonde giggled at the question. “Part of it.” She neared her face to Taeko’s while Taeko unknowingly did the same. They both closed their eyes and their lips met again. This time, both girls felt a sudden burst within their chests. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before they separated and opened their eyes. Each girl saw the warmth in each other's eyes. 

Taeko then suddenly grabbed Cornelia by the shoulders and shoved down the blonde down to the bed and kissed her again but this time with more passion. Cornelia was taken by surprise at the sudden action but didn’t fight it and returned the kiss. The kiss lasted longer than the last one and kept it up for several minutes before Taeko broke it off. She had a heavy blush spread across her face. “Cornelia, just what does this means for us?”

Cornelia smiled at the other girl. “Whatever you want us to be and please…” She cupped Taeko’s cheek. “You can call me Cora.” She brought Taeko’s face back to hers to resume the kiss.

**B**

“Ruby, look at this!”

“No Ruby. Look at this!”

“Ruby, look!”

Ruby was glad Esdeath and Weiss were giving her so much attention but even this was a little too much for her. “T-That’s okay you two. You don’t need to shower me with gifts all the time.” Both girls looked at each other and lightning sparked out of their eyes. Neither one of them was going to let up in this bout. Why Ruby decided to let Esdeath join them was beyond Weiss. They put away the gifts and continued to walk with Ruby in the fairgrounds. “So are you going to visit Akame anytime soon Esdeath?”

The other girl shook her head. “No. I have a feeling she would want to spend some time with Kurome. Besides, we’ll all just regroup at the next match.”

Weiss was overall happy for that. “Hopefully things will work out this time. Sisters can be closest of families.” She was speaking of experience.

Esdeath gave a small smile and slightly lowered her head. “It must be nice having a sister.”

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other and couldn’t help but feel bad for Esdeath. “Cheer up Esdeath. You still have your dad and the team you’re on. No matter what, family is important.”

Esdeath knew Ruby had a point. “Yeah, you’re right and thank you for letting me spend time with you.”

The young leader smiled brightly at the other girl. “You’re welcome Esdeath.”

Esdeath didn’t know why she liked the way Ruby smiled. Meanwhile, Weiss didn’t like how Esdeath was looking at Ruby. Her plan to spend time with Ruby was ruined after she invited Esdeath with them. _“With her here, it’ll be that much more difficult finding a present for Ruby. All I want to do is just confess to Ruby.”_ She sighed. _“Well, on the bright side, Esdeath doesn’t have much of a chance going on that date with Ruby. I still have plenty of time of finding the perfect gift.”_

“Are you hungry?”

Weiss’ thoughts were interrupted by a question from Ruby. “W-What?”

Ruby giggled at her partner. “Are you hungry Weiss?”

The heiress thought about the question for a few seconds. “I do feel a little peckish.”

The answer was more than enough for the younger girl. “Great! I’ll go get us some food. Wait right here.” Ruby dashed off to the nearest concession stand.

Weiss couldn’t help but smile at Ruby’s cheerfulness. She learned to appreciate it despite the rocky start they had. “I know what you’re doing Weiss.” The heiress looked over at Esdeath who saw Ruby leave. “I’ve seen the way you look at Ruby. It’s obvious you have feelings for her.”

The heiress looked away from the other girl. “Oh, and you don’t? I’m sure by now you know what you’re feeling.”

Esdeath wasn’t going to deny that. “I do admit Ruby has a certain charm that I can’t resist. The last time someone smiled at me like that was my mother. My father had told me that a couple of times. He even said I had her smile. I never knew what that smile was but I’m sure it was something like Ruby’s. Maybe that’s why I like smiles so much.” Weiss had never thought about that before. There were times where Ruby smiling at her was the best thing that happened to her for the day. “So I guess this means whoever wins Ruby’s affection, is the winner. Correct?”

Weiss was up for the challenge. “I suppose you’re right. All I have to say is…may the best girl win.”

Esdeath didn’t have a problem with that. “Indeed.”

“Hey, I’m back.” The two girls saw Ruby carrying some of the food with her. She looked at them and noticed something changed. “What’s going on?”

Weiss smiled at her partner. “Nothing important Ruby. Let’s go eat together.” All three girls proceeded to the nearest table to enjoy their meal together.

**B**

"Say cheese!" Yang took a picture of her, Blake and Leone with her scroll. She separated from the two girls and smiled at the picture. "Awesome. Saving that to favorites." The small family was at one of the stone paths around the academy. Yang wanted to spend more time them and it was enjoying every second of it. Blake was feeling the same way. This was the most fun she had in…forever actually. To Leone, it reminded of the more fun times she had with Night Raid. Yang put her scroll away. “So, you told us Akame is awake and that’s pretty good. Why aren’t you with her now? I remember you spending the first half of the day in the infirmary.”

Leone chuckled at that. “That’s true but I owe it to Akame to catch up with Kurome and they have a lot of it to do.”

Yang didn’t argue with that. “I get it. She deserves that second chance, ya know.”

Her daughter couldn’t agree more. “Yeah. Akame being reunited and being sisters with Kurome again. It’s like a dream come true to her and I’m happy for that.” Yang was happy to hear that.

While the mother and daughter were talking, the father was debating on a critical decision. She decided it was time. “Yang.”

Her girlfriend looked over at her. "Yeah? What is it, Blake?"

Blake was feeling a little nervous. The first time her true identity was revealed, it didn’t go so well. This time, she’ll do it right. All she hoped for that Leone wouldn’t have a huge reaction to it. “I want to tell Leone the truth.”

Yang instantly knew what the Faunus girl was talking about. “Really? Seriously?” Blake nodded at the question.

Leone looked between her two parents and was very confused. “What are you two talking about? Tell me what?”

Blake took in a deep breath and steeled herself. “The truth of who I was before.”

Leone was a little surprised her dad had one more secret other than being a Faunus. What that secret was, she could tell it was an important one. “Alright.” She crossed her arms under her breasts. “What exactly do you want to tell me?”

This was the moment Blake was waiting for. Her daughter needed to know. She looked around the area and they were the only ones around. Blake reached for her bow and took it off which Yang thought was strange. Her cat ears were on full display. "I was…a member of the White Fang once."

Hearing that made Leone feel like time had stopped for just a moment. She gritted her and closed her hands tightly as she was feeling a little angry. “You got to be shitting me, right? You were part of those goddamn insane fuckers?!”

Blake knew Leone would be mad about this. She was well aware of how much she didn't like them. "I won't deny it. I was with the White Fang for as long as I can remember. Childhood even but they weren't the group you know now. They were peaceful once…” Leone scoffed at that but Blake continued. “And we didn’t solve everything by violence. It was more protests and rallies about being equal to humans and I was proud at one point. That is until our leader stepped down and a new one took his place. Within the White Fang, I was mentored by a person called Adam Taurus. He was the one who taught me how to fight. How to defend myself. At first, I was glad to be his protégé but then I started to notice the changes. They were little at first but they became bigger each time and he became more ruthless. Our protests became more about violence. Signs were replaced by weapons and before I knew it, the White Fang I first came into and loved had changed. I couldn’t stand it anymore since this isn’t what I envisioned. What I wanted. So I left the White Fang and decided to burn the bridges behind me. And that’s it. Since then, I met Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and everyone else. Including you. This…” She gestured at the scene around her. “This was something I never imagined I would have back then. Having someone like Yang…” Yang smiled at that. “And a daughter like you. A family is something I thought I would never have but it did and for that, I’m grateful.” Blake sighed and smiled as she was finally glad Blake was able to tell not only the truth but her feelings about having a family.

Leone took in each word from Blake’s explanation and came to a conclusion. “You were in the White Fang right?”

Blake was suddenly worried. “Yes but-”

“The keyword here is were. You’re not with them anymore and that’s all that matters to me.” She smiled at her father. “I’m happy you said the rest of that stuff.” She chuckled at a thought. “I just realized. I’m the daughter of a former terrorist who happens to be a former assassin.”

Blake thought that was funny as well. “Poor choice of jobs, huh?”

Both girls laughed at that thought. Yang laughed as well. “Good thing we chose a better career choice huh?”

All of them had a laugh together and Leone smiled at Blake. “Thanks for telling me all of that…dad. I appreciate it.”

Blake was glad for two reasons. Leone calling her dad and saying thank. “Thank you. I was worried what you would’ve thought of me if I told you all of that.”

Leone was angry when Blake told her she was part of the White Fang but wasn’t anymore. “As long you’re not with them anymore. I still don’t like them and they already made their bed.” That was something Blake could agree on. The White Fang had made their choice a long time ago. Leone then thought of something and chuckled. “Now that I think about it, it’s ironic you’re on the same team as Weiss. Be even more ironic if you went out with her instead.”

“Hey!”

Leone looked over at her mother. "Well, it would be."

Yang had to admit she was right. It would be ironic and funny. She clapped her hands a few times. “Alright now. That’s enough wallowing in the past. We gotta focus on the future right now. What do you say we do something fun right now?”

Blake nodded at that. “That’s sounds wonderful Yang.”

Leone couldn’t agree more. “Yeah! We got the rest of the day until the next match starts. Let’s not waste it.”  With that said, Blake tied her ribbon back into a bow over her ears and the family made their way back to the fairgrounds.

**B**

The sun was setting over the fairgrounds as the next match was nearing. Akame very much enjoyed spending time with Kurome. Her sister thought the same. She learned everything Akame told her about. The world they were in, who they were, the weapon she formerly used, the team she was formerly on. Kurome learned a lot about her former life and how horrible it was. As of now, both sisters were sitting at ramen stand enjoying their meal once again. Kurome couldn’t help but chuckle at everything she had learned. “I gotta say, you had a pretty interesting life Akame.”

Her sister slurped some of the noodles. "That's one way to put it. It's been difficult yes, but I did have some fond memories." She remembered her old team and Night Raid. “And I treasure them always.”

Kurome slurped her noodles as well and smiled sadly. “Hearing all that makes me appreciate the life I have now.” She chuckled. “To be honest, it’s true I don’t have any family related to me but I do have a mother figure. If you can call her that. She’s the headmistress of the school I go to. Far as I’ve known, I’ve been hopping around foster home to foster home ever since I was a baby. I can tell you that it didn’t leave a very good childhood. Some of the families were good, other were complete shit. It wasn’t until I was thirteen I was adopted by the headmistress. She told me I had untapped potential and I should put it to good use. And that’s how my path as a huntress began. I attended school and that’s where I first met Chelsea and Taeko. I never expected to end up on a team with them once we went on to the next school which just so happens to be the school my adoptive mother runs. My team doesn’t know about it because I don’t want it to be a big deal.”

It seemed Kurome had led a slightly better life in this world and Akame was glad for that. “So when did you and Chelsea decide to be together?”

Kurome fondly remembered that moment. “It was a year later when she finally confessed to me. I admit it was weird at first having a girl of all people confessing to me but I didn’t object. I thought to myself to give it a try. Best decision I’ve ever made. She occasionally gives me lollipops time to time. Before I knew it, I was head over heels with her. But after what you told me about her back in your world, I so appreciate her more now.” She slurped more of her noodles. “Also kinda ironic we’re both dating girls.”

Akame laughed in agreement. "Yes, it is."

The sun fully set and night arrived. Not long after, an announcement came up. _“Can all participants report to the arena? The second match of the Single’s round will begin in half an hour.”_

_“Those who do not attend will be disqualified. That is all.”_ The announcement ended.

Kurome smiled at it. “You heard the guy.” She picked up her bowl and started to down the entire thing. Once she was finished, Kurome set it down with a content sigh. “Let’s head over there now.” Akame nodded and proceeded to the same with her bowl. Once she was done, both sisters made their way to the arena.

**B**

“Hey there!” ALCE, RWBY, and KRCT all reunited at the entrance were happy to see each other again. Cornelia was the first to hug Akame. “I’m so glad to see you again. It’s great you’re up now.”

Akame smiled at her teammate. “It’s nice to see you two.”

The girls separated only for Esdeath grab her leader and hug her as well. And having Akame’s face shoved into her breasts. “I’m happy to see you’re well too!”

Leone was annoyed by the sight for some reason. “Hey! Shoving Akame into breasts in my job!” Esdeath giggled awkwardly and let go of Akame.

Yang got a kick out of that and looked at KRCT. “So what are you all doing here?”

Chelsea smiled at the blonde. “We kinda figured our leader would still be with her sister. Besides, might as well enjoy the rest of the fights.”

Taeko wondered if she heard that right. “Wait, Akame is Kurome’s sister?”

“We’ll tell you that later.” Rienna reassured.

Yang stretched out her neck. “Well, I’m heading for the arena. Let’s hope I get my shot this time.”

Blake smiled at her girlfriend. “Good luck.” She gave the blonde a quick kiss and Yang enjoyed it.

She broke the kiss and smiled. “Now I know I can’t lose. See all of you later!” Yang waved goodbye and went on her way.

Cornelia couldn’t help but laugh. “You two are so sweet, you know that?”

Leone agreed to that and noticed something else. “They sure are. By the way Cora, where did you get the hickey?” Cornelia gasped and covered her neck. That made the Faunus blonde all the more curious. “Ah ha! Who have you been seeing?” Taeko slightly blushed and looked away. It didn’t go unnoticed by Chelsea.

Ruby smiled at the whole thing. “Let’s get to our seats. They’re going to start any minute.” Everyone nodded and made their way to their seats. Ruby stopped for a few seconds and looked behind her as if something was wrong but continued walking. All of them took their seats and saw the remaining combatants. Most of them. One was obviously missing. “Where’s Mercury?”

Weiss didn’t know and she couldn’t care less. “Who knows? Maybe he dropped out.”

Blake didn’t think it was that simple. “But what for?”

Oobleck shifted his glasses as he noticed Mercury was missing as well. “It seems Mercury Black is not present. Due to his absence, he and his team are now disqualified. Now let us begin the random selection for the second match of the Single’s round.”

Ruby still couldn’t shake this strange feeling off of her. She looked around and stood up. That was when she spotted a certain someone alone across the arena. _“Emerald?”_ The young leader started to walk away. “Ruby, where are you going?” Weiss asked.

Her partner stopped momentarily. “I’ll be back, I promise.” She started to run off. Weiss sighed as she sometimes had no idea what goes through her leader’s head sometimes.

“Guess it’s just us for the time being.” Blake spoke.

Weiss looked back at the arena. “Guess so.”

The randomization selection started and Yang was anxious to pick a fight. “The next matchup is…” After a few more seconds, the selection stopped and the two fighters were chosen. Yang was disappointed again that she was selected. “Penny Polendina versus Pyrrha Nikos!”

With the two fighters selected, everyone else began to clear out until it was just the two of them. Leone was slightly impressed by the matchup. “So it’s that chick again and she’s fighting against Pyrrha. I doubt the fight will be as intense as yours Akame.”

Akame chuckled at that. "Let's hope not."

Yang made it back to her team looking a little down. “Luck is not on my side. That’s twice now.”

Blake felt a little of the same way. “You’ll have your chance soon enough Yang.”

Her girlfriend appreciated the words. "Thanks." She noticed one certain little sister missing. "Where did Ruby go?"

That was what Weiss wanted to know. “She went off somewhere.”

It was weird for her sister to leave just like that. Yang sat down next to Blake. “If she’ll be back, she’ll be back so don’t worry.” Weiss could only hope Yang was right.

The arena was raised and Penny smiled at her opponent. “Salutations Pyrrha Nikos. It is an honor fighting against you.”

Pyrrha gave a small smile to the other girl. “I feel the same way.”

Leone noticed something strange about her friend. “Is it just me or is Pyrrha not all there?”

Cornelia just shrugged. “Maybe she’s just nervous. I would be.” Leone knew it was something more than that.

The air horn blared out and the match began. As usual, Penny summoned her swords and was the first to attack. The fight wasn’t as intense as Akame and Kurome’s but it was more enjoyable. A little more into the fight, Akame began to notice something strange. “Something isn’t right.”

The team looked over at her. “What do you mean?” Esdeath asked.

Akame continued to observe Pyrrha’s movements. “The way she’s moving and dodging is too sporadic. Even with all the swords Penny is using.”

Leone was able to piece together what her girlfriend was saying. “You might be thinking something is messing up Pyrrha?”

Her girlfriend nodded at the question. “I would believe so. The question now is, what’s the cause of it? I doubt Penny is the one doing it.”

Leone scouted the entire arena to see who was doing it. Her beast eyes made sure to catch even the smallest details. Finally, she spotted something. Or rather, someone and it was someone she recognized. Emerald. _“It’s one of Cinder’s following lackeys.”_ She saw the small gestures Emerald was making with her hands and Leone narrowed her eyes. _“So that’s it!”_ Leone stood up suddenly. “Akame.”

Akame understood and stood up as well. “Lead the way.” Both girls made their way to Emerald quickly as possible.

“Hey! Where are you two going?!” Cornelia’s question didn’t reach them.

The former assassins kept running to where Emerald was sitting at. “That one chick from Cinder’s group is doing that to Pyrrha!”

It made the most sense to Akame. “Of course. Her semblance is illusion. She can make people see things that aren’t there. Pyrrha must be under the guise that Penny must have more swords she’s actually using.”

Leone gritted her teeth in anger. “What the hell is that bitch up to?”

That was something Akame would like to know as well. “We’ll know soon enough but for now, let’s stop her before Pyrrha does something she’ll regret.”

Meanwhile, Emerald was making sure Pyrrha was seeing as many swords as possible Penny was using. _“Just a little more now.”_ Making people see illusions from a distance was difficult but possible. The plan was for Pyrrha to use semblance on the real swords and…reveal Penny who she really was. She made sure Pyrrha was seeing lots of swords. Emerald could tell it was working. _“There we go.”_ Penny sent all of her (visible) swords at Pyrrha. _“It’s done.”_

“That’s enough!” Emerald was suddenly tackled to the ground by Akame and the nearby spectators were surprised by this. Akame saw use Pyrrha use her semblance on the swords and sent them back at Penny. “Leone!”

The Faunus blonde leaped onto the railing. “I’m on it!”

She launched herself off the railing and straight at Penny. One of the wires was already wrapped around Penny’s arm.  Akame looked down at Emerald. “It’s over now.”

Emerald laughed at her. “You think so huh?”

_“This is going to be close.”_ All Penny could do was stand in surprise as one of the wires was heading right toward her. “Get down now!” Leone tackled Penny to the ground and the wire missed. The Faunus blonde sighed in relief. _“Another second late and this chick would’ve been sliced in half.”_ She looked over at Penny. “You alright?” She stood up as she closed her eyes.

Penny nodded at her. “I am fine. Thank you for your concern.”

Leone smiled at her and opened her eyes. "Hey, it's no prob…the freaking hell?!" Apparently, Leone was a little too late as Penny was missing an arm. What's more was that her arm not too far was still moving. Penny waved what was left of her arm. "You're a freaking robot?!" Everyone else was surprised by this and not just because Leone interrupted a match. Everyone couldn’t believe it. Most of all, the crowd felt a little angry.

“Leone?” The Faunus blonde and Penny looked over at Pyrrha who looked scared and confused. “What’s going on?”

Leone was going to answer when there was a sudden noise all over and heard someone speaking. The voice sounded familiar. Akame recognized. “That’s Cinder talking. What’s going on?”

Emerald laughed at her confusion. "I'll give you the short story. Everything you know is going to end."

“What are you saying?” Before she could get an answer, Akame heard a heavy thumping from the top of the coliseum and looked up to see a Nevermore pecking at the force field. Everyone else saw it as well.

It was then another announcement. _“Danger threat level nine. Danger threat level nine. Danger threat level nine.”_ The same message repeated itself over and over. All Akame and everyone else could do was stare in horror but the true horror to befall them has yet to begin.

 


	36. Assault on Beacon

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Six: Assault on Beacon

_“Danger level threat nine. Danger level threat nine. Danger level threat nine. Protective defenses failing.”_

All Akame could do was stare at the Nevermore trying to break into the arena while the people were fleeing in a panic. Why this was happening was still racing through her mind. Emerald saw an opportunity and hit Akame’s face with the back of her head. Her grip on the other girl loosened and Emerald managed to escape. “Ha ha! See ya later bitch. Enjoy the end!”

Akame groaned and opened her eyes to see that Emerald was nowhere to be found. No, she was using her illusion semblance for cover. Akame could still sense her aura. As much as Akame hated to admit it, she had to let Emerald go. As of now, there were more pressing matters to be concerned about. The Nevermore broke through the force field and began flying around in it screeching. What a time for not having Murasame with her. The Nevermore was heading right for Leone, Pyrrha, and Penny. **“Grau Horn!”**

A giant ice spike erupted from the ground and pierced through the Nevermore. The Grimm screeched out in pain before it died. Leone looked over at her teammate. “Esdeath?”

"Leone!" The Faunus blonde looked over at Akame who leaped over the railing and ran over to the small group. "Are you okay?"

The Faunus chuckled at the question. “Sure you want to be asking me that?” She nodded over at Penny. Akame was surprised that the girl she was seeing wasn’t human at all. “What are you?”

“Penny!” Everyone saw Ruby rushing over and gave her friend a hug. “I was so worried. I thought-”

"I am fine Ruby." Penny broke the hug and smiled at her friend. "As you can see, I am still combat ready." At least she hasn't lost that cheerful attitude of hers.

Leone took a closer look at the missing arm. “So…can’t you regenerate your arm or something?”

Penny didn’t quite understand that. “I don’t believe I possess such an ability.” Leone thought she did have that since apparently Penny was similar to Susanoo.

“Ruby!” Everyone saw Yang and the rest of their friends coming over to them. The blonde was happy her sister was okay.

Weiss was the same but at the same time, a little angry. “Where were you all this time?!”

Ruby looked away from her partner. “I went into one of the hallways and I saw Mercury. I wondered why he was doing there of all places when I heard Penny was going to fight against Pyrrha. I tried to take him on but…he kinda knocked me out.”

“He did what!?” Both Weiss and Esdeath were angry Mercury did that to Ruby.

Blake looked at Penny as she was still a little surprised about what her friend really was. “You’re actually a robot?”

Penny looked over at her missing arm and back at her friends. “I suppose the correct term for this particular situation is the cat is out of the bag now.”

Everyone heard soft sobbing and looked over at Pyrrha who had tears coming out of her eyes. “Penny…I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s not your fault.” Akame spoke and everyone looked at her. “You were under Emerald’s illusion. She’s the one responsible and not only her. She and her team.”

Now everyone was confused. “Cinder is involved in this?” Ruby asked.

Leone gritted her teeth. “I knew it. I knew there was something I didn’t like about that bitch. By the way, where is Emerald? I thought you had her pinned?”

Akame looked away slightly. “She got away but that isn’t important now.” 

“She’s right.” Sun spoke up. "We still have one huge problem here."

He had a point. There was only one question on Cornelia’s mind. “So what do we do now?”

Everyone took out their scrolls and pressed some buttons. In the next few seconds, all of their lockers dropped down around them. The lockers opened up and they all took out their weapons. Except for Yang and Leone. They just activated their weapons that were hanging around their wrists. “Pays to have your weapons as bracelets. Am I right?” Leone laughed in agreement.

“So…” Kurome set her weapon on her shoulder. “Let’s go save the school.” Velvet decided to take a photo of all of them with their weapons. Some of them thought it was an odd time for her to take a photo at a time like this.

“Wait, hold on.” They looked over at Rienna who was still putting on her weapons.

Chelsea groaned. “Oh for the love of-”

Suddenly all of them heard a noise from on top and look from above to see several Grimm screeching at them. Neptune pumped his gun. “Great. Griffons.”

The Griffons screeched more and they flew into the arena. Seems they had to fight against them first.

“Sun, can you give me your scroll?” Sun smiled at her and tossed his scroll using his tail to Ruby. She pressed a few buttons and locker arrived near her. Ruby opened it up and took out Crescent Rose. As the first one began to attack, it was shot off. The students looked to where it came from. “Professor Port?” Ruby asked since both Port and Oobleck were carrying their weapons.

Port looked at all of his students. “Children, please this to us. We’ll handle it from here.”

“But-”

“Children, please.” Oobleck spoke. “This’ll go down in the history of Beacon. I would prefer you are still around to tell it.”

Akame understood it clearly. “Of course.” She turned away from the teachers. “Let’s go.” She started to run toward the exit.

Everyone else followed her. “You two better kick some serious ass!” Leone yelled out. With their students out of the way, the two teachers prepared themselves for the fight ahead. The students heard the wails and crying of the other people who were escaping to the shuttle ships. Not only that but they heard gunshots as well. All of them made it to the port and saw a lone figure before them holding a gun. They all stopped in front of him. “Who the hell is this guy?”

Ruby recognized him from before. “General Ironwood.”

Leone was surprised to hear that. “This guy’s a general?”

Ironwood looked at all of them carefully. Especially at Akame and Leone. He still couldn’t believe these two were assassins. He pointed his gun at them and shot a Beowolf that was coming from behind. “I’m glad all of you are alright. As you now know, we are in a time of crisis. You have two choices. Either fight or leave. I won’t fault you if you do.” He saw the look in everyone’s eyes and saw the answer. “Very well.” Everyone nodded and ran off to the find the nearest shuttle. All but one. “Penny.” Penny just stared at the general. “Are you still capable of fighting?”

Penny smiled at him. "I am still combat ready."

That was all Ironwood needed to hear. “Then go.” Penny understood and ran off to catch up with the others. In all honesty, he was glad she was still safe even though Penny was still missing an arm. He had other matters to attend to.

Once Penny entered the shuttle, it began to take off. Ruby looked out the window and saw one of the ships flying a little strange. She trusted her instincts and ran off to the back of the shuttle and opened the hatch. It didn’t go unnoticed by Weiss. “Ruby, what are you doing!?” Her leader ignored the question and ran back into the arena. Weiss sighed at Ruby’s action. “She always acts before thinking.” She pressed the button to close the hatch. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” The hatch fully closed.

The shuttle landed near the docks and everyone rushed out of it. They all saw how bad the situation was. Leone cracked her knuckles. “Let’s kill these fuckers!” All of them ran out of the shuttle and toward the front of the school. They met plenty of Grimm that were ahead.

**Insert RWBY Vol 3 opening**

The first to arrive were Rienna and Chelsea. “Taeko!”

The other girl knew exactly what her teammate meant. “Of course.”

Rienna placed her arms in front and spun them around in a counterclockwise fashion while fire came out of her weapons. **“Flaming Spiral!”** The flames struck a pack of Beowolves at once.

Chelsea pointed her fan at the fire attack and a chain of explosions within the fire. **“Exploding Flame Chain!”**

Coco whistled at the combined attack. “That was quite the opening. Now let’s follow up!” Everyone fought the closest Grimm near each of them.

**“Whirlwind”** Taeko swung her sword a few times and delivered several wind blades at several Ursa as they were cut into pieces. Another one approached from behind and Taeko could easily dispose of it. Before she could, Cornelia appeared in front of it and swung her axes at it a few times before pointing them at the Grimm and fired off a few shots before it fell down backwards. Taeko smiled at the other girl. “I could’ve taken it.”

Cornelia laughed at that. "Just trying to show off." Both girls were back to back while there more Grimm was approaching them.

Taeko welcomed a new feeling. “It’s strange. I feel like I can trust you completely knowing you have my back.”

The blonde smiled at that. “Same here. Let’s show them what we can do.” Both girls yelled as they attacked the Grimm.

Yang was yelling while socking a few Beowolves and discharging Ember Celica at the same time. After that Beowolf was done, she turned around and fired a few shots at the next closest one. She was honestly enjoying herself. “Who else wants some!?” She heard heavy thudding and turned to see another Ursa Major approaching her. Yang put up her arms. “You want to go next?”

The Grimm roared at her and charged at her. Yang was ready until Leone came in between them. “Why don’t you try fighting someone else!?” She uppercut the Grimm high into the air. Out of nowhere, Blake appeared above the Ursa and used both her sword and sheath to slash through the Grimm before it started to fall. She landed next Yang and shot at a few Beowolves at the same. Once the Ursa came near the ground, Yang punched it once again and sent it away. All three girls had their backs to each other. Yang laughed as she had a thought. “Never thought our next family outing would be like this, huh?”

Leone didn’t mind it, though. “Hey, as long as we’re kicking ass together I’m good.”

Blake couldn't help but think this whole idea of a family outing was strange. "Maybe next time we can do something a little less arduous."

Yang was ready for the next round as more Grimm surrounded them. “Whatever that means, sure thing!” The family resumed fighting together.

Weiss slashed a few Beowolves near her and was about take on her next one before it was frozen solid and then broke into pieces. She looked at the side and saw Esdeath with her hand out. Esdeath turned around and waved her arm to the side. **"Gefrorene Misery!"** A wave of ice came from the side and froze all of the Grimm.

The heiress was actually impressed. “Am I glad you’re on our side.”

Esdeath chuckled at that. “I’m glad to hear that.” Both girls saw a pack of Beowolves approaching them. An idea came to Esdeath. “Can you make three speed glyphs?”

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the question. “I can but what for?”

The other girl smiled at her. “You’ll see.” She ran over to the heiress and she created the glyphs. Esdeath held out her hand and countless hailstones surrounded her. **“Hölle Hagel: Geschwindigkeit.”** The hailstones were launched through the glyphs and their speed was increased dramatically. All of them shot through the Grimm and left countless holes in their bodies.

Again, Weiss was impressed by this. “Wow. Guess it’s true what they say. Rivals do make good partners.”

Esdeath was honored to hear that. “I know it’ll benefit us both in this battle.”  She formed her ice swords and held them. Both readied themselves for the next attack.

Both Ursa and Beowolves were being cut in half or into pieces while both Akame and Kurome were running past them. Akame jumped ahead and slashed an Ursa in two from the side while a Beowolf jumped right at her. Kurome came from behind and stabbed the Grimm in the head while both of them went on ahead and she landed on the ground. Kurome threw the Beowolf away and saw another Ursa headed toward her. It didn’t even reach her as its head was decapitated by Akame’s sword from afar. She retracted her sword and reunited Kurome. Kurome giggled. “Fighting with you is a lot better than fighting against you.”

 Akame could say the same. “I’m just glad we’re fighting together again. We did make quite the team back then.”

Kurome was happy to hear that. “Then let’s show them what sisters can do. Try to keep up.” She held Trisula to the side. **“Amplify times two!”** A pulse came out of her body.

Akame happily accepted the challenge. “Always.” Both sisters disappeared and multiple Grimm were instantly cut into pieces. Akame stopped momentarily and looked at the rest of them. “Try to cover as much ground as possible!” She resumed killing her intended targets.

**RWBY Vol 3 opening end**

With everyone busy killing Grimm, none of them noticed a new threat. Rifles were pointed at them and Leone heard it. She looked over at a group of strange beings she’s never seen before. “Out of the way!” Everyone saw what the Faunus blonde meant by that and moved before the new squad fired. Leone gritted her teeth. “Great. What the hell are we dealing with this time?”

Penny knew what they were. “Those are the new robot soldiers under General Ironwood’s command. I don’t understand why they’re attacking us.”

Esdeath created several icicles and hurled them at the robots. They pierced through them. "We can worry about that later. Let's just deal with them!"

Several more squads of the robot soldiers began to appear. Rienna held out her hand and an explosion blew away one of them. “Grimm and robots? What else are we going to fight?”

Blake slashed a Beowolf a few times and it dropped dead. “There you are, traitor!” The Faunus girl gasped and turned around to see a chainsaw coming at her. She deflected the chainsaw with Gambol Shroud but was then kicked from the side. Blake saw slid on the ground until she stopped.

The Faunus girl groaned in pain and opened her eye only to gasp at who she was seeing. “The White Fang?” More of the members begin to appear to join into the fray.

The member with the chainsaw smiled maliciously at her. “Finally found you. You’re going to pay for your betrayal.” He revved up his chainsaw again and charged over at Blake.

Blake was about to grab her weapon but someone intercepted the member. It happened too quickly for him to tell. One second he was ready to kill his fellow Faunus, the next, a flash of yellow went in front and felt a powerful blow to his stomach. He coughed up blood and dropped the chainsaw. In front of him of was Leone who punched him in the stomach and looked angry. “Stay…away from her.” She yelled as the Faunus blonde pushed the White Fang member and sent him over crashing into a wall where the back of it became a bloody mess. He slid down the wall with a blood trail left behind and dropped to the ground lying motionless. Blake was speechless at what she saw. Leone actually killed a member of the White Fang.

Said members were horrified by the sight as well. It was then they saw who Leone was really was and were shocked beyond belief. One of their own killed them. Normally, they would be very angry that Leone killed one of them but couldn’t be. Not with the way the Faunus blonde was looking at them. She had a predatory look in her eyes. The look of a killer. In short, she was the predator and they were the prey. One of them shifted their foot back and Leone rushed over to them. It was quick as the Faunus blonde delivered multiple slashes as she passed them all by and stopped behind them. All of them remained motionless for a few seconds before blood spurted out of the White Fang’s bodies as they fell dead to the ground. Leone turned around to see Blake scared. She didn’t blame her. Her daughter offed properly those she knew but they were like any other target and targets must be dealt with. Leone walked over to the other Fauns and stopped in front only to hold her hand to Blake. She saw the weapon Leone had always used. The finger tips were bloodied. “I’m fine.” She managed to stand up on her own.

Again, Leone didn’t blame her. “So, the White Fang is here. This is one pretty ballsy attack.” She could see Blake was uncomfortable. “First time seeing others being killed?”

To her surprise, her father shook her head. “No. I’ve seen it before. I just never get used to it.”

Leone could understand that. Both saw a ship that was on fire falling and crashed into the ground. After that, they heard several screams and saw some Alpha Beowolves going to where the cafeteria was. The Faunus blonde smiled. “Think you can get them? We can handle things here.”

Blake nodded in confirmation and ran off. She could catch up to the Beowolves quickly in a short time. That is until she heard a scream and look through a hole and saw the cafeteria was on fire. That wasn’t the thing that caught her interest. Inside the cafeteria, she saw a very familiar person stomp on a student. Blake didn’t expect the White Fang to appear but for him of all people to be here. She suddenly felt very afraid. “Adam…”

Adam looked ahead and smiled at who he was seeing. “Hello there, my love.”

Back to Akame and the rest of the group, all of them were still busy trying to fight off the Grimm. From afar on top of one of the buildings, Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury were watching the whole spectacle. And Cinder was loving every minute of it. “Isn’t this just wonderful?”

Emerald thought differently. “Look at all of them. It’s almost pitiful.”

Pitiful or not, it was exactly what Cinder envisioned. “Keep recording will you?”

Mercury smiled as he continued to capture what was happening. “Got it.”

**B**

In another part of Vale, both Qrow and Glynda were fighting off both Grimm and the robot soldiers. It wasn’t difficult but it was tedious. Qrow slashed through several of the robot soldiers in one go. “These bastards don’t just stop!”

Glynda sent several pieces of rubble at a few more of the soldiers. “Are you complaining Qrow?”

The huntsmen saw another squad of the soldiers approaching them. “Nope. Not at all!”

Before he could go over to them, a pillar of light suddenly shot up into the sky. **“Heavenly King!”** The light traveled all the way to where the soldiers were and they were enveloped completely. Once the light faded away, the robots were destroyed. Both Glynda and Qrow saw a figure walking toward them. “Hey there! Need some help?”

Qrow scoffed at the question and the person he was seeing. “I’ll be damned. Kingsman hunter Gozuki King.”

Gozuki smiled at the other hunter as he held his glaive over his shoulder. “And you’re Qrow Branwen. I’ve heard some things about you. Oh, and I hope you don’t mind if I brought a friend over.”

Qrow was about to ask when he heard a rumbling. He looked beyond Gozuki and saw water shoot up carrying both Grimm and the robot soldiers. The water took form as it shaped into several different dragon heads. **“Aqua Hydra!”** The water creature roared and all heads slammed back into the ground. Water came down rushed toward the hunters and huntress. They saw an arch of water heading toward them but there was someone inside and he was cutting up several Grimm inside of it. The water crashed near the small group and bits of Grimm pieces scattered around. “That was a ride if I do say so myself.” Another figure was walking toward the group. Esren smiled as he carried two large hunting knives underhanded. “Hope I’m not late to the party.”

Gozuki laughed at that. “No, I think the party is still going.”

Suddenly all of them heard a cry of a Nevermore and looked up to see one falling near them. It crashed on top of one of the buildings. “What the hell?” Everyone had the same thought as Qrow.

They saw a person jump off and landed in front of them. “My my. Quite a ruckus all of this is.”

Qrow chuckled at the new person was. “How about that? Babara Oreburg. Never thought I would meet you here of all places. Rumor had it that you were retired.”

Babara smiled at him. “I am but with all of this commotion running around, I couldn’t help but be involved once again. Figured you young ones might need the help.”

As Glynda was glad they had some reinforcements but one thing didn’t make sense to her. “How did you manage to kill a Nevermore without a weapon?”

Babara chuckled a little at the question. "Oh, young one. When you get to be my age…" She presented her hands to them. "These hands of mine are the only weapons I'll ever need."

Before Qrow could say something else, everyone heard a loud rumbling and a thunderous noise. Akame and her group heard the rumbling as well. She stopped momentarily and looked around. “What’s happening?”

Pyrrha looked over yonder and figured out what it was. “It’s coming from Mountain Glenn!”

All of them heard a booming sound as if something crashed from high up. What followed up was a roar that echoed loudly far and wide. It made Leone’s ears hurt. “What the hell is that!?” Out of Mountain Glenn was an enormous Grimm Dragon and as it flew, there were black drops coming off of it and when each drop hit the ground, they turned into different Grimm. The dragon roared as it was flying over to where Beacon was.

Pyrrha knew the situation became dire and knew there was only one way to handle this. She suddenly bolted to the school. “Pyrrha! Where are you going?!” Jaune didn’t hear a reply and groaned. He turned to Ren and Nora. “I’m going after her.” He ran and wasn’t too far behind of Pyrrha. Unknown to them, Cinder saw the two enter the building and smiled.

Yang groaned at all of this. “Great. What else can go wrong?”

Her answer came in the form of several heavy thudding footsteps. Everyone saw several large robots walking toward them. "Atlesian Paladins!” Penny yelled out.

Weiss leered at her blonde teammate. “Anything else you want to say?”

Coco aimed her Gatling gun at the robot and started shooting at it but it proved ineffective as one of them approached them. Coco herself realized it and stopped firing. That was when she had an idea. “Velvet, you’re up.”

Her Faunus teammate perked up. “Really?” Her leader nodded and that was enough for Velvet.

Velvet walked up to the robot calmly which made Weiss a little worried. “Hey, she’s going to get hurt!”

Coco held up her hand to the heiress. “Don’t worry. You’re about to see what my girl can do.”

Velvet held her hand to the side and held a light based weapon version of Ruby’s Crescent Rose. The robot fired a few shots at the Faunus but she jumped out of the way in a similar fashion like Ruby and slashed downward at the robot. It seemed to do some damage and landed on the ground and the weapon vanished. Velvet then created a light based version of Weiss’ weapon. The robot tried to attack her with one of the arms but the Faunus managed to strike back and it took a step back. Velvet back flipped a few times before taking on a stance the same was Weiss and rushed at the robot. She slashed at it a few times before stabbing it and then jumped off away from it. Like before, the weapon disappeared but was replaced by Yang’s weapon. She turned around and fired a few shots at the robot. It then tried to attack her but Velvet dodged under the arm and summoned Blake’s weapon. She stabbed the arm with the sword and as the robot kept spinning, the ribbon wrapped around it until it was tied up and fell down. Velvet noticed the second one approaching her from behind and slashed one of its arms and threw the sheath at its face. The robot was then being shot at by Velvet’s light version of Coco’s Gatling gun. It tried to block the shots while walking toward her but the Faunus girl summoned Sun's staff next and deflected the next attack and jumped above it where Velvet used a light version of Nora's hammer and struck it on top of the head. The arm fell off and Velvet saw the first one started to stand up. The hammer vanished and was replaced by a pack belonging to Penny. The swords appeared and she jumped off the robot she was standing on. She cut the legs and it fell down. The Faunus took a stance the same as Penny's with the swords circling around and fired off a laser at the down robot. The attack struck it and it was destroyed.

After seeing all of that, Leone whistled. “Damn. I had no idea Velvet was such a badass. How did she do all of that?”

Coco smiled at her teammate's performance. "Velvet's weapon lets her use the weapons she's photographed with that camera of hers. She can summon light versions of them are as powerful as the real thing but only last a few hits. It's a great combination with her semblance which allows her to mimic the movements of others.”

Rienna laughed at that. “Hey, she can do what you can do Chelsea.”

“Yeah except mine is semblances while hers is weapons and fighting styles.” Chelsea explained.

 Velvet thought she did a good job until the first robot managed to hit her and sent the Faunus away. “Velvet!” Coco became angry and began shooting at it. Neptune and some of the others began shooting it as well.

Weiss felt like she couldn’t stand around and began running in a half circle to the robot. As she became closer, a glyph appeared behind her. Once she was in between Velvet and the Paladin, she placed her weapon in front and closed her eyes as the robot attempted to attack. Weiss slightly opened her eyes to see that a giant arm holding an ice sword appeared and blocked the attack. It sent the arm away as it raised up and slashed the paladin in half. Weiss couldn’t believe she actually did that. Neither did Esdeath as she clapped for the heiress. “That’s so amazing Weiss!”

Weiss suddenly saw a flash and saw Velvet with her camera and smiled. Just when they could relax, all of them heard another set of heavy footsteps and saw another one of them. Sun groaned at the sight of it. “You gotta be kidding me!”

Leone smiled as she ran to where one of the halves of the robot was and grabbed. After that, she charged right at the other paladin. “I always wanted to try this ever since I saw that me-me thing!”

Sun raised an eyebrow. “Me-me?”

“I think she meant meme.” Yang clarified.

Leone jumped into the air holding the half above her. “I’ll beat this motherfucker with another motherfucker!” The paladin began shooting at the Faunus girl but Leone came in too fast and slammed the half on top of the head. Leone pulled the half to the right and struck the paladin again. She pulled the left this time and struck it again. The Faunus blonde spun around and slammed the half in front of the mech. The hit managed to send the paladin far away from them. Leone laughed at her victory. "Now that was fun." 

This time, Yang clapped at her daughter's performance. "Atta girl Leone! Wasn't that cool Blake?" She didn't hear a reply. "Blake?" The blonde looked around the area but didn't see her girlfriend anywhere. "Where did Blake go?"

Leone's ear perked up when she heard the question and turned around. "She went over to the cafeteria to chase some Beowolves!"

Yang nodded at the instructions. “Thanks a lot!” She made her way to the destination.

**B**

Back at Vale, Qrow and the others were still fighting off against the Grimm and robot soldiers. For some reason, Cardin was there and bashed a Beowolf but then the soldiers took aim at him. In the second their heads were being blasted off. He looked over to where the shots came from and saw Ironwood with his clothes destroyed which revealed half of his upper body was machine. He fired a few more shots at the soldiers nearest to them and all of them exploded. Cardin took this a sign and decided to run off somewhere else. Esren scoffed at the display. "And here we have this show-off."

Everyone else ignored the joke. Qrow suddenly had a serious look on his face and his sword transformed into a scythe. He pointed the weapon at Ironwood which made him worried. “Wait, Qrow. This isn’t my doing!”

Qrow ignored him and ran to where the general was. Ironwood prepared for the worst and readied his gun. Qrow jumped toward him. Or rather passed him as a Griffon was coming up behind Ironwood. He swung the scythe at the Grimm and cut it in half. Qrow landed on the ground and turned around to look at Ironwood. “I know this isn’t your doing.”

The rest of the group walked up to the general. “If this isn’t your work, why are those robots attacking us?” Gozuki asked.

That was a question Ironwood would like to know. “Someone must’ve bypassed our security control and took over. How it happened I’m not sure of. The only way for them to stop is either run the original programming or destroy the source control.”

As soon as he said that, all of them saw the ship with the source control crash. Qrow scratched his head. “Guess that takes care of things.” Everyone saw the remaining robots still active shut down around them.

**B**

The area seemed cleared of Grimm for the time being so as of now all of them should be helping those in need go to the docks to be evacuated. Kurome suddenly noticed something was off. She looked around in the group and found out what it was. “Where’s Akame?”

Esdeath looked around and sure enough, her leader was not among them. "Akame? Where are you?!"

Leone was walking back to the group wondering the same thing. “Weird. Akame wouldn’t up and go like that without a reason.”

_“YANG!”_

The Faunus gasped and stopped when she heard that with her Faunus ears. _“That was Blake.”_ Judging by the sound of the voice, already she knew it wasn’t good. _“Did something happen to Yang?”_ She started to bolt over to the cafeteria.

Esdeath saw her run and passed the group. "Leone, where are you going!?"

Her question was ignored. Leone quickly made her way to the cafeteria where apparently it was on fire. For some reason, she had a very bad feeling and didn’t like it one bit. The Faunus blonde arrived at the scene and gasped at the sight she was seeing. There was a figure standing over Blake lying down in front of Yang who seemed to be out of it for some reason. “Yang! Blake!”

Blake looked pasted Adam and gasped at her daughter’s arrival. “Leone?”

Adam stepped aside and turned around to see the other Faunus as well. “And what do we have here?”

Leone saw the whole scene before her now and the sight made her blood cold. Yang was lying on the floor with her arm missing. Her breathing became quicker and her heart began to race. _“From this day on, you're going to be our daughter Leone. Leone is my and Blake's daughter and she doesn't have a drop of blood in her from either of us. I'll tell you this. Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I promise.”_ Leone started to have flashbacks to when she lost her real mother and now seeing Yang without her arm lying motionless. Anger, no rage began to boil within her as she gritted her teeth and glared menacingly at Adam. Leone screamed out in hatred.

 


	37. Face to Face

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Seven: Face to Face

Akame was running through the empty hallways of the dorms. She was making her way to her dorm room. More specifically, where Murasame was. _“If the creature who made that roar is coming here, I have to prepare as quickly as possible. No matter how big it might be, Murasame’s poison may be able to kill it.”_ She made the next turn and saw the door to her dorm room. Akame opened the door and noticed something about it. It didn’t have that same warm feeling any longer. After everything that had happened, it seemed cold and desolate. She saw Murasame in the exact same place where she left it. Akame immediately grabbed it and felt a familiar sensation. She stared at the weapon. “Murasame, please lend me your strength once again.” Akame set her Imperial Arm in the usual place and ran back out. She had to prepare against the Grimm that was coming to Beacon.

**B**

Leone ignored everything around her. All her focus was on the man standing next to her parents. Never had she felt so much anger, so much hate for one person. Even more so than the Prime Minister. The same thoughts went over and over within her mind. Make him pay and make him suffer and she would gladly act upon those thoughts. To Blake, she was scared. More scared then she had ever been. First Adam cut off the arm of the girl she loved so much and now her daughter was here witnessing it. “Leone…”

Adam noticed the tone of Blake’s voice and smiled. “Is this Faunus close to you as well my love? Then I’ll be sure to take her away from you too.”

Leone would love nothing more than to shut him up and closed her hands tightly. “Blake…take Yang and get away from here. Now.”

Blake could tell her daughter was serious about this. Serious about fighting Adam. That alone terrified her the most. Adam thought that was nothing more than a humorous joke. “You think I’ll let her go like before? I won’t make that same mistake twice!” He drew out his sword and turned around to Blake and Yang. It was then he was blown away by Leone’s attack mid turn and collided into the wall.

Blake couldn’t believe her eyes as Leone now stood in front of them. Her daughter looked over at Adam who managed pull himself out of the wall. “I said…go. Now.”

Blake didn’t need to be told again as she stood up and picked up Yang. Seeing the sight of her girlfriend’s missing arm made her feel the worst she had ever felt. She looked over at Adam one last time before running out of there. It was then Blake had the confidence in her daughter once more. Adam wasn’t dealing with a student attending Beacon. He was going to fight against someone who was an assassin. Adam gritted his teeth as his former student slipped through his fingers once again and now had to deal with another nuisance. It was rare for someone to get the drop on him. Even more so while he was attacking. He flicked his blade as he stared at the other Faunus. "I usually don't like fighting against my own kind but you are one of the special exceptions."

Leone could care less about that. "I'm going to make you regret what you did to her."

Adam chuckled when he heard that. “What? Do you mean that human with the blonde hair? She should’ve lost more than an arm if you ask me.”

Every word he spoke pissed off the Faunus blonde more and more. “Fine then. How about this? You took her arm…” She presented her hand to him still bloodied from before. “I took several of your friend’s lives.”

It was rare for Adam to be surprised and hearing that surprised him greatly. “That’s a lie! You couldn’t have killed them!”

Now Leone was getting somewhere and smiled. “But I did and it was easy for me to do so. Including that guy with the chainsaw. He was the first one I killed.”

Anger flared up within Adam. “You killed my lieutenant? How can you do such a thing to your own kind!?”

"You assholes aren't my kind!" Leone yelled back. "To me, you're nothing than the same kind of bastards I've killed before. You're nothing special. Blake, Velvet, Neon. They're the ones I consider to be my kind but you and the White Fang, I have no problems offing you. Come to think of it, you said that chainsaw guy is your lieutenant. I'm wagering a guess that you're Adam.” She chuckled at this chance. “Killing you will be the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Adam knew this was an opponent he couldn’t let his guard down around her. The look in her eyes told him that she was a ruthless killer.  “Before we begin, may I have the pleasure of knowing who you are?”

Leone didn't mind at all. She wanted Adam to know the person who was going to kill him. "My name is Leone Wild. The daughter of Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna" Adam tightened his grip on his sword. The mere thought of his beloved being with a human, another woman no less made him sick to his stomach. Then again, he could clearly see the resemblance of those two in Leone. “And let me say this. Blake made the right choice in leaving your sorry ass.”

Adam didn’t want to be reminded of that moment ever again. The two Faunus stared each other down until a piece of wood from the ceiling fell down and served the signal to start. Adam took a step forward but Leone already reached him at a speed he couldn’t see. The Faunus blonde uppercut Adam with her left arm and then punched him with her right. She then spun around to deliver a kick to the side and sent Adam away. Leone wasn’t finished as she jumped after Adam and punched him in the gut. Both crashed through the wall and Leone pushed her arm forward as Adam was sent to the ground where he crashed into it. Adam groaned in pain as he started to stand up and saw Leone land on the ground. That brief exchange told him everything about his opponent. _“This woman is no ordinary Faunus.”_

Leone stretched out her neck and some of the bones cracked. “Come on. I’m not even close to being done with you yet. I’m going to make you suffer as much as possible for what you did before I break your neck.”

Adam knew he had to keep his guard up. His Faunus instincts were telling him that his opponent was dangerous. Very dangerous. It was likely she could chase him down if Adam would escape. There was only one option left. He took a running start with his sword ready to cut Leone down. Leone was going to beat him to the punch when Adam opened fired with Blush at her. The Faunus blonde muttered a quick damn it and swiped at the oncoming bullets with Lionel. The distraction gave Adam enough time to close the distance between them. He slashed at the other Faunus several times over as he passed her by and stopped behind Leone as she let out a scream of pain. At least Adam was able to hit her. Or so he thought when suddenly the back of his collar was pulled from behind. “That hurt you damn jackass!” Leone tossed him high into the air and jumped not too far behind.

Leone was above Adam and punched him straight back into the ground. His impact left a small crater but the Faunus blonde wasn’t done yet. She dropped to down to where Adam was preparing for another attack to crush him. Adam saw the next attack coming and rolled over to the side to avoid the attack and just in time as Leone struck the spot where Adam previously was which left an even larger crater. Two things were very clear to him. Her strength was beyond comprehension and the wounds he had given the other Faunus had already healed. “Just what the hell are you?”

Leone stood up from the crater and looked over at Adam. “If you want to know, I’ll tell you. I’m a student who attends Beacon Academy in becoming a huntress but before that…” She smiled wickedly at the other Faunus. “I was an assassin from another world from a place called the Imperial Capital and was part of a team called Night Raid.”

Only one thing was made clear to Adam after hearing all of that when stood up. “An assassin?”

Leone loved his reaction. “That’s right. Kinda funny, isn’t it? An assassin fighting against a terrorist. Except the difference between us is that I actually fought for a cause that was for everyone. You and your little club, on the other hand, are fighting for your own selfish gain.”

Adam wasn’t going to stand for that. “What we’re fighting for is a just cause for Faunus everywhere!”

“What you’re doing is dragging every other Faunus down because of your cause!” Leone yelled back. “And I for one won’t stand it!” She ran over to where Adam was. Adam pointed Blush at the other Faunus and fired a few shots at her but Leone dodged side to side evading them. He took a step forward and swung his sword from the side once the other Faunus was near enough.

In a sudden split second, Leone opened her mouth and bit through the sword causing it to shatter. Adam had never seen someone destroy his weapon. Much less with their mouth. In fact, it shouldn’t be possible but Leone had done it. In the next second, Leone unleashed an unrelenting barrage of punches all over the White Fang member. She continuously pummeled Adam while pushing him back without letting up her attacks. Leone momentarily pulled back her arm and uppercut Adam once again into the air but jumped immediately after this time. Once she was above, the Faunus blonde clasped her hands together as she raised them above and slammed them down upon Adam's body back into the ground creating another crater. Unlike last time, he couldn't roll his way out of Leone's next attack due to the intense amount of pain from the attacks the other Faunus had done to him. Leone dropped down quickly and kneed him in the stomach. Adam coughed up blood and cried out while the crater became larger. Leone stood up over Adam and saw that his breathing was weak and ragged. It was almost pathetic. Correction. It was pathetic. If there one of the things Leone liked the most was bringing down guys like Adam to near death and hearing their pleas for mercy. Except she kinda figured Adam wasn't the type to beg for his life.

That suited her just fine. “You know what’s funny about this? I could’ve killed you a hell of a lot sooner but like I said before. I want to make regret what you’ve done. She applied pressure to Adam’s chest and he grunted in pain more. “But no amount of your suffering will ever be enough for me so I’ll do to you what I did to the last guy I hated.” Leone clasped her hands tighter once again and raised them over her head. “Bashing your face in.” She stared intently at the other Faunus. “Any last words?” All Adam did was growl at her. “Good enough.” Leone yelled as she started to deliver the final blow. Suddenly a spotlight shined upon them and that made the Faunus blonde stop her attack. She also heard a loud humming sound where the light was coming from and the wind was blowing against her. “What the hell?!”

Adam smiled as it appeared luck was on his side. An airship with his brethren appeared and started firing at Leone. She jumped off of Adam and back to avoid the gunfire and saw the hatch up where several White Fang members rappel down near where Adam was. “Sir! We’re here to pull you out. That giant Grimm Dragon is almost here. We’re leaving.” Two of them picked Adam up and his weapons. One of them tugged at the line and they were hoisted back up into the shuttle.

Leone growled at them and began chasing them. “Get back here!” Adam took one last look at the other Faunus before the hatch fully closed and took off quickly. Leone growled and yelled out in frustration. “DAMN IT!”

In the shuttle, the members were astonished Adam was left in such a brutal state. He was lying on a platform and was administered medical help. “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, who was that Faunus woman?”

Adam closed his hands tightly. “An abomination to Faunus everywhere.”

**B**

Back at the docks, everyone was waiting patiently to be evacuated via air shuttle. Among them was Blake who was holding her girlfriend’s hand crying while both were laying on the floor. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Yang.” Weiss was horrified that something like that had happened to her teammate.

“Weiss!” The heiress suddenly turned around was relieved Ruby was unharmed. The young leader approached the group. “What happened?”

Weiss looked away from the other girl. “Ruby…I’m so sorry.”

Ruby didn’t understand what she meant by that until she saw the state her sister was in gasped. “Yang…no.”

Esdeath was tapping her foot impatiently as she was making a call to her leader. “Come on…come on…”

The call finally went through. _“Hello?”_

Esdeath was happy to hear her leader again. “Akame? Thank god. Where are you? Everyone is at the docks.”

_“I’m at the school. I was retrieving Murasame in hopes of fighting the creature who made that roar.”_

Esdeath thought the other girl was crazy. “Are you serious?! You can’t take that thing on!”

_“Murasame’s poison is capable of killing anything it can cut into. I’m confident it can get the job done. What about your end? What’s going on?”_

Esdeath looked around the scene. “We’re missing three people. Jaune and Pyrrha are nowhere to be found and Leone ran off somewhere but that’s not the worst of it.”

_“What is then?”_

Esdeath hesitated to tell the other girl but had to. “It’s Yang. Blake came back to us carrying her on her shoulder but Yang somehow lost an arm. Blake’s pretty broken up about it but there’s something else.”

_“And what is that?”_

Esdeath sighed. “When Blake came back with Yang, she told us that Leone is fighting against a member of the White Fang.”

Weiss heard that and was surprised as she turned to Esdeath. “Leone is fighting against the White Fang!?”

_“I know Leone can handle herself. When she gets back, tell her what I told you. I’ll be heading to the tower where I can get the highest elevation.”_

Esdeath sighed but she trusted Akame with her plan. “Alright but get back to us quickly as possible, okay?”

_“Understood.”_ The call ended.

Kurome walked up to Esdeath. “So?”

The other girl looked at the younger sister. “Akame is alright. She had to get something to deal with that giant creature who made the roar.” Like Esdeath, Kurome thought her sister was out of her gourd.

Cornelia was keeping a lookout for said missing people and saw one walking towards them. “Leone!” Blake heard her daughter’s name and looked over to where Cornelia and Esdeath were running over to her. She was relieved Leone wasn’t harmed but was wondering what happened to Adam. So did Cornelia. "There you are, Leone. Where did you run off to?" Leone didn't reply as her head lowered. "Leone?"

The Faunus blonde gritted her teeth. “I’m sorry.” Her two teammates didn’t understand what Leone had to apologize for. She dropped to her hands and knees and started to cry as she looked over to Yang. “I’m sorry mom.” Leone continued to cry. Cornelia kneeled down in front of Leone and gave her a much needed comforting hug.

Ruby knew how her niece felt. She looked around the area and sure enough like Esdeath said, Jaune and Pyrrha weren’t around. “Where are Jaune and Pyrrha?”

Ren and Nora looked at the young leader. “Pyrrha ran off into the tower for some reason and Jaune followed. We haven’t seen them since.” Nora explained.

The young leader narrowed her eyes and knew what to do next. “I’m going after them. I’ll be back.”

Ruby turned around and before she could go, Weiss stopped her. “Not so fast.” The young leader looked over the heiress who was giving her a serious look. “I’m coming with you. Got it?”

The younger girl smiled at her. “Sure thing. Let’s go.” Both girls left the group in hopes of finding their missing friends. Esdeath saw the two leave and felt a little jealous Weiss was going with Ruby but right now her teammate needed her more. She could only hope everyone can make it out okay after all of this was over.

**B**

Akame continued making her way to the tower fast as possible through the hallways. While doing so, she was thinking about this whole thing that was happening. _“The Grimm invasion, the White Fang attacking, the fact that Beacon is being subjected as a target. It all must have a reason. The question is…if Cinder is behind all of this, why is she doing this in the first place?”_ Before Akame could question more about it, she heard that same screech and covered her ears. Once it stopped, Akame ran out to the nearest balcony and saw that it was a giant Grimm dragon. _“So that’s what it was.”_ She glanced over at Murasame for a moment before looking at the Grimm again which was holding onto the side of the tower. This was her chance now. Akame jumped to the rooftop and started to make her way to the tower. The Grimm she saw roared quietly for some reason. That didn’t bother her as she was sure it would come around again. She made a dash to the tower quickly and began seeing flashes of light from where it looked to be Ozpin’s office. _“Someone must be fighting.”_ Akame ran faster in hopes of helping whoever was fighting. She saw the dragon take off for some reason and saw it circle around toward back to the tower. Akame knew what was going to happen next. The dragon crashed through the tower and part of it was falling to the ground. The shockwave reached over to where Akame was and made a misstep and started to tumble off the rooftop.

She managed to grab the edge before falling and quickly pulled herself up. "That was too close." Akame looked at the dragon and sure enough, it was going to be a pain but it would be worth it. She resumed running on top of the rooftop before approaching the tower. Akame jumped off the roof across to the lower platform of the tower. There she looked up and saw a way for her go up. Akame jumped in between the pillar and the wall while propelling herself up to where the tower broke off. Once she neared the top, Akame jumped at an angle and made it to the top. As she did, Akame witnessed Cinder shooting an arrow at Pyrrha and pierced the top of her chest. She saw her friend trying to breathe while Cinder calmly walking over to her and placed a hand on her head before Pyrrha's body glowed and then dissipating into the wind until she was fully gone. All that was left was the head crown Pyrrha had worn while Cinder gripped it and let go so it could fall to the ground.

made her feel fury. What’s more is that she glared angrily at the woman who was responsible. Akame quickly drew out Murasame and charged at her. “CINDER!” 

 Cinder looked to the side and created her dust swords to block Akame’s incoming attack. The two swords clashed against each other and Cinder smiled at the new arrival. “What do we have here? I didn’t expect to see you.” She conjured a blast of fire to separate the two and Akame landed across the other girl. Akame continued to glare angrily at Cinder which she just loved. “What’s the matter? Mad because I happened to end one of your friend’s life?”

Akame wanted nothing more than to end Cinder’s life. “Why? Why did you kill Pyrrha? Why do all of this?”

It was an amusing question to Cinder. “Why you ask? She paid the price in challenging me. I already had what I needed but she had to go and play the big hero. As for your second question, it’s to bring about a new age. This is nothing more than the first step toward a new world.” Cinder noticed the sword Akame was using. “So you’re using that sword again. I’ve only seen you use it once back when the Grimm was attacking the city back then. What makes it so special?”

Akame was all too happy to demonstrate that to her. “You’re about to find out.” She pointed Murasame at the other girl. “Cinder Fall…by my own hands, I will bury you!”

Cinder smiled at the choice of words. “Not if I bury you first. Six feet below the ground.”

Akame took a running start and swung Murasame from the side. Cinder swung one of her swords from under to deflect the oncoming attack and swung her other one at Akame. Akame jumped back to avoid it and gained distance between the two. That only worked to Cinder’s advantage as her eyes glowed and her weapons vanished. She floated in the air and shot out fire from her hand as they were headed straight to Akame. Akame began running to the side to avoid the fire attack. Cinder continued attacking the other girl with her fire attacks until Akame found a break in between the attacks and used the opportunity. Cinder held out her hand and managed to block the attack with ease using an aura based shield. Her eyes glowed again and a pillar of fire erupted. Akame screamed and the pillar subsided. Cinder placed her hand in front of Akame and blasted her with another of her fire attacks. Akame was sent away again and crashed onto the floor. Cinder scoffed at the girl. “I have to say I’m a tad disappointed in you. I thought you put up much more of a fight after seeing what you can do.

Akame stood up again and was ready for the next round. She observed the girl in front of her carefully. “You know, Akame. There’s something I’ve always wondered about you and your Faunus friend. Who are you? Really. Because there is no information about Akame Night and Leone Wild in any previous data before you joined Beacon. Care to clarify that?”

At this point, Akame didn’t see any reason to keep her identity a secret. “Fine then.” She closed her hand and pounded the top of her chest with it. “My name is Akame Night. A student who attends Beacon Academy in becoming a huntress but before that I was once an assassin from another world from a place called the Imperial Capital where I was a part of a team called Night Raid. We rid the world of people like you and that still stands true now.”

After hearing that explanation, Cinder chuckled. “An assassin you say? Now it makes sense. I wondered why the look in your eyes was different than the rest. You’ve actually seen death before.” Akame just stared at her. “Why don’t you join me instead? I’m sure I can put your set of skills to better use.”

Akame narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “Like I would accept such an offer from you.”

Cinder shrugged. “Oh well. Had to give it a shot. One more question. Do you believe in destiny?”

Akame knew the answer to that question a long time ago. “I believe in making my own destiny.”

Her eyes glowed and put hands forward as a stream of fire erupted from her palms. Akame vanished before the attack was able to reach her. She reappeared over to Cinder’s side and swung her sword but Cinder managed to block the attack with her shield. Akame disappeared after that and reappeared once again to Cinder’s other side and attacked. Cinder blocked the next attack using the same kind of shield from before but Akame vanished yet again. The trick was getting old for her. Or so she thought when Cinder started seeing multiple images of Akame surrounding her. Cinder looked around and tried to figure out which was the real Akame. Then she thought why bother trying to figure which was the real Akame. Her eyes glowed as fire surrounded her arms as she crossed then uncrossed them to deliver a wide range fire attack all around. The fire managed to hit all the afterimages and they disappeared. Cinder looked around quickly to find Akame but she was nowhere in sight. That is until she sensed something and looked up to see Akame swinging her sword from above.

She jumped back to avoid the attack as her eyes glowed and sent her arm forward to deliver another stream of fire. Akame back flipped to avoid the attack and then sidestep with a little power behind it to reach Cinder quickly. She started attacking her in an erratic fashion swinging Murasame from all directions wildly. Cinder responded by trying to block all the attacks with her shields. She was having trouble keeping up with all the attacks. Akame was certainly more tenacious then Pyrrha. Cinder’s eyes glowed and her shields exploded which caused Akame to temporarily stop her attacks. Cinder crossed her arms and formed her dust swords once again. Going on the defensive wasn’t going to help so she figured to deal with Akame at her own game. She lunged forward while uncrossing her arms and her swords clashed against Murasame. The sudden attack pushed Akame back but not by much. She rushed back again at Cinder and swung her sword at the other girl. Cinder swung both of hers and the two weapons clashed once more. From there, both girls began to exchange swift attacks at each other while blocking the other's attacks. Cinder was impressed that her opponent could keep up with someone who wielded two swords but wondered how much longer Akame could keep up. After another attack from each other weapons, Cinder raised her swords along with Murasame and her eyes glowed. This time, she delivered a swift fiery kick to Akame from the side. The attack sent her away and Akame crashed into some of the discarded gears from the destroyed room. Cinder didn't want to waste this chance so her swords disappeared and her eyes glowed again. She swung her arms in a circular fashion and fire erupted following the pattern to where Akame was.

Akame opened up her eyes just to see the fire attack coming her way. The fire struck her and then shot up as a pillar into the night sky. Cinder smirked as she knew that would get the job done. "You've done much better this time, Akame." All of a sudden a dark red smoke replaced the fire pillar and a shockwave came out of the same place striking Cinder. She flew back a few feet and landed on the floor. The Grimm dragon that was still nearby gave a thunderous bellow. As she stood up, Cinder saw the smoke clear up and saw Akame in that same form from her fight against Kurome. Cinder giggled as she was all too happy seeing that once more. "So you're finally taking this seriously. Good. I want to see you at your best, Akame Night." Her eyes brightly this time and stayed that way as she floated in the air. She raised her arm from under and a wave of fire was coming straight at Akame. Akame vanished to avoid the attack and reappeared at Cinder’s side. She expected that, though. “You’re not getting away!” Cinder swung her arms all around and fire appeared all around the area until it completely engulfed with this flames. The flames quickly died down and Cinder looked around to find any trace of Akame. So far there seemed to be no sign of her. Still, something didn’t seem quite right with her. _“I know she can’t be done in this easily. Where did she go?”_

Cinder then suddenly felt a powerful slash to her right side from behind and in front was Akame holding Murasame to the side while crouching down. Cinder let out a cry of pain and dropped to the floor. “It’s over now.”

Cinder was clutching her side tightly while glaring at the other girl. “What do you mean?” An even worse pain appeared and she looked down at her side seeing strange markings spreading quickly from the wound. “What is this?”

Akame stood up while her back was turned to Cinder. “The One Cut Killer Imperial Arms Murasame. As the name implies, once I cut into my opponent’s flesh with it, a deadly poison will quickly spread through your body until it reaches the heart and effectively killing you. You’ve lost this battle Cinder.”

Cinder chuckled which surprised Akame as she turned around to see the other girl smile. “Have I now? I’ll have you know there’s more than one way to rid something like this.” Her eyes flared up and yelled as fire surrounded her. The fire shot up into the sky and Akame had no idea what Cinder was planning. The fire subsided and Akame saw Cinder in the same position as before. That is until she was able to stand up without a problem and smiled at the girl. “That feels much better.”

Akame couldn’t believe what had happened. She had just witnessed the impossible. “It…can’t be. You couldn’t have neutralized the poison.”

Cinder was loving this new expression Akame was having. “It was nasty I’ll tell you that but one thing you didn’t count on is that I possess the power of the Fall Maiden. Such a trivial problem can be easily dealt with.”

“Fall Maiden?” Akame had never heard such a thing before.

Hearing that amused Cinder as she shook her head. “Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk. You poor girl. You have no idea what you’re really in. This is far beyond what you can comprehend. Now let me show you the power of the Fall Maiden!" Her eyes glowed brightly as she yelled and brought her arms up. The fire erupted from where Akame was standing and enveloped her completely. She screamed as the fire continued to twist and turn upward. Cinder crossed her arms as she brought them in only for more fire from the sides come into the fray and add more to her attack. She uncrossed her arms and lowered her hand as the fire died down only to leave Akame barely standing. Even with that, Cinder was amazed. "I'm surprised you're still able to stand after that." Akame was panting heavily as she held on her right shoulder and heavily injured. Cinder floated down to the ground and summoned her swords only to combine them into a bow. She already created three arrows lined up at the other girl. “Time to end this.” Cinder fired all three at once.

Akame saw the arrows heading toward her and deflected two of the arrows. She swung Murasame head on at the last arrow. Two opposing forces met and Akame managed to deflect the arrow only for it to change course and pierced through her right shoulder. Akame cried out in pain as she clutched to where the arrow had struck and dropped to her knees. Another arrow was shot into her left thigh and Akame cried out in pain more. The markings disappeared as a result. This seemed almost like déjà vu to Cinder and she would make sure to end it the same. She walked calmly over to where the other girl was. “Before I finish you off Akame, I must thank you first for what you’ve done.”

Akame looked up at Cinder and didn’t understand what she meant by that. “What are you talking about?”

Cinder stopped just outside of the range in case Akame decided to attack with her sword. “You’re the one who started this. You see, Grimm are attracted to negative emotions and when you did that little transformation of yours back in your match, it unleashed those same emotions all in one place. Anger, hatred, malice, all of those released at once in a single location and the Grimm sensed it. That paved the way to what’s happening now. I guess in a way…it’s your fault that your friend died.” Akame didn’t have a reply to that. Cinder created another arrow and pulled it back as she aimed it straight at Akame’s chest. “Farewell, Akame Night.”

Even staring at an arrow pointing at her, Akame didn’t waver. She had a brush with death countless times before and this was no different. She stared at her death with no fear in her eyes. The only difference was she had something to lose. The friends she made, her team, and Leone. In the end, Akame had no choice but to accept it. “Akame!” Suddenly both girls saw a powerful bright light that seemed to envelop them and the Grimm dragon completely. That bright light was the last thing Akame ever saw.

 


	38. Bitter Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Eight: Bitter Aftermath

White. That was all Akame could see as far as she could. She couldn’t hear anything either except for that annoying ringing sound. _“Where…am I?”_

_“Akame? Akame! Come on wake up!”_

_“She’s not waking up.”_

_“What the hell happened up there?”_

_“Please be okay.”_

Akame looked around after hearing all of that. _“Who’s talking?”_

_“What do we do now?”_

_“I’ll look after her. You do what you need to do.”_

The voices Akame was hearing did sound familiar to her but couldn’t place them. _‘Hello!? Can anyone hear me!?”_

_“Akame.”_

That voice sounded different than the previous one and turned around to see a person she’s never seen before. From her appearance, it seemed she wasn’t human since the floating green hair was a dead giveaway. Her outfit was nothing more than a simple white dress and was barefoot. _“Who are you?”_

The figure continued to look at another girl. _“There has been a dramatic shift in the balance and you yourself have been caught in it. This upcoming battle will prove to the most difficult you have ever encountered. I pray that you have the strength as you will need it to see through this to the end.”_

She began to fade out but Akame tried to reach out to her. _“Wait!”_

**_?_ **

“Come back!” Akame instantly sat up on a bed with her hand still stretching out. It finally registered to her that she was in a room that was not familiar to her. From the look it, it seemed to be the infirmary but it couldn’t be the one from Beacon. Second, she noticed was that she was wearing somebody else's pajamas. Akame placed a hand on her face as she recalled what she saw before. _“Was that…just a dream?”_

“Akame?”

Akame heard a familiar voice and looked to the side to see… “Kurome?”

Kurome smiled as she jumped from her chair to hug her sister. “You’re finally awake! I’m so glad!”

Akame was taken a bit back by this since she didn’t know how to react. That is until she remembered something important. “Kurome…” She broke the hug and grabbed her sister by the arms. “What happened to Beacon? What happened to the others? Where am I?”

The younger sister was a little hesitant to answer those questions. She moved Akame’s hands off of her. “To answer one of your questions, you’re at my school. We brought you here after this one guy with a sword came back carrying you and Ruby unconscious. I kinda figured you and Leone don’t have a place to return to so I asked the headmistress to see if you two could stay here. Thankfully she said yes. As for two of your teammates, they were very adamant about not leaving you behind so they're getting their transfer papers ready. All of you can still be a team at my school."

Akame was happy to hear that but it didn’t quell the worry she had. “And what about Beacon? What happened to it?”

“Nothing good I’ll tell you that.”

Akame gasped at the voice and looked over at the doorway and couldn’t believe her eyes. Kurome was also surprised by the sudden new arrival leaning on the side of the doorway and stood up. “Oh. Headmistress Najenda.” Hearing that name pretty much confirmed Akame’s doubts. Not only this person was her former leader but apparently she was the person who adopted Kurome. She also noticed that this Najenda lacked the eye patch and robotic arm.

Najenda placed some sort of cigarette in her mouth and lit it up with a lighter. “Beacon has become a hot spot for Grimm. They’re crawling all over the place now. To finish up that image, that giant Grimm dragon is frozen solid now. Not sure how something like that can happen but it’s not a problem for now.” She blew out some smoke. “On top of that, there are rumors saying that Ozpin disappeared without a trace. Some say he ran away while others say he died but I don’t believe in either of those. He’s not the type to do both.”

Akame grabbed the sheets tightly after hearing all of that. She had to know something else. “Did they find a woman on top of that destroyed tower?”

Najenda continued to smoke her cigarette. “From what reports say, no. There’ve been no sightings of anyone anywhere near the school.”

That confirmed Akame’s worst fear. _“So Cinder did escape after all.”_ It was more of a hit to her pride since she had never let a target escape. Much less a target like Cinder.

There was one more question she needed to know. “How long was I out for?”

Najenda blew out another puff of smoke. “You’ve been out of it for a whole week since it happened Akame.” Akame lowered her head after hearing that. A week. If felt more like last night to her after everything that had happened. In the end, the enemy had won while they were licking their wounds from the battle. Najenda turned her back on the two girls. “Your two weapons have been recovered and are in safe keeping for now. Although I must say one of them is quite finicky. I’ll have Kurome look after you a little longer until you can walk on your own. Expect the rest of your team arriving sometime soon here. I’ll see you around.” She walked away from the two girls.

Kurome couldn’t help but sigh at the headmistress’ habit. “I keep telling her to break that habit. I don’t care if E-cigs are a substitute.” She smiled at her sister. “So now you met her. What do you think?”

Overall, Akame was glad to see Najenda again. She was even a headmistress to a school which was something Akame didn’t expect. “She appears to be nice.”

Her sister scoffed at that. "Yeah, at first but I'll tell you she can be strict." Apparently, Najenda hadn't changed at all.

Still, this was a lot for Akame to take in. Beacon being overrun with Grimm, Ozpin somehow disappeared which was strange for Akame to hear, Cinder being MIA, and her being out a full week ever since that event happened. She turned to her sister. “What happened to the others?”

Kurome slightly looked away from the other girl. “I don’t know much about that. All of us just…went our separate ways after we arrived at a safe zone. My team and I carried you to our school.”

That wasn’t the answer Akame wanted. Basically, everyone was in the dark. “What about Ruby and her team?”

Her sister lowered her head. “From what I know, nothing good. Both Ruby and Yang went back to their home, Weiss was picked up by her big shot dad, and Blake…I don’t know. She just…disappeared.” Akame lowered her head as well. It seemed Ruby’s team suffered the most as all of them were basically separated at this point. “There have also been rumors that Pyrrha’s been killed during the attack since no one has seen her since. Know anything about that?”

Akame suddenly thought back to that moment where she saw Pyrrha die before her eyes. “I’m afraid that’s true. Cinder was the one that did it. She did it before I arrived.”

Kurome was silent for a few seconds. “So it is true. Damn it.”

Akame still couldn't believe Pyrrha was really gone. It was like losing her comrades back in Night Raid all over again. Except for this time, she could've done something about if she had just arrived a few seconds earlier. Akame still remembered those words Cinder said to her. _“I guess in a way…it's your fault that your friend died."_

That hit Akame the most. _“Was all of this…my fault?”_ That question would haunt her for a long time. But for right now, that question can wait. There was one more thing Akame needed to know and looked over at her sister. “Earlier you said that my team will be going to this school. You mentioned Cora and Esdeath are getting papers ready to transfer over. What about Leone? Where’s she?”

Kurome looked back at her older sister. “She’s…”

**B**

Leone took a small sip of tea from her cup while sitting down in a comfy chair and smiled at the taste. “This is delicious Mr. Xiao Long.”

Taiyang chuckled at the compliment. “Thank and I keep telling you to call me Taiyang. You’re an important friend to Ruby and Yang. Or so what Yang has told me about you.”

The Faunus blonde set the cup down on the table. “Right. Sorry.” Leone was currently in Patch. The place where Ruby and Yang grew up in. Her reason being there was looking after her mother while Akame was still out of it which did worry her. Kurome did reassure her that she’ll look after her sister while Leone could spend as much time as possible with her mother. That was over a week ago. Since then, she has been sleeping over at the Xiao Long residence and actually getting to know her grandfather whether Taiyang didn’t know about that little fact. She did notice him staring at her a little and chuckled. “Still trying to get used to my appearance?”

Taiyang laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. “I’m sorry. It’s just when Qrow told he met a girl who looked similar to Yang, I thought he was joking. Guess the joke was on me when I couldn’t believe my own eyes seeing you for the first time knocking on our door. You could pass off as her Faunus twin.”

Leone thought that was funny. “You can say something like that.” She stood up and grabbed a basket of apples she picked out from the forest that was sitting on a table with a cutting knife residing with the apples. “I’ll be taking these up to Yang.”

Taiyang nodded at that. “Of course. Let me know if you want something to eat.”

The Faunus blonde smiled at that. “Will do.” She started to make her leave. Leone made her way up the stairs and saw the door open to Yang’s room. Once she approached the doorway, Leone saw Yang still in the same spot. Sitting on her bed while looking out the window. What crushed the Faunus blonde the most was that the fire Yang had before was snuffed out. Seeing that stump that was once her arm didn’t help either. Leone had never seen her mother so defeated. She knocked on the doorway a few times and Yang looked over to see her daughter smiling. “Hey there.” Yang just returned looking back outside the window. Leone sighed as she approached the bed and pulled up a chair near it. She began to cut off the skin of one of the apples with the knife. There was silence between them for a few minutes. “You know…I’ve lost my arm at one time too.” She internally facepalmed at the subject matter. _"Good going, Leone."_ She continued cutting the apple.

It continued to be silent between the two girls. “If you lost it, how did you get it back on?”

Leone smiled at the question. “A teammate of mine, Lubb. He and I had this pretty amazing combo where he stitched my arm back up using Cross-Tail and my trump card back then quickly healed it up. Wasn’t long until my arm was good as new.”

Yang didn’t show a reaction to that. “Wish something like that could happen to me.”

Her daughter stopped cutting the knife and gritted her teeth. “I’ve told you before. I’m sorry. I would’ve killed that bastard if his crew didn’t show up.”

Yang continued looking out the window. “Killing him wouldn’t bring back my arm.”

Leone didn't need to be reminded of that and sighed. "I know. It's just I wanted him to pay for what he did to you."

At this point, Yang didn’t care about payback. What Adam took from her was more than her arm. It was her future. There was something else on Yang’s mind as well. “Why do you think she did it?”

Leone knew what her mother was talking about. “Do you mean Blake?”

Yang grabbed her bedsheet tightly as she felt that same feeling when she first heard about what her girlfriend did after they left Beacon. “Who else? Why did she leave me? Why couldn’t she just stay? I thought she loved me but I guess not.”

The Faunus blonde crushed the apple after hearing that. “Of course she freaking loved you! How could you say something like that!?” Her mother paid no attention to the outburst. Leone calmed down a little and looked away. “You of all people should know better about dad. I know for one thing she wouldn’t leave without a reason.” If only Yang had her daughter’s optimism. She was absolutely crushed when she found out that Blake just up and abandoned the whole team the way she did. Of course, she knew better than that but she wanted to know the reason why.  Leone took out another apple and began cutting the skin once again. “Ruby still isn’t over about Weiss, is she?” Ruby. Even in her state, Yang could tell her sister was still upset about Weiss’ leaving but that was only the beginning. She’s been spending a lot of time to herself recently and that’s where probably Ruby is now. Somewhere out in the forest with her thoughts.  What truly set her off was the letter Weiss had left behind. Leone knew about the letter too. In fact, she remembered what it said after coming here for the first time.

_F_

It was an early morning and Leone was the second to wake up. The first being Taiyang. She made her way over to Ruby’s room and knocked on her door a few times. “Ruby, you up yet? Your dad is making chocolate chip pancakes.” She didn’t hear a reply. “Ruby?” The Faunus blonde opened the door and saw Ruby was still sleeping in her bed. Leone quietly chuckled at the sight. “Still sleeping huh?” She walked over to the younger and proceeded to wake her up. That is until she saw a letter resting on the nightstand next to the bed with a snowflake insignia on it. Curiosity got the better of her and picked up the letter as Leone proceeded to read it.

_“Dear Ruby,_

_I’m sorry you had to find out this way but I’m going back to Atlas with my father. After what happened at Beacon, he thought it would be safer for me to return home. Of course, I objected to that but he didn’t care. I had little time to prepare so I used it in writing this letter to you. I have so many things to say but I’m afraid I cannot tell them in this so I’ll speak from my heart._

_Ruby, even though we may have started out rocky and being unkind to you but as time passed on, I began to appreciate you and the team I was on. I had so much fun with all of you and I will miss those times. Most of all, I will miss you. I will miss everything about you. Your smile, your laughter, your carefree attitude which I envied so much. It won't be same without them._

_You were without a doubt someone I was lucky to know of and spend time with. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I was hoping to tell you something important later on but I’m afraid I don’t have that choice any longer so I’ll just say it. I have fallen for you, Ruby Rose. Esdeath had made me realize these feelings I’ve had for you before I even knew about them._

_No, I did know but didn’t act upon them until I saw you how you acted around her. As soon as I admitted that, I tried to find a way to convey my feelings to you. I thought of giving you a present that was meaningful was a good idea and then I would properly confess to you. However, it seems that will never happen now. I'm sorry you had to find out this way._

_I can only hope that somehow, someday, we can be reunited once more. And not just you. Our team as well because I will not accept any other than team RWBY led by you._ _I know you can get through this no matter how difficult things might be for you. I believe in you. Goodbye, Ruby._

_Love,_

_Weiss Schnee_

_P.S: I hope Yang recovers from this as well. Give her my regards._

After reading all of that, Leone set the card down to where it once was and looked at the sleeping girl. _“Poor Ruby. To find out that Weiss had feelings for her in this way. Can’t imagine what her reaction was.”_ Leone thought she wasted enough time and rubbed Ruby’s shoulder a little “Ruby. Come on Ruby. Time to get up.”

She heard slightly mumbling and Ruby opened up her eyes to see the Faunus blonde. “Leone?”

The other girl smiled at her. “Time to get up. Your dad is making breakfast.”

Ruby smiled at that and got out of bed quickly. “Okay then. Thanks for waking me up.” She then ran out of the door in hopes of eating as many pancakes as possible. Leone laughed while she saw Ruby leave. The Faunus blonde looked over at the bed and noticed several wet spots on the pillow.

_F_

It seemed both sisters have hit hard times. Ruby finding out Weiss had feelings for her through a letter of all things after her leaving and Yang losing her arm. On top of that, their whole team was practically disbanded now. She didn’t know how they would come back after all of this. Leone suddenly felt a vibration in her pocket and pulled out her scroll. It was a text from Kurome. The two girls decided to exchange scroll numbers after Kurome reassured her she would look after Akame while Leone would go to Patch. The Faunus blonde thought there could only be one reason why Kurome would be texting her now. She smiled at the text. _“Akame woke up.”_

Leone proceeded to text back. _“Thanks for the heads up.”_ She pressed send.

“Someone’s happy.”

The Faunus blonde looked at Yang. “Got a text saying Akame woke up.”

Yang looked away from her daughter. “I guess that’s good.”

Leone wasn't all too thrilled with her mother's change in attitude but really couldn't blame her. She did lose an arm. "I'll be heading back tomorrow. Figured I can stick around for one more day.” She made deal with Kurome that if Akame ever woke up, she would return back to the school.

“Least Akame has someone she can see again." Yang spoke without any empathy in her voice.

Her daughter just sighed as she finished skinning the apple and began to cut it into several pieces. Leone offered one of the pieces to her. “Care to try one?” Yang looked back at her daughter and saw the offered piece. Even Yang wouldn't be rude enough to turn down something offered by her daughter. All in all, she was grateful for the amount of time Leone had spent with her after everything went down and had to deal with her attitude time to time. Yang closed her eyes and opened her mouth slightly. Leone smiled as she inserted the piece in her mother’s mouth and Yang ate it.

 


	39. Where it Began and Where it will End

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Two

Kill Thirty Nine: Where it Began and Where it will End

Night at Patch was always peacefully quiet. It was one of the things Leone liked about it. For Yang, it was just another night trying to get used to sleeping with her missing arm. Her thoughts about her missing girlfriend didn'There was two constant thought always going through her mind. _“Where are you Blake and why?”_ They were questions she desperately wanted an answer for. It was these questions that made her restless for quite some time. Yang shifted around in her bed a few times before she heard a small and she sat up. “Who’s there?”

“Yang…”

The blonde gasped at the familiarity of the voice. It wasn’t until the clouds blocking the light of the moon moved out of the way and the light went through the window to illuminate the room. It was then Yang gasped as she couldn’t believe who it was before her bed. “B-Blake?” There were many emotions going through the blonde now that her girlfriend was in front of her. She even thought this was a dream she was having. It was it, Yang hoped she would never wake up. She reached out her arm to the other girl. “Tell me that’s really you.”

Blake's face remained somber as she walked over to Yang's bed. She stood next to it and took the other girl's hand. The Faunus girl had forgotten how warm Yang's hand was and Yang had forgotten what Blake’s hand felt like. Yang had missed this feeling so much and there were so much more going through her. One of them was anger as she suddenly pulled her girlfriend in and headbutted her straight at the forehead. Blake cried out and fell down on the floor. Apparently, all that time Weiss said that Yang had a thick skull was actually true. "What the hell Blake?" Yang wanted to yell but everyone was sleeping at this time so she yelled quietly as possible not to wake everyone up. "You just left me. Me, of all people who's missing a freaking arm. Where were you when I needed you the most?" Her expression changed from angry to sad and tears began to form out of her eyes. "Where were you, Blake?" Yang started to cry.

Blake lowered her head as she knew she deserved that hit. “I’m sorry.” The Faunus girl spoke. “I can’t imagine what you had to go through.”

Yang stopped crying momentarily and glared at the other girl. “You think?’ I lost my arm, my future, and I find out that my girlfriend turned tail on me when I needed her the most.”

The Faunus girl closed her hands tightly as she refused to look at Yang. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.”

Yang heard Blake begin to cry as well and that lessened her anger toward the girl. “What do you mean it’s your fault?”

Several tears dropped to the floor from Blake. “It’s because I wasn’t strong enough. If I wasn’t so weak, you would still have your arm. I blame myself because I hurt the woman I love. I couldn't stand it so I left. Like everything else, I ran away from my problems instead of facing them. Except for this time, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened on that night. That scene where Adam severed your arm haunted me to no end and I've felt worse as each day passed until I couldn't take it anymore. So I decided to come here and do what I should've done before. That’s why I’m here now.”

After hearing all of that, Yang's anger was completely gone. Now she had the answers she wanted to know. Blake had blamed herself for Yang's misfortune and was wrought with guilt because of it. The blonde could tell it mustn't have been easy for the Faunus girl in coming here and face in what was to be her biggest failure. Yang sighed and for the first time, she managed to step out of her bed. Blake picked up the subtle noise of bedsheets moving and accepted whatever she deserved. She wouldn't be surprised if Yang decided to break up with her since she had already prepared for that conclusion. Yang kneeled down in front of the Faunus girl and in a surprise twist, she wrapped her arm around the other girl. Blake gasped in surprise as she didn't expect this and Yang just smiled. "I don't blame you for what happened to my arm. In fact, I kinda blame myself since I did charge in without a second thought. The only thing that was on my mind was saving you. Losing my arm does hurt me but the thought of not seeing you anymore hurts a lot worse. I'm just…happy to see you again."

Blake didn’t know what to say. She was expecting the worst case scenario and was given forgiveness instead. The Faunus girl began to cry again as she wrapped her arms around the blonde. Yang brought her in closer. “It’s alright now. Cry as much as you want. Let it all out.” As she said that, tears began to fall from Yang’s eyes once again but in happiness. The two were together once again.

**B**

Morning came as the sunlight shined through the windows in Ruby’s room and the young leader woke up. She sat up on her bed and yawned while stretching out her arms. Ruby looked over at the other bed and saw Leone still asleep. She smiled and moved out of her bed to start off her day by checking in on her sister. The young leader walked over to the door and opened it. Ruby left the room and made her way down to Yang’s room. It’s been a habit of hers ever since she saw the state her sister was in. Once Ruby reached Yang’s door, she opened and what she saw next made her scream. The scream was loud enough for Leone to wake up and she jumped out of the bed in the next second. The Faunus blonde ran over to where Ruby was and funny enough Taiyang was doing the same. “What happened?” Both asked at the same time. They saw Ruby all shook up and pointed at Yang’s bed. The two looked at the direction were surprised by what they were seeing. Yang and Blake sleeping together in the same bed with Yang having a smile. For Taiyang, he wondered who this girl was sleeping with his daughter and how she managed to get into his house. Upon a closer look, he saw that the girl was a Faunus. For Leone, she just smiled at the sight before.

**B**

After waking up, Yang explained to her father that this girl was her missing partner Blake. He was still concerned how she was able to break into his home but seeing the change in Yang was more important to him. He could tell the difference was like night and day. She was happy, smiling, and laughing. Ruby was all too happy seeing her teammate again and giving her a big hug. Leone had no doubt in her father would come back. Just a little sooner than she expected. Taiyang made a big tasty breakfast for everyone and for once Yang was downstairs enjoying it with her family. Once it was done, Leone packed up her belongings in her duffle bag as she was preparing to leave. All of them were standing in front of the house with Leone looking at her family. Taiyang smiled at her. “Thank you for spending time with us. I’m sure Yang here appreciated your company.”

His unknown granddaughter smiled back. “I was just happy to help, that’s all and it was nice meeting you for the first time.” She looked at her parents. “So what’s your plan now?”

Both girls looked at each other and smiled. They looked back at their daughter. “I’ve decided I’ll be staying here for a while. I’m done with running away and I’ll do all that I can to become stronger.”

Yang wrapped her arm around Blake’s neck and laughed. “And I’ll make sure that she does. Both of us.” Leone was glad to hear that. Her parents were always stronger together and could benefit from it. “Oh yeah.” Yang unwrapped her arm around Blake and reached into her pocket. What she pulled out was a bandana with her insignia on it. She presented it to her daughter. “I want you to have this. That way, even if I’m not there, I’ll always be with you.”

Leone loved the gift and gladly took it. “Thanks.”

Blake took off her ribbon freeing her cat ears and held it out in her hand to the other Faunus girl. “Take this too.” Both Yang and Leone were surprised by this since they both knew how much that bow meant to her. “It would make more sense if both of us are always with you.”

Her daughter slowly took the ribbon and held it like was it a treasure. Leone was overcome with emotion and hugged her parents. She was the verge of crying. “You two are the best, you know that?”

Both girls were happy to hear that and hugged her back. Taiyang couldn't help but be reminded when his family was this happy at one point. In fact, he could see just a little bit of that from the scene he was seeing before him. Ruby was just happy that they had their happy ending despite what happened before. “When you get back, tell Akame I said hi.”

Leone broke the hug and walked over to the young leader. She placed a hand on Ruby’s head and shuffled it a little. “I’ll be sure to do that.” The Faunus blonde removed her hand. “I know you can get through this.” She looked over at Taiyang and offered her hand. Her “grandfather” understood what she meant and grabbed it. They firmly shook hands and let go. With everything said and done, Leone began to walk away while waving goodbye to that. “See you later!” She looked in front at the road and narrowed her eyes. _“The next time we meet Adam, I’ll kill you the second we see each other.”_

Yang and her family waved goodbye back. “Take care of yourself!” They continued watching Leone walk away until they could no longer see her on the road. They stopped waving their hands and Yang already missed her daughter. “Think she’ll be fine?”

She suddenly felt Blake hold her hand and looked over at her smiling. “Of course.”

They continued to watch the empty road until they heard Taiyang clear his throat behind them. The two girls looked turned around and saw him with his arms crossed. “Blake, was it? If you’re serious about becoming stronger, I won’t hold back. Even if you happen to be…” He eyed on their hands.

The two noticed as well and separated their hands while blushing slightly. Yang giggled nervously. “So you’re going to train Blake dad?” She saw her dad nod which excited her. “That’s totally awesome! You’re going to get way strong Blake!” She hugged her girlfriend once again.

Blake was a little unsure about this. “Are you sure about this?”

Yang had no doubt in her mind. “Of course. How did you think I get so good? Ruby had uncle Qrow and I had dad. It’s so great you’ll be staying with us. Right Ruby?” She didn’t hear a reply and looked over at her sister who seemed to be lost in thought staring at the road. “Ruby?”

Her sister’s words finally made it through and she snapped out of it. “Uh…yeah. It’s really…great.”

That was an odd response from the younger girl. Taiyang clapped his hands a few times. “Okay girls, let’s get back inside the house. Yang, I’m glad you’re feeling much better but you still need your rest.”

His daughter understood completely. “Got it dad. Let’s go Blake.”

Her girlfriend nodded. “Right.”

All of them started to walk back to the house. All except one. Yang stopped along with Blake and looked back to see Ruby still staring at the road. “Ruby!”

Ruby got the message and turned around. “Sorry!” She walked back to her teammates.

Sometimes Yang worried about her sister. “Geez. Are you okay? You’re spacing out.”

Ruby gave a reassuring smiled at her sister. “I’m fine. I was just thinking, that’s all.” 

**B**

After landing in an airship port and a lot of walking, Leone made it to the school where she and her team will be from now on. Shade Academy. She saw up in front two familiar girls and laughed happily. “Akame!”

She ran over to the other girl as quickly as she could. Akame was glad to see her girlfriend again. "Hello, Leon-" And she couldn't finish her sentence because Leone shoved Akame’s face into her breasts while hugging her.

“I’m so happy to you again!” Her response was Akame’s words being muffled.

Kurome didn’t know what to comment on the scene before her. “Uh…I think you’re going to kill her that way.”

Leone broke the hug much to Akame’s relief as she gasped fresh air. “I thought I told you not to do that!”

The Faunus blonde laughed. “I thought you loved my breasts Akame. You said it so yourself a lot of times. Even how they felt in your-”

“Okay, that’s enough for now!”

Both girls looked over at Kurome who was slightly blushing. Leone thought that was enough teasing for now. “Thanks for looking after Akame while I was gone.” She looked back at Akame. “Oh yeah. Ruby says hi.”

Akame smiled at that. She hoped Ruby and Yang were okay after what had happened at that night in Beacon. Kurome stretched out her arms. “Well, guess I’ll leave you two alone for some catching up. See ya later.” She walked away from the other two girls.

Akame chuckled as she looked back at her girlfriend. “Come on. I have something to show you.”

**B**

“Wow. What a view.”

“Yes. It quite is. Kurome told me about this one time” Akame and Leone were both standing on top of the walls looking over the horizon. It was a breathtaking view of the town and the desert beyond it. They enjoyed the view a little while longer.

Leone chuckled at the question. “A lot better before I left. I have heard Ruby blaming herself sometimes for not making it to the top of the tower because there was sudden influx of Grimm showing up looking more riled than ever.”

After hearing that, Akame was reminded what Cinder said to her before. _“You see, Grimm are attracted to negative emotions and when you did that little transformation of yours back in your match, it unleashed those same emotions all in one place. Anger, hatred, malice, all of those released at once in a single location and the Grimm sensed it.”_

Akame was always wondering about what that meant. _“Does activating my semblance attract the Grimm?”_ She decided to ponder about that later on. “And what about Yang? How’s she?”

Leone smiled at the question. “At first she acted like anyone else who lost an arm. I did my best looking after her. Then this morning I saw Blake sleeping in her bed.”

Akame was quite surprised to hear that. “Wait, Blake was there?”

Her girlfriend nodded. “Yep. I think she arrived in the middle of last night. Those two must’ve talked because I’ve never seen those two happier when we all had breakfast together. By the way, Yang and Ruby’s dad is a really awesome cook.” Akame could tell her girlfriend had a good time over at her mother’s house. “You know, this kinda brings back memories.”

“What makes you say that?” Akame asked.

Leone continued to stare off into the distance. “We were standing on top of a wall seeing the sunrise before we went our separate ways and that was after the war.”

Now Akame made the connection. “Except we won the war and we’re not parting ways.”

The Faunus blonde admitted the other girl had a point. “Yeah, that’s true.” She sighed. “So what now?”

Akame wished she had the answer to that. “I’m not sure. Cora and Esdeath will arrive at this school so we can be a team, Beacon is in shambles, Ozpin has gone missing, and Cinder is still out there somewhere.”

Leone couldn’t help but laugh. “I bet neither of us expected this to go down. We left one life in hopes of having a new one only to be crapped on. It’s like no matter what, we’re always being sucked into something big.”

That was another thing Akame remembered what Cinder told her. _“You poor girl. You have no idea what you're really in. This is far beyond what you can comprehend.”_

Those words kept ringing inside her head. _“Just what was Cinder talking about?”_

There was also what this woman said to her before. _"There has been a dramatic shift in the balance and you yourself have been caught in it. This upcoming battle will prove to the most difficult you have ever encountered.”_

Akame’s head began to hurt. There were too many questions and no answers to them. What was next for them after everything that had happened? She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over at Leone who was smiling at her. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out like we always do.” Akame had no choice but to believe in those words and could only hope. “By the way, did you already see who runs this place?”

**B**

A lot could happen in a season's worth. Winter in the desert wasn't all that different than the three months Leone and Akame had to spend leaving Kyoroch. It fact that was harsher. Life in Shade wasn’t all that different from Beacon except there didn’t seem to be a dress code which suited Leone just fine since she didn’t like wearing skirts. Another difference is that the school is the only law and order in the kingdom of Vacuo. Another thing they’ve learned is that if anyone could survive the harsh conditions, they would be welcome. Akame and Leone were able to reunite with Cornelia and Esdeath once again and became a team once more. It wasn’t long after Najenda made them to an inanition challenge that strongly represents their belief. All of them aced it without a problem. 

Some teams welcomed them. Two of them were NDGO and BRNZ although they were a little unsettled having a team like ALCE after seeing what they did back in the festival. KRCT was more than happy to welcome them with open arms. And so their life in Shade began. There were some things that'll never be like at Beacon. The fun teachers for one, the beds were integrated into the walls and on top of each other as if they were bunk beds. There was also the unavoidable moment of telling the rest of team KRCT the truth of Akame and Leone. Their reactions were what the two girls thought they would be. Most of all, Esdeath was missing her Teddy Ursa desperately since it was left back at Beacon. It was yet another night for them and they were all sleeping soundly. Except for Esdeath. She was still whimpering a little of not having her Teddy Ursa and has done so ever since she came back.

There was another noise present in the room. Akame was making small noises and shuffling around in the bed. She was seeing various images and events. One of them being her fighting against Cinder and what she said to her. They didn’t come as often but when they did, she usually lost some sleep. Her team had asked about it before but Akame assured them she was fine. However, the images always seemed to be stronger each time Akame witnessed them. It was like her mind was restless. It became too much for her and screamed. She sat up while breathing heavily. Her team noticed it and woke up too. The first being Leone. “Akame?”

Second was Cornelia and Esdeath last. “What’s wrong-AHH!” Esdeath fell off her bunk and landed on the floor.”

After Akame calmed down, it was about they had a discussion and the three members sat in the chairs while Akame sat on the bed. Starting off with what was bothering their leader. “So…spill it.” Leone started. “This is happening every now and then. That last scene you did proves something is up. So tell us, Akame.”

Cornelia nodded in agreement. “Yeah. We’re worried about you.”

Akame sighed at them. “Fine. I’ve been…having flashbacks about what happened back at Beacon. More specifically, my fight against Cinder.” The team kinda figured this would be related to that. “But it’s more important than that.” She closed her hands tightly. “I can’t just go on living this life knowing that Cinder is still out there somewhere doing who knows what next.”

Leone knew how her girlfriend felt. “I feel the same way about letting Adam escape through my fingers. Knowing he’s still out there breathing pisses me off.”

Akame still had more to say. “That’s not all. During our fight, she mentioned some things. One of them was that I have no idea what we’re really in. Something that we can’t understand. Another was that Cinder kept saying she has the power of the Fall Maiden. What she meant by that I don’t know. She even survived Murasame’s poison. In fact, she completely eliminated it.”

Now that Leone couldn’t believe. “Seriously? There’s no way that’s even possible.”

Cornelia did catch what her leader said before. “You said Cinder had the power of the Fall Maiden, right?”

The other girl nodded at the question. “Yes. Do you know something about that?”

Both Cornelia and Esdeath looked at each other. “Do you actually think…?”

Esdeath shook her head. “No. I couldn’t be.”

Leone was a little confused by this. “What are you two talking about?”

Both girls looked back at their teammates. “It’s just…have you heard of The Story of the Seasons?” Cornelia asked.

Both Leone and Akame shook their heads. “No. What’s that?”

They thought as much since the other two girls weren't that familiar with the myths and tales. "It's an old fairy tale." Esdeath spoke. "It's about how these four young girls, sisters who visit an old hermit and show their own version of kindness to him. The first encourage him to meditate and reflect. The second brought him fruit and flowers and revitalized his garden. The third made the old hermit go outside and embrace the world. The last one encouraged him to be thankful for what he has. As a gift, the old hermit gave the four sisters great powers in exchange for their kindness and are represented by the four seasons. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. They then traveled throughout Remnant spreading their gifts. My father told me that story countless times when I was little.”

“Yeah, my papa too.” Cornelia added. “After hearing Cinder has the power of the Fall Maiden kinda makes me think that…the story may be true after all.”

Esdeath was having a hard time believing in that. “But it’s just a fairy tale. How can it be real?”

It was hard to argue after what Akame had said to them. “I don’t know but it is real. The only question is how did Cinder become the Fall Maiden in the first place? I kinda doubt she would be the ideal maiden considering what she did.”

Esdeath tried her hand into solving this mystery. “Good question. Maybe it’s related to why Beacon was destroyed?”

Akame could care less about any of this. “It doesn’t matter.” Everyone looked over at their leader. “Maiden or not, she’s a danger to everyone and I have to finish what I started with her. Only then will I feel at ease.”

Cornelia knew what her leader was saying but still had some doubts. “I’m glad you want to settle things with Cinder but do you even know where to find her? She could be anywhere.”

Akame thought about that and had an idea. “Cinder and her team claimed they were from Haven. Maybe that’s a place to start.”

Already Esdeath had a bad feeling about what her leader was suggesting. “You’re not thinking of heading all the way to Mistral?”

Her leader was just silent. “It’s late. We should just go back to bed.”

“But Akame-”

“That’s an order!” With that said, Akame laid back on her bed and fell back asleep.

Leone just sighed. “You heard her. Back to bed girls.” Cornelia and Esdeath were reluctant but had no other choice. All three girls went back to their beds and sleep didn’t come so easy for the other two girls.

**B**

“So, what is it you wanted us to talk about?” KRCT was meeting the LCE members of ALCE in the library. Leone sent them a text about meeting up and having a discussion. Kurome noticed her sister wasn’t present. “So where’s Akame?”

Cornelia sighed. “She doesn’t know we’re meeting. We think…Akame might leave for Mistral.”

Kurome crossed her arms. “Okay. What for?”

“To finish what was started back at Beacon.” Leone answered. “Akame can’t rest knowing that Cinder is still alive out there and I know how she feels. She thinks the best shot she has is going to Haven.”

Already Chelsea thought this was insane. “Seriously? Haven is a hell of a long way from here. Not to mention a long shot.”

Leone thought of that as well but she knew Akame all too well. “Trust me, Akame will do it as long she has a lead.”

Taeko had a question after hearing all of this. “So what are you going to do about it?”

The Faunus blonde had already thought of that. “Nothing. Once Akame makes up her mind, there’s nothing that can change it. Which is why I’m going with her.”

That was something neither Cornelia nor Esdeath didn’t expect. “No way. You can’t be serious.”

Leone nodded at Cornelia’s question. “I am. Akame isn’t doing this alone. Besides, I want some payback too for what that bitch did. This is our decision and we’re going to follow it through.”

Now everyone thought this was crazy. “Are you sure this is a good idea? After everything our headmistress did for you?” Rienna asked.

All of them saw the resolve in the Faunus girl’s eyes. “Doesn’t matter. Remember, what we start, we finish it. That’s always been our rule.” They knew she was referring to her ways of being an assassin. “Like I said, this is our decision. I know Akame won’t force the rest of you in on this and I’m the same. So when Akame goes, I go with her.”

It was a lot to take for the rest of the group. The idea of Leone and Akame traveling all the way to Mistral on their own seemed crazy enough but they were determined to do it anyway. The question they had now is…what would they do about it? For Kurome, she had one thing to say. “Leone, can I say something about this?”

Leone didn’t object. “Go ahead.”

**B**

Akame couldn’t wait any longer as tonight was the night she would make her journey to Mistral. As far as the lead was, it was the only one she had. She had already taken out Yatsufusa from her locker and already had Murasame. She made her way to the outer school grounds. “Going somewhere?”

Akame stopped as she looked behind her. “Leone?”

Her girlfriend smiled. “Knew you would do this in the middle of the night. That’s just who we are huh?”

The other girl did expect this. She knew Leone would catch on easily. “What are you going to do about it?”

Leone chuckled as she flicked her wrists to activate Lionel to prove a point. “What do you think?” The Faunus blonde flicked her wrists again and the weapons went back to their original form. “I’m going with you and nothing you say will stop me.”

“How about no sex when I get back?”

The Faunus blonde laughed at that. “Okay, even I know that’s a bad joke.” She narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend. “We parted ways once and I won’t let that happen again. You’re not the only one who wants Cinder and her cronies to pay.”

Akame closed her eyes. “I would be glad if you would join me. It’ll be like old times.”

Leone knew the other girl would say that. “Great.” She looked back. “Well…you heard her.”

Akame didn’t understand what her girlfriend was doing until she saw more figures walking behind Leone and gasped. “What are all of you…?” She saw the rest of her team and KRCT all smiling and had their weapons ready. She was sure Cornelia and Esdeath were sleeping when she left them.

Cornelia smiled at her leader. "After discussing this, we decided to come along. Akame, this just isn't your fight and Leone's. We're a team and this is our fight. So we’re coming along.”

Esdeath nodded in agreement. “That’s right. It’s better to face this as a team then by you and Leone alone. We know the risks but that’s all the more to help you two.”

Akame was rather touched by how dedicated her two teammates were. She looked over at her sister. “And what about you, Kurome?”

Her sister smiled at her. "Let me put it this way. Any business my sister has is my business too. We're family, after all, right?"

Chelsea had to agree since she had her own reason. “And wherever Kurome goes, I follow. I just can’t leave her by herself.”

“The same with me.” Taeko spoke. “Except I have to maintain an eye on Chelsea.”

Rienna just smiled at everyone. “And I’m going because all of you are like family to me and I would feel lonely if all you left.”

Akame looked at each of her friends and saw that same determined look. She only had one worry. “You do realize the choice you’re making. Once we embark it, there’ll be going back until this is over. For most of you, this’ll be a difficult challenge. Are you sure you’ll be up for it?”

The rest of the group nodded at the question. “Yes.”

That was it. Akame would have to take their word for it. “Very well then. Are all of you prepared?”

Rienna showed the other girl a bag she was carrying. “I have plenty of fire dust on my hand to last me a long time.”

Kurome showed a bag of her own. “And I have full up bars. I usually carry a lot of these whenever we go off somewhere far away.”

After hearing all of that, Akame accepted their coming along. They knew this journey will be long and difficult but they will carry through no matter what. “Alright then. If we’re all in agreement, let’s head out now.” Everyone understood and made their way out to the front of the school.

As they approached the front, they saw a figure blocking their way. It was someone Kurome easily recognized. “Oh no.” The group stopped to see Najenda in their way. “Headmistress Najenda…” Fear was present in her voice.

Everyone was worried she was here of all places. They saw her put a cigarette in mouth. “So…” She lit the cigarette up. “Mind telling me where all of you are going at this time of night?”

Kurome carefully walked up a little to her. “How did you…”

Najenda blew out some smoke. “I’m the head of this school for a reason. There isn’t anything that gets past me. Now give me a reason why I shouldn’t punish all of you for breaking school rules and it better be a good one.”

Of course, there would be one obstacle before they could set out on their journey and it had to be Najenda of all things. Akame had the courage to step up and face her. “We’re doing this because all of us have made this decision on our own. We know the risks and the dangers but nothing will stop us in pursuing our goal. That goal is settling unfinished business once and for all. So either get out of way or I’ll force you to.”

And Chelsea thought she was out of her mind when she said that. _“Does this girl have a freaking death wish?!”_

Najenda’s response was chuckling at what her new student said to her. “You have some nerve saying that to me. I could expel you for something like that.” She smiled at Akame. “But I do admire that look in your eye. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a resolve like yours. Do all of you share that same resolve? Are all of you confident about this?”

This time Kurome stepped up. “The resolve yes. The confidence…we’ll just have to see. We don’t expect this journey to be easy. Then again, what is? This is our battle and we will fight.”

Najenda closed her eyes. “After hearing all of that, I’ve decided.” She opened her eyes. “Go back to your rooms and await your punishment.” Akame knew this wasn’t going to be easy and grabbed the hilt of Yatsufusa. “Hold on. Let me finish. I did say go back to your rooms but I didn’t say now. You can go back once you finish what you need to finish. But be warned. When you do come back, expect your punishment of that beyond hell. Do I make myself clear?”

The group smiled at their headmistress. “Yes ma’am!” All of them ran past Najenda.

“Kurome.” Said girl stopped behind the headmistress. “Take care of yourself out there.”

Kurome remained silent for a few seconds. “Of course. Who do you think you’re talking to?” With those words said, she ran off to catch up to the rest of the group.

Najenda blew out another puff of smoke. “Let’s hope I made the right decision letting them go. It’s all up to them from here on out.”

**Insert Fairy Tail opening 15 as ending song.**

Chelsea let out a sigh of relief once they were out of the school. “I thought she was going to stop us right then and there.”

Leone laughed at that. “We were going to go through anyway. Least now we have the boss’ permission.”

“What do you mean boss?” Taeko asked.

Kurome couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Team ALCE and KRCT working together. We’ll be unstoppable.”

Akame had thought about that and stopped with the rest of the group following suit. “No. As of this moment, both ALCE and KRCT are dissolved.” Everyone was surprised to hear that. Akame turned around to her team. “From now on, we are one team with one goal. To travel to Haven. If that is where all of this started, then that’s where all of it will end.”

A whole team. That’s right. They were a team now. Every one of them. “That’s cool and all but if we’re going to be one team, what’s going to be the name? I kinda doubt we’ll have one combining all the letters of our first names.”

Akame smiled at the question. “I’ve already decided on the name. We will be called…Night Raid. We take justice into our own hands and deliver to whatever we see fit.”

Esdeath loved the idea. “That sounds wonderful.”

Cornelia nodded in agreement. “Night Raid huh? I can get used to that.”

Leone cheered at the name they were given. “Hell yeah! Night Raid is back and I call second in command.” She smiled at Akame. “We’re ready when you are…leader.”

Akame loved the sound of that. She turned back around looking forward. “Alright then. Night Raid…let’s move out!”

“Yes!” Everyone moved forward to their destination in mind.

**End song**

From afar on top of the school, that same mysterious figure watched them all leave on their journey. _“You two have grown well in your time living in this world and will continue to do so on the journey ahead. However, this is only the beginning of the many trials you will face. You may not know it but your destinies are intertwined with many others. I pray to the stars and heavens above that you, all of you will be safe.”_ She looked up at the night sky. _“It seems someone else has wandered into the forest. I wonder…”_ With those thoughts, she vanished completely without leaving a single trace behind.

**Vol Two End**

**A/N: And that’s it for Vol 2 of this story. Sad to say I didn’t get all that I wanted but pretty glad how this turned out. So what happens next? Eh, I have some side ideas going on and maybe put them into action. As for Vol 3…I’ll have to see what Vol 4 has to offer. Like before, I’ll mark this story as complete for now until later. Until then, stay tuned for what lies ahead and I’ll see all of you in my next story. Or the continuation of this one. Whichever comes first.**

 


	40. Lonely, Confused, Fear, and Love

**A/N: Okay…first off, I made a change in chapter thirty five that said Adam was the leader of the White Fang. That is wrong. So I made that change. Second…yeah bad idea of having different cover images for the story. As a person who doesn’t like spoilers, I tend not to spoil anything related to the story so it’ll be back to the previous one. Third and finally: hey! We’re at the third Vol of the story! How this will go is going to be different which is new for me. Usually, I would wait until the whole series is over in order to plan out. But for this one, it’ll be going alongside with Vol 4 of RWBY and see what I can work with. Bit of a risk, bit of a gamble but I’m pretty sure that a lot of you wanted this to continue soon as possible and considering how long it takes for the entire Vol to finish…you get the idea. Updates on this will depend on how Vol 4 goes. I do have a few ideas I want to try out (again.) Now the question is…how are Akame and the rest of Night Raid going to fit in this along with the small change that I made at the end of the last Vol. The answer: half of it is that Akame’s group will have their own journey since this is their experience. For the other half, beats the hell out of me. Like I said, it’ll depend on how Vol 4 goes. Now after this long ass A/N, let’s get to the story and see how it goes. One last thing.** **Bleach opening six as the third opening.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty: Lonely, Confused, Fear, and Love

Cold. Empty. Silent. These were the words Weiss would describe her very room back in her home in Atlas. And it was like this ever since her father brought her back from the Fall of Beacon. Once the heiress entered her room, she felt the instant difference between hers, and that of team RWBY's. Ruby. For the past over half year, the younger was what Weiss mostly thought about. Even more than the friends she'd made back at Beacon. What she also felt was guilt. Guilt that she had to write a letter of all things to convey her feelings to her leader. It wasn't like the heiress had much of a choice. Ruby was out of it along with Akame and had no idea how long it would've taken for her to wake up. On top of that, her father himself came to pick up Weiss for protection after their very own weaponry was used in the battle of Beacon as an opposing force. In a sense, Weiss was a doll locked up in a house without any way to contact her friends. Most of all, Ruby.

She laid on her bed in her darkened room with only the light of the moon beaming through her windows as the source. Weiss wasn’t hungry during dinner and ate very little. Once she was excused, the heiress made her back to her cell of a room. She didn’t bother changing into her nightgown and just laid on the bed in her clothes. On nights like these, she missed her old life. The one at Beacon. With team RWBY and Ruby herself. Weiss pulled out her scroll and was slightly blinded by the light. Communication between scrolls hasn’t gotten better ever since Beacon Tower fell. What Weiss did do was look up the gallery on her scroll and looked at the photos taken with it. There was only one photo. It was her and Ruby in a selfie with Ruby smiling like the dunce she was in Weiss’ words and the heiress herself glaring at her for suddenly taking her scroll and taking a picture of the two of them. Weiss could remember how it how it happened and closed her eyes.

_“Weiss, Weiss! Can I see your scroll for just a second?”_

_Weiss sighed while rolling her eyes. “What for? You have your own.”_

_Ruby gave the heiress her iconic puppy dog eyes. “Please….”_

_The older groaned as she couldn’t resist the look. “Fine.” She took out her scroll and presented it to her leader. “Just what-”_

_Ruby quickly swiped the scroll and was immediately beside Weiss with a bright grin and the scroll’s camera pointing at them. Her arm wrapped around the heiress’ body. “Say cheese!”_

_Weiss turned to her leader and glared at her. “Ruby-” A bright flash came out of the scroll and Ruby let go of her partner. Weiss was very confused about all of this. “Just what was that all about you dunce!?”_

_The younger girl still kept that smile and handed Weiss’ scroll back to her. “I thought you would’ve like a picture of us together. Make it a great memory and all.”_

_Weiss scoffed at the idea. “Then why didn’t you use your own scroll?”_

_Ruby giggled happily. “Because I wanted to take a picture with yours silly.”_

_Weiss gave up on trying to figure out her leader’s logic and roll with. “Whatever you say.” Unknown to the heiress, Ruby pulled out her own scroll. “Hey, Weiss…”_

_Now was Weiss was beginning to feel annoyed by this. “What is it now!?”_

_In a quick fashion, Ruby pointed her scroll’s camera at the heiress. “Say cheese!” A flash went off._

Little did Weiss know that surprise photo would mean so much to her now more than it did. It was the only photo of Ruby she had. She held the scroll close to her and closed her eyes. Weiss missed Ruby desperately. The pain in her heart told her that much. _“Ruby…”_ Sometimes when she slept, the heiress would dream about Ruby opening the window to her room and turn around to see her. Weiss would be overjoyed to see her again and not even bother questioning how the younger girl managed to be here in the first place. Ruby would drop down to the floor and Weiss would instantly go over to her for a much-needed hug. Ruby would hug her back and apologize for taking so long. Weiss couldn’t care less about that. All she cared about was having the girl she loved in her arms.

And then Weiss would wake up and have reality hit her in the face. Ruby wasn’t here in her room. Only her and her alone in this huge mansion with her family and butlers to keep her company. It wasn’t much of an improvement but her butler, Clyde did make Weiss living back in her home a little more bearable. Still, it didn’t have that same feeling the dorm room she had with Ruby and the others had. There, it felt like she truly belonged with Ruby by her side. Weiss turned to her other side and looked out the window to see the moon. Her mind would often wonder how everyone else was doing. _“Ruby…I hope you’re okay, wherever you are.”_ Weiss tried to sleep. She had a lot of practicing to do for the charity that was coming up orchestrated by her father. Now that Weiss thought about it, she never did once sing for Ruby. She could guess Ruby would’ve loved it. She pulled the scroll away from her chest and looked at the photo one more time. “Goodnight…Ruby.” Weiss locked her scroll and closed her eyes. Sleep didn’t come as easily like she thought it would.

**B**

In an open area in a forest, a fire could be heard crackling in a campsite. In the campsite was Ruby and what was left of team JNPR. Or rather they were called team RNJR now. They were making their way to Mistral for over the last half year. It was hard to believe they were on the road that long but it would’ve been worth it. As of now, the other three members were in their sleeping bags around the fire while Ruby was still awake sitting on a small boulder. They've made a rule that the last one awake would put out the fire before going to bed themselves. There was a reason why Ruby chose to be the last one awake. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a letter. The young leader unfolded it to read the letter once again.

_"Dear Ruby,_

_I'm sorry you had to find out this way but I'm going back to Atlas with my father. After what happened at Beacon, he thought it would be safer for me to return home. Of course, I objected to that but he didn't care. I had little time to prepare so I used it in writing this letter to you. I have so many things to say but I'm afraid I cannot tell them in this so I'll speak from my heart._

_Ruby, even though we may have started out rocky and being unkind to you but as time passed on, I began to appreciate you and the team I was on. I had so much fun with all of you and I will miss those times. Most of all, I will miss you. I will miss everything about you. Your smile, your laughter, your carefree attitude which I envied so much. It won't be the same without them._

_You were without a doubt someone I was lucky to know of and spend time with. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. I was hoping to tell you something important later on but I'm afraid I don't have that choice any longer so I'll just say it. I have fallen for you, Ruby Rose. Esdeath had made me realize these feelings I've had for you before I even knew about them._

_No, I did know but didn't act upon them until I saw you how you acted around her. As soon as I admitted that, I tried to find a way to convey my feelings to you. I thought of giving you a present that was meaningful was a good idea and then I would properly confess to you. However, it seems that will never happen now. I'm sorry you had to find out this way._

_I can only hope that somehow, someday, we can be reunited once more. And not just you. Our team as well because I will not accept any other than team RWBY led by you. I know you can get through this no matter how difficult things might be for you. I believe in you. Goodbye, Ruby._

_Love,_

_Weiss Schnee_

_P.S: I hope Yang recovers from this as well. Give her my regards._

Ruby sighed as she continued to stare at the letter. Right before she suddenly left her home at Patch, the younger leader grabbed the letter at the last second before going on her journey. Since then, Ruby has read this letter countless time whenever she was the last one awake. It was the only thing she had left to remind her of Weiss. And she still had no idea how to feel about this. Esdeath was one thing but the young leader certainly didn’t expect Weiss of all people to like her in that way. She didn’t hate it, though. In fact, Ruby considered herself lucky that she won the heart of the heiress despite being…well, Ruby. Now that she thought about it, it made much more sense why Weiss wanted to talk to her in private from before. Ruby sighed as she looked up at the night sky with the stars out shining brightly. Often the young leader asked herself the same question constantly over and over again. Did she feel the same way for Weiss? For one, when she first read the letter, Ruby cried in her pillow. As if it wasn’t enough to know her team was practically broken up now, she now found out the heiress had feelings for her. To be honest, Ruby still wasn’t over it. The young leader closed her eyes and tried to answer the question time after time.

What did Ruby like about Weiss Schnee? For starters, she was very pretty. And graceful at that. She was an amazing fighter and did like her weapon. In fact, Ruby really couldn’t think of the words that could describe how amazing the heiress really was. There was, however, a faint increase of her heartbeat every time Ruby would think about Weiss. Was it too soon to tell? Ruby didn’t know. What she did know was that the young leader did miss Weiss very much. Sure, they didn’t have the best of beginnings but they made it work between them along the way. Ruby opened her eyes to look at the starry night sky once again. Often Ruby would daydream (or was it night dream?) of images her old team, having fun with their friends before everything changed. This mission she was on, the mission her team was on, it was all for getting back those times again and to bring those who took it to justice.

Ruby put the letter away and stood up grabbing the bucket next to her. She poured water on the fire and it went out. After that, Ruby walked over to her sleeping bag and slipped inside of it. Before she went to sleep, Ruby had final thoughts before closing her eyes. _“Don’t worry Weiss, everyone. Everything will be back to normal and then…”_ Her thoughts trailed back to Weiss. _“We’ll be back to together again, Weiss and then maybe….”_ Before the sleep took over, Ruby couldn’t help but wonder how Yang and her dad was doing. Probably a little mad after taking off like she did. She wasn’t too worried. After all, Blake was still there looking after Yang.

**B**

_All Yang could feel was the heat of the fire from the cafeteria when looking for Blake. When she found an opening, it was like time had frozen. The blonde saw Blake lying on the ground with someone else standing over her. Anger suddenly flared up as she slammed her fists while activating Ember Celica. Yang jumped headfirst without thinking of a plan. All that was going through her mind was saving Blake from whoever it was that hurt her. As soon as the blonde was near, she saw him swing her sword at her and everything went dark._

_D_

Yang screamed as she sat up from her bed panting heavily. She was sweating lightly and tried to calm down. She placed a hand on her forehead trying to collect her thoughts. As soon as the blonde calmed down, Yang looked over to her other arm and saw that it was the same stump as it was that very night. “Yang?” The former brawler looked over to Blake who sat up as well looking a little worried. “Are you okay?”

Yang was very grateful her Faunus girlfriend was here with her. Otherwise, dealing with these repeated nightmares would’ve been much more difficult. “Yeah, Yeah I’m okay. Just another damn nightmare is all.” She laid back down in her bed.

Blake laid back as well while snuggling up to the other girl. She would always be there for her love no matter what. “It was about what happened that night, wasn’t it? It’s always that.”

The blonde just sighed. These nightmares of hers have been happening for the last couple of months and every one of them resulted in her waking up screaming. There were several she remembered where Yang was too late to save Blake or watch Adam kill Blake in front of her before moving on to her. It was both tiresome and annoying. “I hate this. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I hate being like this. Being afraid. This isn’t who I am and yet…” Yang groaned.

Blake could understand. Yang was one of the bravest people she knew and was now reduced to the person she was now. A girl with her arm gone, her future taken away, and now afraid. The Faunus girl wished she could do more than comfort her. “It’ll be okay. You can get through this. I know you can.

Yang was glad to hear those words but it wasn’t enough. “And what if I can’t? Look at me Blake. I don’t have an arm anymore and I’m sometimes scared of my own reflection. Hell, I sometimes can’t stand looking at myself in the mirror without seeing this godforsaken stump of an arm.” She huffed out angrily. “Sometimes I wish I had Leone’s courage, ya know. Least that girl wasn’t afraid of anything.”

Ironic she would say that. “Actually, Leone was afraid at one point.”

Yang was surprised to hear that as she turned her to the side to look at the other girl. “Seriously?”

The Faunus girl nodded at the question. “Yes. It was back when we were traveling to a safe location after what happened at Beacon. Leone was by your side, crying and saying I’m sorry over and over. She was afraid of losing her mother again. Leone was afraid of losing you.”

It did make a lot of sense since they did see her brief freak out when Yang sang the song her mother once sang before she disappeared. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It was like I was afraid of losing you. In fact, that was the only thing I was afraid of.”

Blake could understand that easily. “It’s only natural. Sometimes, those who are the bravest, have the strongest of fears.”

Yang couldn't help but giggle at that. "Where did that come from?”

The Faunus girl giggled back. “It…kinda came to me. That’s all.”

Yang smiled at her girlfriend while feeling sleepy once again. “I feel like going to sleep again. Hopefully, I can get some actual sleep.”

Blake wrapped her arm around her girlfriend’s waist to bring them closer together. “And you will while I’m here.”

The former brawler smiled at Blake before closing her eyes. “Goodnight, Blake.”

The Faunus girl proceeded to do the same. “Goodnight, Yang.” They both fell asleep and Yang didn’t have another nightmare for the rest of the night.

**B**

When morning came, Yang and Blake dressed and walked down the stairs. It was then they noticed something strange. Taiyang wasn’t cooking breakfast. Soon as they reached downstairs, they went over to the kitchen to see it was empty and saw a note on the counter. Yang walked over to it and picked up it to read. “I’ll be back in the afternoon. Take care. Also, don’t forget your morning sparring session and feed Zwei. Taiyang.” The former brawler set down the note and turned to her Faunus girlfriend. “Guess it’s just us for the time being.”

Blake gave the other girl a loving smile. “I’ll get breakfast started then.” She went over to the pantry door and opened it to grab the apron. After that, the Faunus girl started to make the two of them breakfast. During her stay at the Xiao Long household over the half a year, Blake has picked up a few things. One of them cooking lessons from Taiyang (which Yang has made a comment or two about her being a good housewife.) and the lessons Taiyang has given her. To put that in a nutshell, Blake could see why Yang was such a good fighter in the first place. Taiyang was an excellent teacher to Blake and has helped out Yang in dealing with her condition. It was more than what she could've wished for. Still, there was something Blake couldn't shake off even after all this time. And it was something she had to confront sooner or later.

For now, Blake was cooking for her girlfriend and make sure to start off the day just right. After cooking some pancakes and bacon, she set the plates on the table. One of them in front of Yang. The blonde loved the smell of it. “Looks good Blake and I bet it’ll taste even better.”

Blake sat down next to her. “I’m sure you’ll love it, as always.”

Both girls clapped their hands together. “Thank you for the food.” They began eating and as usual, it was delightful.

**B**

After breakfast was done, the two girls started their morning sparring. It was a regular basis for the both of them Taiyang started when Yang was well enough to adapt to her new condition. Blake often participated in them both using Gambol Shroud and not. It was difficult at first but Yang was able to get the hang of it. Blake could actually see some of the spark Yang had before in her eyes. There were times Yang would just stop completely and groan while hesitating. Blake figured it was because what happened to her from before. Once their sparring was done, they went to the shower afterward. Blake going first obviously. When they were done with the showering, All that was left was waiting on Taiyang to come back home. As of now, they were both in the living room watching some TV. Yang flipped a few news channels and all of them were saying the same thing. About how Beacon had fallen and those who were included in it. One in particular Yang had stopped. "Reports say that Adam Taurus, a member of the White Fang was involved in the attack at Beacon Academy. As of now, authorities have no information on his whereabouts." Yang shut off the TV after hearing that.

Yang gritted her teeth while closing her hand tightly. She was both angry and afraid at the same time. To think the person who did this to her was still out there roaming about. Blake could see it in her girlfriend’s expression. “Yang?”

The blonde heard the concern in the other girl’s voice and calmed down as she looked over at her. She smiled at Blake. “I’m fine Blake. Don’t worry.”

Blake could tell that was a lie. Yang was bothered by anything related to the White Fang. That much she knew and it only added the guilt Blake felt about it. Perhaps it was time after all. Before they could continue their conversation, the door suddenly opened and turned to it seeing Taiyang walking in carrying a lot of boxes. “Dad?”

"I got good news!" Taiyang walked in the living room and managed to close the door. "I got something from general Ironwood. I didn't even have to call in favors." He set the boxes on the table in front of the couch. One, in particular, he slid it in front of the two girls. He smiled at them. "Check it out."

Taiyang opened the box and Yang couldn’t believe it. “Is that…”

Her father chuckled as he loved his daughter’s expression. “Yeah. It is.” The item in the box was a new arm for Yang. Even Blake couldn’t help but marvel at it. After all this time, Yang could have an arm again. “Want to try it out?”

Yang was actually nervous. After not having an arm for so long, it was almost kinda scary for her. That is until she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Blake smiling at her while giving a nod. That was all the encouragement she needed. The former brawler looked back at her dad and smiled. “Sure. Let’s give a shot.” Yang stood up as did Blake and the Faunus girl helped the blonde take off her jacket. Once it was off, Taiyang carefully lifted the arm in the box and stood by his daughter.

He positioned the opening slot to where the end of the stump was. “Okay, from I’ve been told, this’ll hurt only for a second.”

Yang could care less about that. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get the thing on already.” With that said, Taiyang inserted the stump into the open slot. It was that moment a small sound was made and Yang hissed at the pain she felt. "Ah, son of a bitch!" Blake held her girlfriend tightly as not to make any sudden movement.

Taiyang carefully let go of the arm and took a few steps back. He took in the sight of his daughter’s new arm. “Try moving it now.” Yang looked down at her new arm and found out first that it was heavy. Mostly because she was used to having only one arm for quite some time. She lifted her arm to her and made slight grasping gestures with the fingers. That was all Taiyang needed to see. “Well, how do you like your new arm?”

Yang continued to stare at the new robotic arm. It was almost unbelievable she had a new arm. She should be happy but wasn't. No matter what, it couldn't truly replace the arm she had before. Still, she was glad to have an arm again. “It’s…great. Although, I may need to get used to it.”

The blonde suddenly saw two hands grab her robotic hand and looked over at Blake who was smiling at her. “I’m glad you have a new arm now Yang.” The Faunus girl tightened her hold on the hand.

That was another thing this arm won’t have. Yang could no longer feel Blake’s hands holding her own with this arm. That didn’t mean she couldn’t feel the meaning behind it. “Thanks, Blake.” They two girls stared at each other lovingly in the eyes.

That is until Taiyang cleared her throat and both girls turned to him while their hands separated. “Well then, I guess you’ll have the rest of the day trying out your arm Yang. I’ll go into the kitchen and make some lunch. That alright with you two?”

They had no problem with it. “Yeah/sure.” Taiyang nodded at the two girls and walked to the kitchen. He knew about his daughter’s relationship with Blake a few days after Leone had left them but could see it right away when Blake first showed up at the house. Taiyang should know because he made those same expressions when he was going out with Raven and was with Summer. He didn’t care who Yang was with just as long the person she was with treated her just like how Yang treated them. And so far that seemed to be working out just fine between the two of them. Taiyang was just happy his daughter had found someone for her.

**B**

The rest of the day seemed to pass by quickly and Yang was starting to get the hang of it with her new arm. From throwing a few simple punches in the air to grabbing a cup of water, little by little she was adapting to it. When night came, both girls were in Yang’s room with Blake brushing the blonde’s hair from behind sitting on the bed in their pajamas while said girl continued to tinker around with her new arm and reading the manual. Blake admitted she loved brushing the other girl’s hair. She could see why Yang took in so much pride with her hair. It felt soft and luxurious whenever she ran her fingers through the locks. While brushing the hair carefully, Blake did wonder about something. “Can’t you brush your hair now since you have your new arm?”

Yang flipped through another page. “Yeah but I like it when you brush my hair. It feels so much better that way.” The Faunus girl wasn’t going to argue with that.

After one final stroke, Blake set the brush aside onto the stand next to the bed. “Alright, you’re all done.” She stood up from the bed so her girlfriend would have a little more room.

The blonde ran her human hand through the locks and smiled pleasantly. “Feels great, as always.”

Blake was happy to hear that. Since Yang couldn’t brush her own hair with one arm, the Faunus girl took up the liberty of helping her. It’s been kinda there thing for a while now. Then there was the hard part Blake had to face. The only thing she was afraid of how Yang would react. She steeled herself for the conversation they were about to have. “Yang…”

Yang stopped running her fingers through her hair and looked over at her Faunus girlfriend. “What is it kitten?”

That was a nickname Yang had given her after living with her for a while. Talking about this subject proved to be a little more difficult than she thought but had to go through with it. “There isn’t any way for me to say this so I’ll just go out and say it. I’m thinking about…leaving here.” Yang was about to say something but Blake still had more to say. “Nothing’s wrong if that’s what you’re going to say. I’m thankful for what you and your father have done for me. There’s just…something I have to do and I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

Yang thought this was her turn to speak. “Does it have to do with the White Fang?”

She was half right. “Somewhere along the lines but I have something else to do before that.”

At least Blake was talking to her about this whole thing. Still, Yang had a feeling why Blake was doing this. “Is this because of my arm? Blake, I told you I don’t blame you for that.”

“But I still feel responsible!” Blake glared at the other girl. “If I wasn’t so helpless…” She couldn’t bear to finish that sentence because Blake knew what Yang would say about it. “Please understand. I need to do this.”

After hearing all of that, Yang came to a conclusion. “If you really feel strongly about this, fine then. I won’t stop you but only on one condition.”

Blake was a little afraid to ask but did anyway. “And what condition is that?”

Yang smiled at her girlfriend. “If you take me along with you.”

Now that was something the Faunus girl didn’t expect to hear but against it. “I can’t do that! Yang, you just got your arm. It would be too dangerous for you to go out now.”

“Yeah, well, staying here won’t help either.” Yang stared back at the other girl. “I won’t get any better being cooped up in the house. Sure I’ve made a lot of progress but I’ll never get over this rut I’m in unless I do something about it. This just isn’t important to you. It’s important to me too and all the more since it involves you. So take it or leave it. Those are my terms.”

As usual, Yang was being stubborn. What frightened Blake the most was the same thing happening again to the girl she loved. Then again, she was determined to not let that happen. She wasn’t the same girl back at that night in Beacon. Blake was stronger now and won’t repeat what happened on that night. Somehow, she knew Yang thought the same. Blake took in a deep breath and smiled at the other girl. “Alright then but promise me you won’t do anything crazy.”

Yang chuckled at that. “No promises but I’ll make sure to be more careful.”

Blake was glad to hear that. There was only more problem to deal with. “And what about your dad?”

Yang had already thought about that. “Don’t worry. You can leave him to me.” 

**B**

The next day came and Yang was already up. After reading the manual, it was clear she should remove the arm before going to bed or do any other activity that involved water. There was also the maintenance the blonde had to do every now and then. All of that wasn’t important right now. After grabbing the arm on the dressing and putting it on herself (which still hurt like a bitch to her.) she went out her room while Blake was still sleeping. She preferred this way. Yang made her way downstairs and smelled the familiar scent of bacon being cooked. The blonde walked over to the kitchen and saw him cooking. She knocked on the wall a few times and that caught his attention. Taiyang turned around to see his daughter. “Ah, good morning Yang. I see you’re wearing the arm already. How does it feel?”

Yang looked down at her arm and then back at her father. “Still hurts when I put it on but other than that, it’s nice to have an arm again.”

Taiyang was happy to hear that. “Good. Blake still asleep?”

The younger blonde nodded at the question. “Yeah.” She took in a deep breath. “Hey, dad? I’ve got something to tell you.”

Her father knew all too well what that meant. He turned to the stove and turned it off before turning back to his daughter. “Alright. What is it you have to say?”

Yang felt a little nervous about all of this but it was for her and Blake. “Blake told me she was planning on leaving to deal with some stuff of her own and…I want to come along with her.”

There was silence between them and Yang didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Probably bad. Taiyang just sighed. “You just got your arm and already you want to go out into the world? Did you even think this through?”

Yang thought her father might’ve disapproved of this but was still determined. “Just listen to me, okay? What Blake has to do, it’s just not her fight. It’s mine too and I can’t let her do it by herself.”

Taiyang still didn’t think it was a good idea. “So it’s a fight now? Yang, you’re still getting back into the swing of things. You’re not ready for actual fighting. Much less for whatever mess you’re going to be in. Why involve in something that concerns Blake?”

"Because I love her!" Yang's eyes flared up into their crimson coloring. Something Taiyang hadn't seen in quite a while. "I know I'm not up to a hundred percent, I know I'm not up to what I was before, and I know what the risks are involved in doing this. But I just can't let this pass me while hoping I get better. In fact, I think I'll just get stir crazy sitting around. Whatever Blake has to do, I have to do it as well. That's why I want to go with her. We're stronger together than apart. She's more than my partner. Blake is my girlfriend and I love her with everything I have. So please…"

Taiyang could see a familiar look in his daughter’s eyes and not because she was showing the eyes her mother had. It had been a long time since he’s seen such a fire in Yang’s eyes. Not since her leaving for Beacon. All Taiyang could do was sigh. “You’re so much like your mother, you know. Are you really serious about this? Serious and certain?”

Yang gave a single nod to him. “Yes. And I’m sorry for bringing this up on you since mom, Summer, and Ruby-”

"You don't have to worry about me, Yang." Taiyang smiled at his daughter. "This isn't the first time both you and Ruby left the house. All I ask for is for you to be careful."

Yang took that as a yes and ran over to her father in giving him a hug. “Thank you, dad.”

Taiyang chuckled as he petted Yang’s head. He looked out to the doorway and saw Blake already at the doorway smiling. _“I suppose it was only a matter of time.”_

**B**

It was the afternoon now and Yang and Blake were standing outside the house with Taiyang in front of them and Yang’s motorcycle, Bumblebee behind them. The two girls were ready for the journey ahead with packs and Taiyang to see them off. “You two be careful out there. Things are a little hectic the way they’ve been recently.”

Blake wasn’t too worried about that. She bowed to the man before her. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Taiyang smiled at her. “You’re welcome and I’m counting on you to look after Yang. Understand?”

The Faunus girl stood up and nodded at him. “I will.”

Yang did feel a little sad leaving home. “I guess we’ll see you later dad and if I ever run into Ruby, I’ll be sure to punch her for running out on us.”

Her father chuckled at that. “I think that’s a little too harsh.”

His daughter had a backup. “Then I’ll give her a big hug and tell her how much she worried us.”

Taiyang could approve of that. “That’s much better.” He smiled at both girls. “One more thing. If you ever run into Leone, tell my granddaughter I said hi.”

Both girls froze up when they heard that. Yang was the first to speak. “How did-”

“It wasn’t that hard to figure out.” Her father interrupted. “The way she looked after you was the same as you and Ruby looking after Summer when she became sick. I can still remember Ruby’s expression when she found out her “super mom” could get sick. And the way she acted to the both of you when she said goodbye. Also, she really does look like you and has Blake’s eyes. All I did was put two and two together.” This was something the two girls didn’t expect was Yang was glad now that she heard this. She refrained from making a pregnancy joke.

With everything said and done, it was time to depart. “Guess we should get going now.” Yang smiled at her father. “Bye…dad. I know I’ll miss you.”

Taiyang felt the same. “Same here.”

Both girls turned around and mounted on Bumblebee with Yang obviously doing the driving. Everything was now set in motion. Yang and Blake looked back and waved goodbye and the motorcycle revved up while Taiyang waved back at them. Yang hit the throttle the two girls rode off. As he saw them leave, he couldn’t help but feel proud rather than sad. _“And there they go. Raven, if you can see how much out little girl has grown up. She reminds me so much of you and she couldn’t find a better person to be with. Wherever you are, I hope you’re watching after her.”_ Little did he know, there was a mysterious figure wearing a Nevermore mask watching over them all from a cliff not too far. A portal appeared behind the figure and the figure walked into it. After that, the portal closed.

Yang couldn’t help but feel excited about the journey ahead. “Alright! You and me, on the road together. This is going to be awesome!”

Blake shared the feeling her girlfriend had. “We have a long journey ahead of us. Are you sure you’re prepared?”

The blonde smiled as she brought up her human arm to present the other half of Ember Celica. “You bet. So where are we going.”

The Faunus stared at the road ahead. “Menagerie.”

Yang didn’t expect to go there of all places. “Menagerie? Why go there?”

Blake was silent for several seconds. “Because that’s where my home is.”

Now the blonde understood and felt a little excited. “Your home huh? Alright then. Any idea of getting there?”

The Faunus girl had a plan thought out. “We can take a boat and cross the ocean. That’s the fastest way to get there. Guess it was a good thing your dad gave us enough money for what we need.”

It was a good a plan as any. Yang did feel a little nervous since Menagerie was predominated by Faunus. Still, she was with Blake and they could take on anything that might be thrown at them. “Sounds good to me. First stop, Menagerie!” As excited as she was, Yang looked up at the sky. “You know, I wonder what Leone is doing now. I hope she’s okay.”

Blake thought the same but wasn’t worried. “I’m sure she is. Remember, we’re always with her.”

Yang understood what Blake meant and smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. We’ll always be with her no matter where she is.” Both girls looked at the road ahead and were looking forward to the journey ahead.

**B**

In an unknown location in a dark desolate land, a frightening figure was looking at it through a window in a large room. She slightly moved her head to the door behind her. "You may enter." The door opened on its own and three people entered the room. The woman turned around to greet them. "Hello there, Cinder."

Cinder stood across from the woman. Accompanying her was Mercury and Emerald as always. Cinder's look had changed since the Fall of Beacon. She was wearing a different outfit and her hair made much shorter. Most of all, she had scarring on left side of her face and eyepatch over her left eyes with part of her hair covering it. Whenever Emerald was in the same room as the woman in front, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. "You…wanted to see her?"

The woman gave her an unrelenting gaze. “Yes. I’m interested in knowing more what happening during the battle of Beacon. Specifically who Cinder had encountered. I could tell she wanted to tell more during the meeting earlier.”

Cinder leaned into Emerald's ear and whispered the words. She couldn't talk since she came back from Beacon. Her subordinate nodded and repeat what Cinder had told her. "You're correct. You see after Cinder managed to kill a girl called Pyrrha Nikos, another girl showed up to fight her. This girl's name was Akame Night and there's something strange about her and the friend she was with called Leone Wild."

The woman was greatly interested in this. “Go on.”

Cinder whispered more into Emerald’s ear and she understood. “Akame fought against Cinder and she did…pretty good. Equally, in fact.”

That was something the woman didn’t expect to hear. “Is that so? Even though Cinder has the power of the Fall Maiden?”

Emerald nodded and Cinder whispered in her ear once again. She relayed the words Cinder had told her. "Yes, ma'am. Akame had this weapon called an Imperial Arms. She called it…the One Kill Sword Murasame." After hearing that, the woman turned around to look through the window again. "Salem…ma'am?"

Salem was quiet for several seconds. “It’s quite odd. I possess knowledge of all things in this world. Aura, dust, Grimm, human nature, their society, and the history. Yet, I have never heard of these…Imperial Arms.”

Cinder whispered more into Emerald’s ear and nodded. “Here’s the weird thing. During their fight, Akame announced to Cinder that she was an assassin from another world. If that’s true, chances are her friend is from that same other world. It would make sense why there wasn’t any data on them before they enrolled into Beacon.”

Salem turned back around to the three. “Another world you say? This is interesting. Thank you for telling me this. All of you may leave now.”

Everyone understood and took their leave of the room. Salem was alone once again but this time had new information regarding the opponent Cinder had fought against. “Imperial Arms, other worlds. Suddenly, this became all the more intriguing. Even so, this Akame Night and her friend will fall all the same as the rest.” when that time comes and couldn’t wait for it.

**A/N: Miku Hatsune Natsu Matsuri as third ending**

 


	41. The Journey so Far

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty One: The Journey so Far

The sound of cheer and hearty laughter could be heard in the night air. Settled in a forest, there was a large camp with a large group celebrating by eating and drinking. While this group was in high spirits, the women serving them were not. They were beyond terrified that this group of bandits attacked their village and took them as prisoners. Or to the bandits, their reward. One of the women was sitting next to the leader taking another swig from his mug. The leader had a rather large build and was shirtless. He was bald with the only facial hair being his goatee. His only clothing was a pair of tan armbands and khaki pants with a sword located on his left side. He set down his mug on the table before him and turned to the woman. “Fill it up.” The woman next to him was very frightened to do anything. The leader growled at her. “Didn’t you hear me? I said…fill it up.” He ordered in a more threatening tone.

The woman did what she was told as she didn’t want to be struck by him again. The woman grabbed a pitcher and began pouring the alcohol into the mug. The leader laughed at her obedience. That’s a good wench. I’ll make sure invaded it. They were truly in despair.

“Hey! Do you have a death wish or something?” The bandits stopped what they were doing and looked over at the end of the camp. The bandits nearby saw what one of their own was shouting about. A figure wearing a black hooded cloak with a sword located on the back. The hood was put up and covered the face of the figure. The one bandit who yelled grabbed his own sword. “Why you little-”

“Hold it!” Everyone looked over at their leader who was smiling at the whole ordeal. “Let this one come over.” The bandits looked at each and then parted to create a path. The started to walk over to the leader. Once the figure was in front of him, the leader smiled. “You have some heavy balls coming up to us all by your lonesome.” He eyed at the weapon on the figure’s back. “That’s one fine sword you have there. So what's your business with us? If it's to join, fine. The more the merrier. If it's to oppose us, well…" He chuckled as his head was near in front of the figure's face.  "You're already surrounded. So which one is it?"

The figure didn't reply to his question. Instead, the answer came in the form of pulling out another sword from inside the cloak and slashed at the leader's throat. The leader screamed as both his men and the women were shocked to see the sight before them. Blood was gushing out of the wound but the leader grabbed his throat tightly and growled angrily at the figure. "Damn…you!” He tried to reach for his sword but stopped when he felt a new sensation. “W-What the hell?” Everyone saw strange black markings coming from the wound and quickly spread everywhere through his throat. The leader coughed out blood and felt very weak. “What did you…do to…me…?” He fell down backward to the ground with a thud already dead.

Everyone was speechless at what they had just seen. The rest of the bandits drew out their swords and were angry at the figure. "You're dead!" Several of them charged at the person who killed their leader.

As soon as they neared the figure, something dropped from above and two of the bandits screamed as their bodies were crushed in an instant. The rest of the bandits took several steps back as they saw another hooded cloaked figure crouching down on the two bandit’s corpses. “What the?! There’s another one?”

The first one flicked the sword to be rid of the blood. “I could’ve handled them.” The now discovered by the sound of the voice, one of them was a girl.

The second one stood up while grinning. “I know. I just wanted in on the fun.” The bandits found out the second figure was also a girl.

The rest of the bandits had enough of what happened and one of them pointed his sword at the two figures. “Get them!” Every one of them charged at the figures.

The second one smiled as she pulled back her hood to reveal wild long blonde hair with a small black ribbon tied around the hair near the end and a bandana tied around her neck covering the top of her chest. The most notable feature aside from her large breasts were the lion ears on top of her head. “You ready Akame?”

Akame pulled back her hood. “Let’s get this over with.”

Leone brought out her arms and flicked her wrists to activate Lionel and rushed over to the first bunch of bandits. The Faunus blonde passed them all while slashing at them. When Leone stopped behind them, blood violently came out of their bodies and fell to the ground dead. She smiled her work. “Who’s next?” She saw several more bandits running at her was elated. Leone launched herself at one of them. She pulled back her arm and punched at one of the bandit’s chest. So much force was put behind the attack, it created a hole in his body and fell down backward. Another bandit swung his sword at the Faunus blonde. Leone saw the attack coming and opened her mouth only to bite the blade completely off.

The bandit took a few steps back in fear as he couldn’t believe that just happened. In the net second, Leon knocked his head off the body and fell to the ground. The bandits that surrounded her became afraid of her. “This Faunus…she’s a monster!”

Leone brought up her bloody claw to her and smiled wickedly at them. “Only to jackasses like all of you!” The bandits tried to flee but Leone chased them down and easily caught up with them. She slaughtered them all from behind while they screamed.

Over to Akame, she was cutting apart any bandit in her sights. The former assassin made sure to be very thorough with the bandits one after another. Some she cut their arms off. Others their legs off. Sometimes it was their whole bodies cut in half and decapitated them. Those who did survive would die from her Imperial Arms Murasame’s deadly poison. Within minutes, the entire band was being reduced. Few tried to flee for their lives but Akame jumped one of them behind and split his body in half from the top center of his head to the other end. She saw one of the bandits trying to flee and disappeared. Akame reappeared in front of him and slashed across his throat. The bandit let out a gurgled scream while blood rushed out of his throat and dropped to the ground.

With her part of the bandits done, Akame looked over at Leone who was pretty much massacred her half of the band. She was standing over the last remaining bandit who begged for his life to be spared. Naturally, her response was slamming her fist into the guy’s face making another bloody hole left behind. She pulled back her fist and laughed. “Man that felt good. Serves these bastards right.”

“Now there’s only one thing left to do.” Akame turned to several of the prisoned women who were huddling close to each other in fear.

They saw Akame flick her sword again to rid the blood and Leone flicked her wrists to return Lionel back into their original form. One of them gulped. “Please…don’t hurt us.”

Leone laughed at her plea. “Relax. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to take all of you back to your village.”

For once they seemed to be hopeful. “You’re here to save us?”

Akame nodded at the question as she sheathed Murasame. “Yes. Your village chief requested it.”

While they were very relieved to hear that, they were also very worried. “Please, tell us what happened to our village.  Is everyone safe?”

Leone smiled at them. "Oh, don't worry. Our friends are handing the Grimm problem as we speak. They were lucky we came around when they started to attack. Now, are there more of you here?"

One of the women nodded. “Y-Yes. Everyone else is being held captive in the back of the camp.”

That was all the two girls needed to know. "Alright then. Lead the way." The women began to walk and guide their rescuers to the rest of them. While following them, Akame had one thought on her mind. "I wonder how Kurome and the other are doing back in the village."

Leone chuckled at the question. “Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it. Knowing them, they’re probably having the time of their lives.”

**B**

In a village not too far from the bandit camp, it was being attacked by a large pack of Beowolves. Fortunately, of the villagers, there was a group of six girls defending it from all sides. Cornelia swung her axe staff Twin Knight at the three Beowolves and cleaved them all in half. After they fell down, two more jumped at her. The blonde separated the staff into their ax form and pointed them at the Grimm. She fired several shots at them which left holes in their bodies. Keeping up the pace, Cornelia ran up to more of the Beowolves. The Beowolves themselves ran up to her too. The blonde swung her axes as the two came in close to each other and she passed them. The Beowolves were cut in half and fell to the ground. Cornelia could only groan at all of this. “How many more do we have to go through?” She saw another group of Beowolves growling at her. The blonde raised her weapons to her. “Great. Hope the others are doing good.”

  **“Whirlwind!”** Countless wind blades went through the Grimm easily and their bodies fell apart. Takeo was making easy work on the invading Beowolves at her side. Still, just because something was easy doesn’t mean it’ll be over quickly. As soon as she slain one Grimm, several more took its place. It was a pattern she was becoming very annoyed with. "They just keep coming. How large is this pack?" Suddenly, she heard several explosions going off at another side of the village. Takeo knew what was going on over there. “Seems Rienna is having fun.”

Another explosion occurred that blasted more of the Beowolves away from the village. Some did manage to pass them but they were greeted by the intense fire that burned their bodies thoroughly to a crisp. Rienna continued to spew fire out of her flamethrowers and moved them to the side to deal with any other Grimm that may pass through their defenses. Out of all of them in Night Raid, Rienna had the widest reach and the farthest. Despite the strong flames, the Beowolves continued to jump through the fire. “Come on. How many do I have to burn until all of you stop?” She saw them running toward her. Rienna sighed as she pointed Devil Incarnate at them.

Within the village, the Grimm that did manage to pass through were running amok destroyed some of the houses. However, there were some that had their heads decapitated quickly one after another. After another one lost its head, Kurome stopped to get her surroundings. Less and less Grimm were coming in but they were still coming in nonetheless. She saw one running toward her and Kurome switched ends of Trisula and pointed the other end at the Grimm. Kurome fired one shot at the Grimm and it went through it to the other end. Kurome switched ends and held it with the weapon resting on her shoulder. “So far so good. Hope Akame gets back soon.” She heard a loud roar from behind. She turned around to see a figure jump near her and land. Kurome wasn’t too excited by the new arrival. “Great.” She saw the new Grimm stand up and roared at her. “A Beringel.”

Out of all the Grimm Night Raid had encountered throughout their journey, Beringel was Kurome’s least favorite. They were the most aggressive Grimm they’ve come across. Kurome lifted her weapon off her shoulder and twirled it around before stopping it and held it to the side. “Let’s get this over with.” Her cloak along with her clothes began to flow. **“Amplify times three!”** A strong pulse came out of her body and Kurome launched herself at the Grimm. The Beringel took one step before one its legs was lopped off and fell down on its other leg. Kurome quickly turned around and jumped toward it with her weapon in front of her. She impaled the Grimm from behind and both were propelling out of the village and into the forest where Kurome crashed into the forest group. She groaned as Kurome stood up and pulled out Trisula out of the Grimm. “God I hate these things.” She looked over at the village and made her way back to it. “I hope Chelsea is alright protecting the villagers.”

Another Beringel slammed its fist to where Chelsea was standing but she jumped over the attack and the Grimm itself. Soon as she landed behind the Grimm, Chelsea quickly turned around and pointed her closed fans at it to shot it a few times but they barely had an effect. The Beringel turned around growling viciously. Chelsea giggled nervously. “Well…that didn’t work like I thought.” Beringels were very strong Grimm to deal with. “Guess I’ll up this a notch then.” She opened up her fans and her cloak and hair began to flow. **“Amplify times two!”**  A strong pulse came out of her body and became faster toward the Grimm. Chelsea delivered several fast slashes before appearing from behind it. She turned around again while closing one of her fans and impaled the Grimm from the back. It wasn’t a killing blow but it did set up for one. Chelsea grinned. **“Grau Horn!”** An ice spike erupted from the front of the Beringel and effectively killing it. Chelsea took her fan out and the Grimm dissipated. “Thank you Kurome and Esdeath.” It was too soon to celebrate as Chelsea saw several more Beowolves approach her. “And…here we go again.”

**“Brüllenden Schneesturm!”** A blizzard swept a large group of Grimm and froze them completely. However, more were still coming at her. She placed her hands in front. **“Weiss Schnabel!”** Countless ice shards formed around her and sent to the opposing Grimm. Many of them were struck by the attack but more were still coming. It was becoming very tiresome to her. “I’ve had enough of this.” She brought up her right arm to her. **"Walzer der Zorn des Winters!"** Esdeath waved her arm across and a larger, more powerful blizzard surround the village and everything else extending outward.

Unfortunately, her team was also caught up in it too. “Really Esdeath!?”

“I suppose she has the right idea.”

“A little warning would be nice!”

The only ones who weren’t in the blizzard were Kurome and Chelsea. Kurome was looking at it from inside of the village. “That’s one way to get rid of them all.”

Chelsea and the rest of the villagers who made it out were looking at it from far away. “Go Esdeath. Glad she’s on our side.”

After a few more seconds, Esdeath lowered her hand and the blizzard subsided. After it calmed down, the whole area around the village and a little beyond were completely frozen over. Including all of the invading Grimm. There was a cold, dead silence in the air. Esdeath brought her hand up. “And be gone.” With a quick snap of her fingers, all of the ice shattered throughout along with the Grimm into pieces. The trees that were caught up in the attack were returned to what they were before. Not losing a single leaf. What was left were small bits of the ice floating in the air as if they were snowflakes gently falling onto the ground.

The villagers were cheering in joy that their village was safe. Esdeath sighed as she was relieved this whole thing was over. “Thought I saw some snow.”

Esdeath heard a familiar voice and saw both Akame and Leone walking out of the forest with the women that were taken from the village. She smiled at her two teammates. “Akame! Leone!” Esdeath waved at them and they waved back at her.

After the battle was over, the people returned to their village not happy to see it was safe with minimal damage but the men were happy to see their loved ones again. Seeing all them hugging and speaking of sweet words reminded Leone how much she missed doing this back in the old days of Night Raid. The village chief walked up to the team and bowed to them. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. Not only you’ve defended our village but was able to rescue the women of our village. We are in your debt.” He bowed to them.

Akame smiled at him. “No need to thank us. We just happened to be in the area. We’re just glad all of you are safe now.”

The chief stood up. “Still, you do deserve a reward for your efforts. Whatever it may be, it shall be done.”

It was a pretty good offer they couldn’t pass up. An idea came to Leone. “Now that you mention it…”

**B**

Water was filling up a pointed bamboo until it was all the way and it tipped down to the water below it. Once it was empty, the bamboo came back up with the end tip hitting the stone to make that iconic sound in a hot spring located not too far from the village owned by a hotel. There was steam everywhere in the hot spring and the girls were having a good time together. Bare and all. Leone stretched out her arms while enjoying the hot water. “That’s what I’m talking about! It’s been way too long since I’ve had a good soak in a hot spring.”

Akame couldn’t agree more. “Yes. There’s nothing quite like it.”

Chelsea sank deeper into the water. “You’re telling me. If there’s one thing I’ve missed, it’s taking a proper bath sometimes. Not to mention all of this walking is such a pain.”

This wasn't the first time the team hearing of her complaining about their journey. "This was to be expected, Chelsea. You knew fully well about the hardships of this journey. The walking is one of them." Taeko advised.

She brought up a good point but it didn’t Chelsea had to like it. “I know. I still can’t believe we’ve walked all this way.”

Cornelia giggled at that. “I know. I still can’t believe we’ve made it this far. Those shortcuts of yours are amazing Taeko. There were some that weren’t even listed on the map.”

Taeko was quite proud of hearing that. “Thank you. They were routes my grandmother would take whenever she would go on a journey. I am glad they were of use. Although, it still took us a quite a bit of time to make it this far.”

While that was true, Esdeath seemed to be enjoying it nonetheless. “Yes but we have seen such incredible sights along the way.”

“Yeah but just be glad we were able to save this village.” Everyone lowered their head after hearing that. Kurome had brought up another good point. During their journey, they’ve seen many villages that had the unfortunate fate of being in ruins from either bandits or Grimm. Sometimes both. One of the things they’ve learned was that there was a group of bandits called the Raiders. From what they’ve heard, they were a ruthless bunch. “So was that bandit group the Raiders?”

Akame shook her head. “No. I didn’t see their insignia anywhere. Most likely were another group.”

That was unfortunate to hear but Rienna saw the upside to this. “That’s too bad but look on the bright side. We were able to save this village and the people are happy. That much we should be proud of.”

Everyone smiled at that. “Rienna is right. There are times we can’t save everyone so those that we do, we should at least take that for granted.”

Esdeath turned to her leader. “You’re right. We should. After all, wasn’t Night Raid all about protecting those who can’t protect themselves?”

Akame smiled at the other girl. Sometimes she couldn’t believe her once greatest enemy was now her ally. Even more so since Esdeath is a part of Night Raid now. While her back was turned, Chelsea saw an opportunity and quickly came from behind and groped Esdeath’s breasts. “Ally oop!” Naturally, Esdeath shrieked as she was being felt up by her teammate. Everyone was caught off guard by this. Chelsea gave a few squeezes. “Wow. No matter how many times I see them Esdeath, you have a pretty big rack. Sometimes I wonder who’s bigger. You or Leone? You feel pretty nice too.”

Esdeath was embarrassed by this and tried to shake the other girl off. “Chelsea! Get off of me!” She could’ve used her semblance but was pretty sure no one wanted to freeze in a hot spring.

Taeko facepalmed at her childhood friend’s antics. “Chelsea…cease this at once.”

Chelsea did just that but turned around to the other girl and made a sort of grabby gesture at here. “Oh? Do you want me to grab you too? It’s been a while so I want to see how big you’ve gotten.” She gave her teammate a lecherous grin.

Taeko immediately covered her breasts while blushing. “You will do no such thing!” One thing Akame and the others have learned about Chelsea was that she had a little bit of Lubbock in her. Whenever they did get the chance to bathe together, she would always try doing something perverted. One thing they all found out was that Kurome was the smallest of the group which was a little infuriating to her.

Esdeath was just holding herself shaking. “I feel like I’ve been violated.” Leone was just laughing her ass off seeing the whole thing.

Akame felt a little guilty smiling at this. It did remind her that one time she and the girls from her old team took a bath at a hot spring together. “Akame?” She looked over to Cornelia who was smiling at her. “Are you remembering something? You have that look.”

Akame looked back at Chelsea who continued to insist of feeling up Taeko. “Just a memory is all.”

Chelsea took one slow step after another at her teammate. “Come on Taeko. Don’t be such a stick in a mud. Let me see how much you’ve grown.”

Taeko was being annoyed by the other girl’s behavior. “I said no! That’s enough Chelsea!”

Chelsea was about to jump at the girl. “Chelsea…” She felt a very strong chill going down her spine and it wasn’t from Esdeath. Chelsea slowly turned to her girlfriend who was smiling at her with her eyes closed. She knew all too well what meant. Kurome opened her eyes and jumped at her girlfriend. “You perverted idiot!” The sound of Kurome hitting Chelsea on the head throughout the hot spring.

**B**

After they finished up in the hot spring, the team also had a banquet in their honor. Kurome certainly loved the food out of all of them. Once dinner was over, everyone went into their room to rest up to continue their journey. They had to leave early first thing in the morning. Everyone was sleeping contently on their eastern style futons laid on the floor. Despite Chelsea's antics, she was sleeping in the same futon as Kurome after apologizing to her several times. Everyone else was sleeping on their own. However, there was one who was still awake. Akame was outside at the balcony where she was sitting on a chair looking at the moon. Despite the hot spring and the food, there were still some things on her mind. That is until she was hugged from behind and felt a kiss on her neck. "Can't sleep?"

Akame chuckled at the question. “Something like that. Why are you up Leone?”

Leone let go her girlfriend and stood next to her. "My bed felt empty for some reason and saw there wasn't a pretty girl sleeping next to me. So what's on your mind?"

Akame continued looking at the moon. “I’ve been thinking about how it’s been over a year already.”

The Faunus girl raised an eyebrow. “A year? We haven’t been here that long-” And she figured out what the other girl was talking about. “Oh. You mean it’s been a year since our victory against the Empire huh?”

Akame nodded at the guess. "Yes, and it's been over six months since we've arrived in this world."

Leone looked at the moon with Akame. “Six months huh? Kinda feels like eight but hey, who’s counting?” She chuckled at a random thought. “Now that I think about it, if someone told me I was going to meet up with you again and be sent to a different world, I might’ve had a drink with them thinking that was funny. But here we are. A lot has happened to us since then huh?”

“Indeed. From meeting Ruby and the others for the first time to seeing those both we fought alongside and against. We owe so much to this world for what it’s done for us.” Akame felt a little sad about the next part. “However, a new world also meant new enemies and we’ve met them.”

Leone knew what the other girl was talking about. “Yeah. Cinder and her cronies and the White Fang.” Her blood still boiled at her missed chance of dealing the final blow to Adam.

Akame felt the same about Cinder. “And here we are again. It’s like no matter what, we can’t escape battles that have yet to come to decide our fates. Somehow, I knew this peaceful life we had wouldn’t last long but I continued to enjoy it for as long as I could.”

Leone didn’t fault Akame for thinking of that. “I don’t blame you. After living the life we had, living at Beacon was a breath of fresh air. Even living at Shade was kinda fun even though it was similar to the Empire except with the whole corrupted government bit. True we do have some fights up ahead but this time we’re not alone.” She looked back through the open door to see the rest of the team sleeping. “We have all of them backing us up. One thing is for sure, we’re not fighting this by ourselves.”

Akame looked back on them as well. “That’s true but sometimes I can’t help but worry. After what happened to everyone back in Night Raid.” She remembered all the friends she lost both in her former team and in Night Raid. “I’m afraid of losing them just like we lost the others before.”

It was natural for her to think like that. Leone had the same thoughts herself time to time but had a little more confidence. “It won’t end the same, I’ll tell you that. If not, we’ll make absolutely sure of it.”

There were times Akame wished she had the same level of confidence Leone exuded. Sometimes that alone made even the toughest times a little more bearable. “You’re right about that. We’re all in this together and we’ll see through this to the end.”

That was something Leone loved to hear. She saw Akame give out a yawn after saying all that and laughed. “Come on. Let’s get to bed.” Leone grabbed Akame’s hand and pulled her up from the chair. They then walked back to their futon while still holding each other’s hands. Once they went under the covers, both girls quickly fell asleep.

**B**

Morning came and Night Raid was already packed and prepared to leave the village. They were being seen off by the chief. “We made sure to replenish your supplies for your journey ahead. Again, thank you for your help.”

Leone smiled at him. “Thanks a lot for that. Take care of your village now, okay?”

The chief nodded at the Faunus blonde. “Of course. It’s quite surprising to see such young huntresses such as yourselves traveling together.” That wasn’t the first time they’ve heard that. They’ve been mistaken as being huntresses several times by other people. Rather than breaking it to them, they’ve decided to let them think what they want to believe. It was easier that way for them. Still, they did feel a little bad about lying to them. “I do hope your journey will be a safe one.”

Ironic he would say that. “Thank you for saying that. We’ll be taking our leave now.” Akame and the rest of the team waved goodbye at the chief and began to walk away from the village. They were on their way once again. “We still have a long way to go before we reach Mistral so let’s try to get as far as we can today.”

Kurome understood her sister’s order clearly. “You got it. Let’s put some hustle into it.” She smiled at her leader. “You know Akame, you can depend on us as much as you want.”

Akame looked back at her sister with a confused look. “What are you-”

“I kinda eavesdropped on your and Leone’s little talk last night. You don’t have to worry so much about us. Just as long we’re together, there isn’t an enemy we can’t take on.”

Akame saw the rest of the team's faces and they shared that same confident look on all of them. That alone told her enough and smiled. "Alright then. We're counting on each other." She looked at the road ahead. "Let's keep going Night Raid."

**B**

In another location, there was a small cottage by a large river with a very large vegetable garden tended by wolf Faunus girl in her early twenties. She had long white hair with several red markings on her face and wore a simple white dress which was dirtied a little from tending her plants. She smiled at her plants. “Perfect. They’re just ready. Dinner is going to taste good tonight.”

“I’m back!”

One of the wolf Faunus’ ear perked up and smiled. “You’re back.” She turned around only to see large fish being dropped on the ground. She was very astounded by it. “You seriously caught a fish that large?”

She heard a laugh and saw a smile. “Of course. Did it with my bare hands too. It did put up a little fight, though.”

The wolf girl giggled at that. “I can imagine. This’ll last a couple of days. You can prepare it right?”

“Of course. I am a man of the sea after all.”

Again she was reminded of that. “Of course. You say that all the time. Of course, your clothes are soaked. They'll have to dry out again outside. Still, I’ll leave that fish up to you while I’ll pick the vegetables later on. I’m sure you’ve worked up quite the appetite. For now, I’ll go and make breakfast.”

“Sounds good to me.” The wolf girl smiled and made her way into her cottage. She enjoyed his company a lot and helped out a lot.

Before she reached the door, the wolf Faunus stopped and turned around. “I forgot. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Anything will be fine. Don’t worry about it.” The woman nodded and went inside the cottage. Once she was gone, he looked up to the sky with his smile gone and was replaced with a more somber look on his face.

“Wave! Are coming inside? You must be cold!”

Wave looked over at the cottage. “I’ll be right there. Just have to put away the fish first!” He looked at the sky once more and had that same thought he had every now and then that came to him. _“Kurome…”_

 


	42. Stranger in a Strange Land

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Two: Stranger in a Strange Land

_“Kurome…I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m so sorry.”_

“Ahem.” Wave suddenly snapped out of his memories and looked at the person in front. Najenda lit up a cigarette. “Finally, you’re head in the real world.”

Wave cleared his throat. “I’m sorry general Najenda.” It was still hard to believe the woman in front of him was once his enemy and now was serving under her in the new Empire’s rule. “What was it you wanted to see me about again?”

Najenda blew out a puff smoke. "Some of the other soldiers have noticed you spacing out and working at a much slower pace. It even shows in your performance.”

She wasn't wrong. In truth, Wave noticed the drop as well and it was beginning to affect his work. "I apologize for all of that. I'll be sure to work twice as hard to make up for it."

That was good and all but it wasn’t what Najenda wanted to hear. “Wave…it’s true we were enemies before but we’re now on the same side. You chose to remain in the Empire for the sake of protecting the people. Isn’t that correct?”

Wave nodded at the question. “It is and I still believe in that.”

Najenda knew that much. However… “And yet you’re waning on your daily tasks. I can only assume something is constantly on your mind. Whatever it may be, it is affecting your work. Which is why I’m putting you on leave.”

Wave gasped at that. “You’re discharging me?”

The general shook her head. “No. Nothing of the sort. It’s obvious whatever is on your mind, it won’t leave until you do something about it. So you may take as long as you like trying to deal with this problem. Once you have, you may come back but only if you’re absolutely in the right state of mind. Is that clear?”

Wave was uncertain about all of this but it was an order. Then again, it maybe something Wave needed. He had a lot to think about. “Understood.”

**B**

Since then, Wave packed up and started on a journey of his own. He thought of going back home but it would help very little in dealing with these thoughts in his head. Since Wave started on the journey, time passed quickly for him. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Of course, he did help out those in need with the help of his Imperial Arms. He was allowed to take it with him. Even after all of the traveling and the walking, Wave still couldn’t get the death of Kurome out of his mind. To him, it was the greatest regret Wave had. It was constantly on his mind and that one scene where Akame stabbed her own sister with Murasame. Wave still remembered what he said to Akame on that dark rainy night. _"I will never forgive you for doing this."_ And that was still true to this day. Wave tried his best being the soldier he wanted to be in the new Empire but old memories still held him back. What was worse of all for him was that he never did tell Kurome how he felt about her and would never have the chance now.

So here he was now. In some forest sitting on the dirt with a small fire in front. Now that Wave thought about it, just how much longer would he have to be on this journey? It helped out a little but the thought of Kurome’s death was still strong from that day. It was a question he would have to answer tomorrow again. For now, Wave needed to sleep and closed his eyes. Before sleep took over, Wave had one lingering thought. _“Kurome…I wish I can see you again.”_

**B**

Wave knew it was morning thanks to his internal clock. He slowly opened his eyes and raised his head. Only to see a woman with long white hair and strange red markings on her face standing over him. The two stared at each other for several seconds before the screamed and jumped. “I-I’m sorry!”

Wave immediately stood up after that. Now that he took a closer look, there was something…off about her. Probably because she had wolf ears on her head. _“W-What the…?”_

The woman before him held her hands in front. “U-Um…are you lost? Sleeping in these woods can be a little dangerous.”

Wave recollected himself and cleared his throat. “I…could say the same about you walking around here. There can be danger beasts prowling around.”

The woman in front of him seemed confused by his words. “Danger beasts? If you mean the Grimm in this forest, don’t worry. I don’t go deeper into the forest.”

Now Wave was the one confused. “Grimm? I’ve never heard of those kinds of danger beast before.” Now that it came to him, Wave looked around the forest and saw that it wasn’t the forest he was in before. “Where…am I?”

The woman before him giggled. “You’re in a forest silly.”

This wasn’t the time for games for him. “I know that. I mean what forest is this?”

“It’s a forest near the village of Kaki.” The woman explained.

At least Wave got an answer but not the one he was expecting. “Kaki? I’ve never heard that place before.”

The woman in front of him giggled. “Is that so? Are you not from around here?”

That was the closest to the truth for Wave. “I suppose you can say that.”

It was good enough for her and she smiled. “Then how about I help you? I’m sure you’ll know where you by then.”

It was a great idea but Wave had one worry about it. “Are you sure about that? I mean we just met and you already want to help me?”

The woman giggled. “I know you’re a good person. I can tell just by looking in your eyes.” She turned around away from him. “I can show you around the area and see if that would help you. Come along now.” She started to walk.

This was not the morning Wave expected but there was nothing he could do about it. The best course of action now was figuring out where he was. There was one more question he wanted to ask. “Hold on a second! I didn’t catch your name!”

The woman stopped walking and turned around to face Wave with a smile on her face. “It’s Armasu. And yours?”

Armasu. It was a step in the right direction. He smiled back at Armasu. “Wave.”

**B**

Wave was astounded by what he was seeing. He was definitely not in the same area as he was in before. The landscape was too different and there were many trees with pinks flowers. “This place…”

Armasu could tell Wave was impressed by this. “I know. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

That was one way to put it. “Your village must be something else with all of this.”

His companion giggled. “It’s quaint I’ll give you that much. However, the town nearby is much more impressive. I travel there time to time to sell my merchandise.”

Now Wave was a little more interested in this. “Is that so? What do you sell?”

“Just various fruits and vegetables. I occasionally sell fish too but they’re sometimes a little difficult to catch.”

 Wave was ecstatic to hear that. “Is that so? I happen to be a man of the sea myself so I know all about catching fish.”

Armasu was impressed hearing that. “Really? That’s so amazing. Are by any chance a Huntsmen?”

Wave was confused hearing that. “Huntsmen?”

Armasu pointed to his weapon. "You're carrying that sword, right? Are you a Huntsmen?"

It was the first time Wave had heard of that before. "I'm afraid not. I'm…more of a soldier."

The answer wasn’t quite what Armasu was expecting. “A soldier? So does that mean you’re from Atlas then?”

Wave didn’t know where Atlas was or heard of it before. “Not…exactly. I’m from somewhere else.” He didn’t know how to explain that he was from the Empire. Wave wasn’t sure where he was. Speaking of not knowing. “There’s something I am curious about.” He pointed to Armasu’s wolf ears. “Are those seriously real?”

Armasu looked up at her ears and giggled. “Of course they are. It’s like you haven’t seen a Faunus before.”

_“Faunus?”_ Again, Wave had never heard of that either. All of this was so new to him. He wanted to learn more.

He wasn’t the only one. “So why are you out traveling if you’re a soldier?” Armasu asked.

That was one question Wave could answer a little honestly. “I just have some things to figure out for myself. My superior gave me some time off for this.”

It was an acceptable answer to the Faunus woman. “Oh, is that so? When do you have to go back?”

Wave just shrugged. “Whenever what I have going on is resolved.”

He was becoming more and more mysterious to Armasu. She didn’t know why but there was something different about him. “I see.” Soon they both arrived at the entrance to the village. “We’re here. Welcome to Kaki Village.”

The village definitely fitted into the landscape well as there were more of those pink petal trees along the roads of the village. Many of the petals were being softly blown away from the trees by the gentle winds. “So this is your village huh? It’s really nice. What are those trees called?”

Armasu was surprised to hear that. “You’ve never seen cherry blossom trees before?” She giggled at that fact. “You really are out of town huh? Come on, I’ll show you around.” She started to walk into the village with Wave following close to her. “Our village is known for are our cherry blossom trees around these parts. People from other towns come here to see them and we have a festival every spring involving them.”

Wave couldn’t help but smile at that. “That sounds really nice but aren’t you worried that something bad could happen to your village?”

The Faunus woman wasn’t too worried about that. “Don’t worry. A lot of people passing through are Hunters and they’re good people. We even have some living in the village. And the Grimm don’t bother us too. Even if they did, the Huntsmen would help us out. We are careful keeping an eye out for them just to make sure.”

At least they had some form of protection against those that would do them harm. It was endearing. “That’s good to know.” Wave looked around the village. “So uh…what do we now?”

One idea came to Armasu. “We can ask around some of the people. See if that’ll help.”

It was a good an idea as any. “Alright then. Let’s go right on ahead.” They spent most of the morning asking the locals and passersby. However, even though Wave learned a lot, it wasn’t what he needed to know. All it did was confirm his suspicions. Somehow, in some way, Wave had ended up in a different world. If that was the case, how was he supposed to go back to his world? Wave didn’t even know how he ended up in this world in the first place. Most importantly, how was he supposed to tell other people about it and would they believe him?

“Wave?” Wave’s thoughts were interrupted and looked over at Armasu. They were both sitting on a bench eating dango. “Are you disappointed? I’m sorry things didn’t go the way you wanted. You really are lost huh?”

That was one way to put it. “Yeah…you can say that again.” He looked at the street in front. The question now was where does Wave go from here?

“So Wave…” Wave looked back at his Faunus companion. “Are you going to be staying in the village for a while now? We do have a good inn.”

An inn would be nice but there was a problem. “Sounds great and all but…I’m afraid I don’t have enough to afford a room.”

Armasu was devastated to hear that. “So you’ve been just sleeping outside?”

That was mostly true. Wave did have money on him so he did sleep at inns for the night. He just thought it wouldn’t do much good in a different world. “It’s not so bad.”

The Faunus woman thought otherwise. “Well, I won’t stand for it. I suppose…you can spend the night at my house.”

Wave certainly wasn’t expecting that. “Wait, seriously? Are you sure about this?”

Armasu nodded at the questions. “Of course, silly. It’s the least I could do.”

If that was the case, Wave really couldn’t refuse because it would be rude. His mother taught him a few things about kind offers. “If you really say so then sure.”

The Faunus woman was glad to hear that. “Good.” She stood up from the bench. “My house isn’t too far from the village. Let’s get going.”

Wave stood up as well and smiled at her. “Alright then. Show me the way.”

**B**

Armasu wasn’t kidding about her home. It wasn’t far away from the village but it wasn’t exactly close either. It took a while for them to reach their destination. It was a cottage with a large field and a river nearby. Wave could see the appeal of the choice of location. It was quiet and peaceful. He spent the rest of the day of Armasu telling him her history. This land was originally owned by her grandfather and tended to it with him until his passing. He also learned his new friend was an artist in her spare time. Her art did seem a little strange to him as it wasn’t anything like he saw before. She explained it was ink art. It was certainly interesting to him. Before Wave knew it, night had fallen. While Armasu slept in her own room, Wave decided to sleep on the couch. Naturally, Armasu was against this but Wave didn’t really mind. He was sleeping soundly until his eyes furrowed and groaned. He was seeing flashes of images from his past.

_"I’m going to protect you!”_

_“I’m sorry. But if you really are my comrade…then as far as my sister is concerned…let me do as I please. I want to fight it out with her one-on-one and settle this once and for all.”_

_“Kuro…me…”_

In another image, it was raining on a dark night carrying a figure in his arms. _“I’m sorry…Wave. In the end…this is how it ends between us.”_

Wave looked back at the person who was responsible and glared at her angrily. _“You. For what you’ve done…what you’ve done to Kurome…I’ll never forgive you.”_

Wave suddenly woke up and sat up on the couch breathing heavily. He was freaked out because it had been a very long time since that night but to him, it didn’t feel that long ago. _“You will reunite soon enough.”_

He gasped and looked around the room. _“Where did that voice come from?”_

“Wave?” Wave looked behind to see Armasu standing in the doorway in her white nightgown. “Is everything alright?”

Wave just sighed while he looked away. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Did you say something to me before?”

The Faunus woman shook her head. "No, I didn't. What I did hear was you groaning your sleep. My ears kinda…caught it.” She slightly moved her wolf ears.

Wave laid back down on the couch. “I see. I’m sorry for disturbing you.” He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Armasu walked back into her room and closed the door.

**B**

Morning arrived and Wave was eating the breakfast Armasu made. The two were sitting at the table. From the look on his face, he was enjoying it. “Wow. This is really good. And all of these are your field?”

Armasu giggled at the question. “It is. I’m glad you like it.” As Wave continued to eat, there was something Armasu wanted to ask. “Wave…” Wave gulped down the last bit of food and stopped eating to look at her. “About last night, my ears did pick something up. It was you talking in your sleep. I hope I’m not intruding something but…who’s Kurome?” Wave’s face drop when he heard the name. His expression told the Faunus woman everything. “I-I’m sorry. I think that was rude of me. Forget about it-”

“It’s alright.” Armasu saw Wave put down his utensils on the table and smiled sadly. “Kurome was…we were comrades on the same team one time. She poked fun at me a few times but I was glad to fight alongside her. Kurome was a great person and a great fighter.” His expression changed and lowered his head. “But she had problems with her health and it worried me all the time.”

Armasu was happy to know a little more about Wave’s past and wanted to learn more. “I see. It’s terrible she had something like that. Where is she now?”

This was the part that hurt Wave the most but talking about it did seem to ease him a little. “She’s gone.” Armasu gasped as she knew what that meant. “One night, she was going to a fight to settle with someone she knew even though her health was getting worse. I opposed to it and tried to stop her but she knocked me out. When I came to, I immediately panicked and ran as fast as I could looking for her. When I did find her…she was already killed.” Wave closed his hand tightly. “If I had just gotten to her sooner, I would’ve done something. Would’ve found a different way but I was too late. Ever since then…I couldn’t forgive what she’d done to Kurome.”

Armasu figured this someone was the same person who killed his friend. “Did you ever find the person who was responsible?”

Wave let up his grip in his hand and sighed. “No. I know she’s out there somewhere but I don’t think we’ll ever meet again.”

The Faunus woman took a small sip of her morning tea and set the cup down. “Are you also looking for revenge while traveling?”

To her surprise, Wave shook his head. “Revenge won’t bring Kurome back. I know that much. But if I do ever meet the person responsible, I wouldn’t hesitate in the second I see her to make her pay for what she did.” He looked out the window. “With that said, I’m just…wandering around aimlessly without knowing where to go or what to do.” Wave felt surprisingly lighter after saying all of that. Sure he had cut some parts but it did make him feel better. He looked at the woman and smiled. “Thanks for listening to me. It kinda feels nice I’m talking to someone about this.”

Armasu smiled back at him. "I suppose it is a good thing. The longer you keep something to yourself, the heavier it becomes for you. Nothing good will come of it if you hold it all in. I'm sorry you lost a good comrade but I'm glad you're not overtaken by revenge." She stared at her reflection in the tea. "There was something my grandfather once told me. Time may heal all wounds but how they'll heal depends on the person. They may heal quickly or may never heal at all. I do hope your wounds heal Wave." As comforting those words are, Wave thought his wounds would never heal. And being stranded on an unknown world with an idea of going back only made it worse. "With what you said earlier, if you have nowhere to go and no idea where to go…maybe you can stay here with me."

Wave certainly wasn’t expecting to hear that. “Stay here with you?”

Armasu nodded at the question. “That’s right. Until you finally figure out where you want to go. What do you say?”

Wave wasn’t too sure about the whole idea. “I don’t know. I mean the offer is nice and all but we just met yesterday.”

The Faunus woman wasn’t too worried about that. “Then I guess I’ll have plenty of time in knowing you. Besides, what other options do you have?”

She brought up a good point. Wave didn’t have a destination in mind except finding a way back to his world and he didn’t even know where to start on that. It was just luck Armasu found him the woods yesterday morning. She was nice to him even though they barely knew each other and was offering to help. With all of these facts, Wave came to the unavoidable conclusion. “I guess you win then. Thank you for helping someone out like me.”

Armasu waved her hand nonchalantly at him. “It’s no problem. This is just until you figure out what to do next.”

Even still, Wave wouldn’t want to be a burden to her. “Fair enough. However, while you’re letting me stay here, you can tell me what I can work on here. Anything at all.”

It was deal Armasu couldn’t refuse. “I suppose that’s fair.” She stood up from her chair. “Let’s do our best together…Wave.”

**B**

Wave did enjoy his time during his stay with Armasu. But even through this entire time, he still hadn’t told her the whole truth about him. About the Empire, what it did, and about the Imperial Arms. The reason behind that was because he didn’t see the need to. Wave told her what she only needed to know. She didn’t need to know the rest of the story and it’s worked out pretty great so far.

There were times Wave did miss his world and wondered how the people he knew were doing. Some of those thoughts went to what was she doing now. He didn’t have flashbacks in his dreams all that often ever since that night. Even if they did come, Armasu would be there to lend a helping hand. Wave was grateful to have a friend like her in this world.

Wave instantly sat up while the Faunus woman took a few steps back. He turned around to face her. “Armasu. Hey there.”

The Faunus woman smiled at him. "Hello, yourself. What are you doing?"

 Wave laughed sheepishly and stood up. “Just watching the clouds. That’s all. What are you doing here?”

Armasu giggled at him. “Just here to let you know lunch is almost ready. That and we need to prepare to go to the town to sell again.”

Wave couldn’t believe it was that time already. “Is that right? How soon do we go?”

The Faunus woman shrugged. “Maybe in a day or several just to make sure.”

It seemed good enough for him. “Okay. I’ll go make sure the fish is prime and ready by then.”

Armasu nodded at that. “That’s probably a good idea.” She nudged her head over to the cottage. “Let’s get back inside.”  Wave didn’t argue and the two walked back to the cottage. It was almost time to go back to the town and Wave was looking forward to it once again.

**B**

In a dark room dimly lit by lanterns hanging on the walls and several candles on a desk, a woman was staring intently at a piece of paper before her. Every time she would see the face sketched on it, she would feel rage going through her. She heard several knocks on the wooden door of the room. “Enter.” The door opened and another figure came inside. “You have something to report?”

The figure nodded at the question. "Yes, ma'am. Our spies and scouts have trailed the traitor Faunus in a town not too far from our location. Is there anything you would like to do?” After hearing that, his superior smiled wickedly and began to laugh insanely. It was sorta creepy to him. “Uh…ma’am.”

She continued to laugh until she settled down. “Very good. Let her come closer to us. When she does come, I will finish what Adam could not. And once I do, I will deliver her head to Sienna Khan myself!” She calmed down after saying all of that. “Thank you for reporting this to me. You may leave now.” He nodded at her and left the room closing the door behind him. She looked at the sketch and glared at it. “What you have done is beyond unforgivable and I will make sure you will pay for your crimes with your life. In the name of absolute justice, I will banish your evil from this world!” She grabbed a knife nearby and stabbed the sketch of Leone in between the eyes.

 


	43. The Spirit between Worlds

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

   Kill Forty Three: The Spirit between Worlds

Ruby and the rest of team RNJR continued their journey toward Haven. And of course, they were having trouble reading the map once again. “Are you certain you know where we’re going?” Ren asked.

Ruby twisted and turned the map for the umpteenth time trying to get her bearings. “Of course, I’m sure. We just go from here to here to…there.”

Jaune just sighed at her answer. “Really? Are we lost again?”

Ruby turned the map around again. “No, no. We’re going the right way. I’m sure of it.”

Nora was just laughing at this whole thing. “It wouldn’t be the first time for us.”

Their leader groaned at her team’s confidence in her. “Would you just trust me already!? We’ll make it to the next town for sure.”

While the group continued on with their conversation, from afar, Qrow was keeping an eye on them from on top of a higher cliff. He recently killed another batch of Beowolves who had their eye on the team. There were times he couldn’t believe they had almost gotten lost a few times traveling to their next destination. Then again, it was their own fault for letting Ruby be in charge of a map. Speaking of his niece, he really couldn’t forget about what he and his sister Raven discussed from the last village.

_F_

After Ruby and her team decided to stay at an inn, Qrow was still looking out for them from the bar across. Then was he was given a drink complementary of a woman with red eyes upstairs. Qrow wasn't surprised who that was. He took his drink and headed upstairs only to see his twin sister, Raven Branwen. Yang's mother. Their discussion went as he thought. Raven had mentioned she told him that Ozpin would fail and Beacon would fall. What's more so of what would happen if Salem would ever get her hands on the Spring Maiden whose whereabouts were unknown. Qrow also brought up Yang in the conversation but that went to be expected whenever she was on a topic. Their conversation ended on whether or not Raven knew who the Spring Maiden really was. Just as Qrow saw his sister grab her mask and turned away, there was still one more thing before she left. “Before you go Raven, there’s something I want to know.” His sister stopped walking. Qrow knew he had her attention. “Leone Wild. I know you’ve seen her around with Yang one time or another. What are your thoughts on her?”

Raven kept quiet for a few seconds. “What’s there to think about?”

Qrow just scoffed as he took another sip of his glass. “For one, she’s got a good head on her shoulders. Two is that she and Yang are pretty close to each other and I don’t mean in an intimate kind of way. When Yang was still in bed after the Fall of Beacon, Leone was the one who never left her side. Seeing that reminded the time both Yang and Ruby took the time in taking care of Summer when she became sick. In other words, they almost seem to be a real mother and daughter.” Of course, Raven knew that much. She was there when Yang sang that song to Leone. She didn’t show it but Raven did still care for her daughter. There just nothing she could do about it. “And if Yang’s the mom, I guess that would make the Faunus girl she’s with the dad. You do know they’re together right? Which I guess begs the question: does that technically make you a grandmother now?”

Raven knew that as well. She saw that Faunus girl pull in Yang for a kiss and could see how much they loved each other. Raven had a feeling her brother asked that question for a reason. “Three things Qrow. One: I have no business dealing with her personal life. I gave up on that a long time ago. Two: never call me that again. And three: get to the point.”

Her brother chuckled. “Right. Here’s the truth about that Faunus girl Leone. After a match between her leader Akame fighting against a girl called Kurome, Ozpin told me and Ironwood something pretty surprising about them. Turns out, both she and that Leone girl were once assassins from another world.”

It was rare for Raven to be surprised and she was. Although she didn’t show it. “And why would Ozpin enroll assassins of all people into Beacon?”

Qrow just shrugged. "Told us they needed new purpose after what they've been through. Believe it or not, those girls probably killed more people than Grimm. People who harmed others."

Already Raven thought another reason why Ozpin enrolled those two. “Perhaps or maybe Ozpin thought adding assassins would help in delaying the inevitable. Look how that turned out. It would take a lot more than mere assassins from another world to fight against Salem.”

While that may be true, there was more to them than meets the eyes. “You may have a point. Then again, you weren’t there when that Akame girl suddenly activated her semblance during the fight. And let me tell you, I’ve never felt that much anger and hate in once place. It was strong enough to draw in the Grimm closer to the school. In a way, given her looks, she could almost pass as one of us. Don’t you think? And if that was just her, I wonder what kind of surprises that Leone girl has in store.” He took another sip and set the glass down. “If those two girls did come from another world to ours, it makes me wonder if that old story is true. The story of the spirit who can travel between worlds. That’s what I first thought when Ozpin said those two girls were from another world.”

While all of this did sound interesting to her, Raven had her doubts. “Even if that old tale is true, what good will they do? What we’re fighting against, it’s well over their heads.”

She may had a point but Qrow had one of his own. "That's true but if there's one thing they have going for them, it's experience. They did fight through a revolution and that's only the tip of the iceberg about them. Who knows? Maybe they'll change the game."

Raven grabbed the handle of her sword. “If that were the case, they could’ve started by preventing Beacon from falling but look how that turned out.” She drew out her sword and cut the space before her in creating a black vortex. “As I’ve said before. It’ll take more than those two to make a difference in this fight. You’d best be careful if you’re thinking they’ll change anything. Ozpin did and he lost.” Raven took one step forward before stopping. “By the way brother, I have something to tell you as well. I saw Yang leave Taiyang’s home with that Faunus girl. To where I have no knowledge of. Make what you can with that.” Raven stepped into the vortex without saying another word and it vanished completely.

All Qrow did was stare at the space his sister was standing in. "A goodbye wouldn't hurt you know." He suddenly heard a shriek and some glass crashing to the ground behind him. He looked back to see that same waitress looking terrified at what she saw. Qrow raised his glass. "Can you make this a double?"

_F_

So now two of his nieces were out and about. Except he doesn’t know where Yang was going with Blake. His only worry was that if Yang was ready to go outside given her condition. Then again, she was with Blake and he could trust her enough to look after his niece. He looked up to the sky. _“Raven may be right. Fighting in a revolution is one thing but taking on someone like Salem is a completely different scale. Only time will tell how this’ll go.”_ Qrow looked back down to Ruby and her team who were still bickering if they were still going the right way. His last thoughts before moving to catch up were about Yang. _“I wonder how that little firecracker is doing now.”_

**B**

Yang could only sigh at the situation she was in. “You know, I thought this would be kinda romantic. You and me, on a boat with a setting sun. It would be a perfect moment. But no…there had be a freaking interruption!” She looked up to see a Sea Dragon Grimm roaring at the boat she and Blake were on. Said Faunus girl was swinging around the Grimm using Gambol Shroud’s ribbon while shooting at it.

The Faunus girl landed on a nearby rock and looked over at her partner. “Yang!” She threw her sheath with the ribbon still attached.

Yang grinned as she knew what her girlfriend’s plan was. She grabbed the ribbon and hoisted her up to the dragon Grimm. The blonde let go and landed on the head. Yang felt a feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long time. “This is for ruining a perfectly good cruise!” She activated Ember Celica and slammed both her weapon and her robotic arm together in order to activate her semblance. Yang pulled back her human arm and punched the Grimm from on top of its head. The force of the attack was strong enough send the Grimm crashing back into the water. Yang laughed at her accomplishment. "That's what I'm talking about!" Her celebration was cut short as the Grimm started to rise up and this time something was rumbling from within. "That doesn't sound good." Wings suddenly appeared out of the Sea Dragon Grimm and took flight with Yang still on it. “Son of a…!” Yang fell off the head and was falling along the back of the Grimm. She quickly grabbed onto one of the scales. “Uh…this didn’t go as planned.”

Blake saw the Grimm take to the skies with her girlfriend along with it. “Hold on Yang!” She had to come up with a plan and quick. With some last minute thinking, Blake jumped into the air as high as she could before making one of her shadow clones and throwing her toward the Grimm. She reached one of the wings and managed to stab one of them with Gambol Shroud. The blade tore through the membrane of the wing down along with Blake. With one of the wings torn open, the Sea Dragon Grimm lost its balance and began to fall. Yang saw this an opportunity and let go. She flew upwards while the Grimm crashed back into the water near the book. Blake managed to land on a nearby rock.

The Sea Dragon Grimm tried to rise up again but this time, Yang was coming down on it again slamming her fists together and flared up. “Now let’s try this again!” She pulled back her robotic arm. “Let’s test this out!” Yang struck the top of the Grimm’s head yet again but it had a larger impact this time around. It had an effect on the Sea Dragon Grimm and groaned groggily. The captain of the boat saw this an opportunity and pointed the cannon at it. That meant it was time for the blonde to get out there. “And that’s my cue.” She quickly looked for Blake and spotted her. “Incoming!” Yang jumped off the Grimm and over to her girlfriend. “Let’s end this with…”

Blake could only groan. “Don’t say it.”

“Fire!” The captain gave out the order.

“A Yang!” The cannon fired at the Grimm and completely blew up the top half of the Grimm. Blake held her arms around and caught the blonde carrying her bridal style. Yang could only laugh at their position. “My hero.” Blake couldn’t help but chuckle at that and both girls saw what was left of the Grimm dissipating while the crew was celebrating their win.

**B**

After a few congratulations from the passengers for both the crew and the Bumblebee pair, said pair were in their quarters for their well-deserved break. Yang was still giddy about the fight. “Did you actually see me? I gave that Grimm what it deserved. Well, the crew delivered the final blow but you know what I mean. Serves it right for interrupting us.”

Blake smiled at the other girl. “I believe you’re right.” She continued to observe the blonde. “Yang…how did you feel during the fight?”

Yang already knew where Blake was going with her question. “I felt fine. I didn’t freeze or hesitate. I’m actually glad I got to fight against Grimm for the first time in months. Even better with you.” Blake could only hope that streak would last. Grimm was one thing. The White Fang was another. That’s what would truly test Yang. “Hey, don’t worry.” The Faunus girl paid back attention to Yang who was smiling at her. “Whatever it is we have to fight, we’ll fight it together. You and me, we’re what makes each other strong and we’re even stronger together.”

The Faunus girl couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Where did all of that come from?”

Yang just shrugged at the question. “I don’t know. Just came up with it at the spot but it doesn’t make it any less true.” Blake would have to agree to that. “So…what can you tell me about Menagerie? What’s it like? I mean it’s your home right?”

Blake sighed at the question. “You can say that. From what I can tell you, it is beautiful. Well, the part where we can live. Two-thirds of it is a desert and it's uninhabitable because of the wildlife living there. But that's not the worst of it. The Faunus were given Menagerie as a reward for being treated as equals. That may have been the case for the humans but to many of the Faunus, it was unfair. All they did was put all of the Faunus into a corner of Remnant. In a way, it still feels like we're being treated as second-class citizens."

Now Yang couldn’t help but feel bad about the whole thing. “I know I should saying along the lines of I’m sorry but I don’t think that’ll cut it. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for you.” Blake didn’t blame Yang for feeling like that. “I do hope your dream of equality does come true someday. I know it’s what you want the most and I hope I’ll be there with you when it does.”

Blake smiled at the blonde’s words. “Thank you, Yang.”

Yang smiled back and looked outside through the window to see the stars in the sky. “I wonder how everyone else is doing. Ruby is out there somewhere and I know Weiss is still holed up in Atlas. And then there’s Leone.”

Blake could already tell some things about their daughter. “I’m sure she’s fine. She is our daughter after all.”

That was always a point Yang couldn’t argue. “That’s true. She’s got the best of us in her and with her.” She continued to watch the stars and see an image of Leone smiling at her parents.

**B**

In an inn located in another town, Akame was looking through the mirror in her room. The team split into two comprising what made ALCE and KRCT. Kurome and her team were in the next room over. “Akame…”

Akame looked back to see Esdeath sitting on her bed in her dragon pajamas. “Still waiting for Leone to come back?”

Her leader shook her head. “No. I know she’ll be back. Leone is very proficient in obtaining information. It's one of the reasons why she spent a lot of time in the Capital. Other times…" She knew Leone spent more time drinking in bars rather than gather info.

They heard Cornelia laugh at that fact. "She's helped us a lot so far using that skill. That and lifting people's wallets which I'm sure that's not a good thing."

Akame giggled at that. “I told you they were from people who were up to no good. Something Leone once told me about that. Their money is being used for something better. Then again…she usually spent that on alcohol.”

“She drank alcohol?” Both Cornelia and Esdeath spoke at the same time.

Meanwhile, in one other part of the town, Leone was making her way back to the inn with some useful information in hand. “So it looks like we’re going have to take the long way since the river floods the bridge every time it rains and we have seen how the clouds were forming earlier today. No doubt it’s going to rain sometime soon.”

“I said I’m not interested.”

“Well, I say you are.”

Leone stopped walking as her ears picked up a conversation. Judging by how far the voices were, they were coming from an alley just ahead of her. The Faunus blonde walked up to the alley and peeked around the corner. What Leone saw was a couple of Faunus. One male who seemed to be a deer Faunus because he had antlers coming out of his head and a female who had a cat tail. Tiger to be exact. From the look of it, they seemed to be having an argument. “I’m not joining you. All of you are insane!”

The deer Faunus didn’t look happy. “And why not? Don’t you want them to pay? Pay for what the humans have done to us? This is your chance to join the revolution. To join the White Fang.”

Leone’s blood instantly boiled when she heard that name and gripped the corner of the wall tight enough for cracks to appear. _“The White Fang? Here? And if they are, that means they’re nearby.”_

“I’ve heard of enough of what all of you do and I’ll say this again. I’m not interested in joining your crazy cult!”

The deer Faunus heard enough and grabbed her arm. “Perhaps you just need a more convincing way.”

“Hey!” Both Faunus turned to see where the new voice came from but all the deer one saw was a hand grabbing him by the face and slamming his head against the wall. Leone kept a tight grip while glaring at the White Fang member. “White Fang huh? Never thought I would run into one of you lousy fucks in a place like this.”

The deer Faunus gasped as he saw a good look at his attacker. “You. I recognize you. You’re the one who fought against Adam Taurus.”

Hearing that name provoked Leone more and pushed his head into the wall further. “If you value what’s left of your life, tell me what the hell are the White Fang are doing in a place like this?! Also, if a girl says no, you better damn well listen!”

The member groaned at the pressure being applied to his head. “As if I’ll say anything to betray the Fang and to a traitor like you.”

Leone was beginning to lose her patience. “Don’t you ever compare me to all of you. You’re going to tell me where the rest of your group is.”

The deer Faunus grunted in pain until he finally gave in. “Alright, alright!” The Faunus blonde let up some of the pressure now that she has some cooperation. “There’s an abandoned mining site not too far from this town. We’re using that as a base of operations.”

This was more like it to Leone. “That’s more like it.”

“Hold up.” He caught her interest. “I have to go back to them soon. If I don’t report back, they’ll know something went up and leave without a trace. It’ll look like they’ve never been there at all. Kill me and you’ll get squat.”

Leone gritted her teeth. This was not the ideal situation for her. This was one chance to deal a damaging blow to the White Fang and possibly finding Adam. The only problem though, was there enough time to tell Akame and the rest about this? In the end, she came to a difficult decision. “You’re going to lead me to where the rest of you are. Got that?”

The member had little choice to decline. “You’re making a mistake like no other if you think you can take on the White Fang yourself.”

Leone narrowed her eyes at him. "Trust me pal. I've dealt with others a lot more threatening than all of you." She turned to the woman Faunus who looked scared out of her mind. "We'll be going now. Take care and stay out of trouble. Okay?" She saw the other Faunus nod at her with a slight look of fear on her face. "Good." She grabbed the member by the shoulder and shoved him in front. "Get moving." He just mumbled something and ultimately lead Leone to where the rest of his group was. While they were leaving, the woman Faunus gave a sly smile.

**B**

“Keep moving.” Leone shoved her prisoner in front to keep up the pace. Right now they were walking through a forest stepping on gravel. She knew Akame and the rest of the team may be wondering where she was by now but this was too good of an opportunity to waste and there was no time. This mining site the member told her was a ways off from the town. Somehow it seemed fitting for the White Fang. “How much farther until we get there.”

The member scoffed at her. “We’re almost there.”

The answer wasn’t good enough for Leone. “That’s what you said twenty minutes ago. If I find out you’re lying-”

“Right. Like I’m stupid enough to lie to a Faunus who’s infamous among the White Fang.”

Leone raised an eyebrow to that. “How-”

“We’re here.” They exit out of the forest and saw a large clearing in front. There were machines long abandoned and several openings leading to the mines. “Happy now?”

So far so good but something seemed a little off. “Where’s the rest of you?”

The member huffed. “Inside the mines.”

It was good enough for Leone. “Then let’s confirm you’re back and that’ll be the end of it.” The two walked into the clearing and headed to one of the open mines. While they were walking, a figure stood on top of the crane overseeing them. Her gaze was mostly focused on Leone and smiled. She took out two metal hexagonal bars from behind her lower back and extended them to clubs with studded spikes appearing on all sides. She jumped off the crane and was falling over to where Leone and the member were. Unfortunately for her, Leone could already sense someone from that spot. She just wondered when they were going to make a move. In a quick move, she kicked the member away from and jumped back to avoid the surprise attack. The attack missed and dust kicked up. “Alright, what’s the big freaking deal here!?”

The figure stood up still carrying her kanabo. “So you were able to dodge my attack. I knew it would take more than that.” She looked back at the other member. “You’ve done well leading her here. I’ll be sure to reward you later on for your bravery and commitment.”

The member was glad to hear that. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll be rooting for you to take this traitor down." He fled to the mines and left his commander alone with Leone.

Leone was on edge of what just happened. It was apparent she was led into a trap. Not that she was counting on it, of course. She knew something was up. “Okay. So who the hell are you?”

The dust was beginning to clear and saw what Leone’s opponent looked like. The obvious thing that caught her attention first was the pair of floppy dog ears on her head with a gaping cut at the tip in the right dog ear. The second was that she had long auburn hair tied in a ponytail. Her outfit consisted of upper body armor that was red as was her skirt and gloves. The clothing underneath was black. They were all trademark colors of the White Fang. Last but not least, she was carrying two weapons. “So finally, we meet. I’ve been wanting to see you for quite some time now.” She gave a demented glare at Leone with a twisted grin. “Leone Wild. You are wanted by the White Fang for committing a crime, no, a sin most unforgivable! This I solemnly swear that I, Seryu Koro of the White Fang will personally see to that your evil shall be eliminated in the name of absolute justice!”

 


	44. Target: Leone Wild

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Four: Target: Leone Wild

It was rare for Akame to be worried for someone like Leone. She kept looking out the window in hopes of seeing the Faunus blonde walking down the street toward the inn. But she was nowhere to be found. Akame knew Leone didn't look old enough to wander into a bar for a drink. It was a disadvantage for looking younger than what her actual age is. Akame was starting to think she should go out looking for her. "She’s still isn’t back yet?” Akame looked back at Cornelia who was in her bed under the covers. Esdeath was already asleep hugging her other pillow mumbling something about her Teddy Ursa.

Akame looked back at the window. “No. It usually doesn’t take her this long.”

Cornelia could understand why her leader was a little worried. “Maybe something held her up. Whatever it is, I’m sure Leone can handle it. She’s one of the strongest people I know. In fact, I feel sorry for whoever is keeping her away from her team. And you.”

There was that possibility. Of course, who would be stupid enough to pick a fight with Leone? Akame smiled at the thought. “Yeah, you’re right Cora.” Akame of all people should know to have absolute confidence in the Faunus blonde. Leone survived much worse while fighting alongside her.

That was what Cornelia wanted to hear. “That’s more like it. She’ll be back. Maybe not in the next five minutes but she’ll be back. Come on. We need to rest up for tomorrow. Who knows, maybe she’ll sneak back into the room and surprise you sleeping in your bed.”

She had a point. The night was getting late and there was a chance Leone would do something like that. Akame smiled at her teammate. “Alright, Cora." Akame stood up from her chair and walked over to her bed. She turned off the only lamp that was on and went under the covers. “Good night.”

Cornelia smiled at the other girl. “Good night Akame.” She closed her eyes and went to sleep. Akame did the same. It didn’t take long for her to realize how big, cold, and lonely a bed was without Leone.

**B**

“This I solemnly swear that I, Seryu Koro of the White Fang will personally see to that your evil shall be eliminated in the name of absolute justice!"

It didn’t take long for Leone to recognize the name of her new opponent and close her hands tightly as anger was seething through her. _“Seryu? Is this for real? She was a member of the Jaegers and the bitch responsible for killing Sheele. Last I’ve heard of her was that she tried to blow herself up trying to take Mine with her. Why am I not surprised she’s in the White Fang?”_ Now that she thought about this whole thing, it actually a blessing in disguise. _“Looks like I get my shot for what this bitch did to Sheele after all.”_

Seryu continued her twisted grin at her target. “Silent with fear? Are you having cold feet already?”

Leone glared at the former Jaeger member. “It’s not fear. You just remind me of a bitch I really hate way back then and wanted to punch in the face. So what does the White Fang want with me? More importantly, how did you find me?”

Seryu was all too glad to explain. “Finding you was easy. You and your little group never noticed. How you were being followed by our members. Any Faunus you’ve come across may have been a member of White Fang and gave reports of your whereabouts. One thing we’ve learned about you is that you’re always quick to help out a Faunus in need. We simply used that to our advantage.” That would explain one of the members harassing another Faunus. It also gave Leone the idea that she may have met actual White Fang members without realizing it throughout this whole journey. “And for your first question, they want you to pay. Pay for what you’ve done back at Beacon. Never before we’ve heard one of our race own slaughtering her kind. Adam told us everything about you and what you’ve done. There’s even a sketch of what you look like for other members to recognize you.”

That’s what all of this was about. The White Fang wanted her head for killing some of their members. That was all Leone needed to understand. “So is it just me or are you going to go after my group too?”

Seryu cackled at the question. “They’re not important to us. All we’re interested is you paying for your crime. Besides, they’ll have what’s getting to them soon enough.”

That was the last straw for Leone. “Is that so? Then tell me this. Is this whole revenge thing what the White Fang wants or what you want?”

Seryu stopped smiling and narrowed her eyes at the other Faunus girl. “It doesn’t matter. Once you’re defeated, word will spread throughout the White Fang and they will see that no one, human or Faunus, especially you will not stop us from achieving what we desire!”

Leone returned the glare at her opponent. “That sounds great and all but there’s one giant hole in your plan.” She grabbed the collar of her cloak and took it off of her. Leone flicked her wrists and activated Lionel. The Faunus blonde then assumed her stance. “You’re going to have to beat me in a fight!”

Seryu wouldn’t have it any other way. She took up her own stance with one foot behind the other and holding her kanabo apart from her body. “Remember what I said about Adam telling us everything about you? That included you mentioning you were some assassin from another world.” She laughed at that little fact.

Leone knew he would tell the White Fang about that. It didn’t matter to her. It made things all the easier for them to know who they were dealing with. "Then you know I'm not going let any of you walk out of here alive.”

Seryu smirked at that. “Is that so? Then I’ll tell you this. No matter how powerful the foe, they always have a weakness.”

Leone had heard enough already. “Then let’s put that to the test!” She launched herself right at the other Faunus girl.

Her starting this fight was what Seryu wanted. **“Reinforce.”** Her weapons flashed for only just a second before going away. Leone didn't know what it was but obviously, she didn't care. When came near enough, the Faunus blonde extended her arm out. Seryu swung one of her kanabo to intercept the attack. Fist met steel and a crater formed beneath them. What surprised Leone the most was that her opponent didn't fly off when their attacks hit head on against each other. Seryu chuckled madly and continued her swing of her weapon. She managed to send the other Faunus girl off into the air away from her. From there, Seryu jumped to where Leone was going to be. She approached Leone's side and swung her other kanabo at her. The Faunus blonde was sent away again and was headed toward the crane. She hit the top part of the crane and the impact was strong enough to topple it over to the ground. 

The White Fang members who were seeing the fight from the entrances of the mines cheered for Seryu’s first strike. One of them was feeling a little anxious about how the fight will turn out. _“So we’re finally going to see it. A fight between monsters.”_

Leone hissed through her teeth at the attack she was dealt with. “Goddamn.” She stood up on top of the wreck. “What the hell just happened? No one’s been able to stop my attacks before. Let alone do what just happened. Except for that freaking pipsqueak alchemist.” She suddenly heard screaming and saw Seryu above her with both her kanabo raised. Leone took that as a sign to avoid her next attack. She jumped back and Seryu struck the spot the Faunus blonde was standing on. The result of the attack crushed the spot Seryu had managed to hit. Leone landed on the edge of the destroyed crane and lifted it. Seryu was still standing on top of the equipment but didn’t lose that wicked grin of hers. She pointed one of her kanabo at the other Faunus girl and the front end of it opened. Leone gasped as she saw the weapon pointed right at her. Seryu fired her weapon and it made a whistling noise.

Leone dropped the crane and jumped back to avoid the shot. An explosion occurred when the shot hit where the Faunus blonde was standing. As soon as the crane dropped to the ground, Seryu sprinted as fast as she could to where her enemy was. Leone saw her opponent running toward her and prepared herself as she stood in place. _“Come on.”_  Seryu came in closer and closer to her opponent until she was just in front of the other Faunus girl. Leone was about to counterattack when Seryu suddenly stopped and swung her kanabo at the ground. The attack managed to kick up a cloud of dust that enveloped them both. Leone coughed while covering her nose with her arm while she kept searching with one eye open. “Seriously?” The dust obscured both her sight and smell but her hearing was unaffected. That and she could sense her enemy by her aura. The Faunus blonde immediately turned around and caught the kanabo from the side at her. The second attack never came after that and felt the weapon she was holding suddenly became lighter. The dust cleared up and she saw Seryu keeping her distance while holding her other kanabo. “Not bad. I’ll give you points for creativity. Still, is that all you got?” She tossed the weapon away.

Seryu didn’t look to be the least bit worried about her situation. “I’ll have you know all of that was just the warmup.”

Leone stretched out her neck side to side while the bones popped. “Then let’s get down to business.” The Faunus blonde went down on all fours while eying on her enemy as if she were prey. “You’re mine!” She launched herself again at her enemy.

Seryu didn’t have a chance to defend as Leone was immediately in her space. The Faunus blonde delivered an uppercut and struck her enemy. Seryu was sent hurdling toward the upper part of the rock wall where the mines were located below. She crashed into the wall and felt just how powerful her opponent was. “So Adam wasn’t exaggerating after all about her strength.”

“I’m not through with you yet!” Seryu saw Leone jump to where she was stuck and was above her now. The Faunus blonde struck her enemy and Seryu sent down while ripping through the rock until Seryu crashed into the ground. The Faunus girl groaned while standing up. Then Leone landed in front of her and struck her again away from the mines. Seryu tumbled into the ground.

Already Seryu felt like her aura had hit its limit. “Damnit. If I take another hit like that…” She saw Leone land across from her. _“I can’t let this fight end just yet. Not until I find my opening.”_

Leone took a running start at her enemy. “This fight’s over!”

The other Faunus girl had something else in mind. “That’s what you think!” She pointed her other kanabo at Leone.

The Faunus blonde already knew what Seryu was up to. " The same trick isn't going to work twice!"

Seryu was counting she would say that. _“That’s what you think.”_

The front opened up and this time, there was barrel extended out of it. Leone immediately stopped as she knew what it was. “Oh shit!” The other Faunus girl screamed as she began firing rounds at her enemy. Leone started running to the side in order to avoid the bullets. _“Each of her weapons has_ _different gun features?”_ She had to make her counter. Leone stopped running just enough to run straight ahead to Seryu. The other Faunus girl continued to fire at her but Leone moved side to side to avoid the bullets. Once she was close enough, Leone swiped upwards at the weapon and knocked it out of Seryu’s hand. The Faunus blonde grabbed the other girl and took her down straight to the ground as Seryu’s weapon fell back down too. Leone made sure to put all of her weight so Seryu wouldn’t struggle as much while pinning down the girl’s right arm and her claw above the enemy Faunus. “This is over for you.”

Seryu cackled at the other girl. “Justice will never lose to the likes of you!”

Leone was just going to end it and swung her claw at the other girl. A sudden loud blast echoed throughout the area and Leone screamed as she was sent away from the other Faunus girl. She landed on the ground groaning while holding her stomach. “Damn. What the hell was that?”

“Justice will always win in the end.” Leone looked over to Seryu who was already standing and saw something very out of place. The glove on the left arm was destroyed and it looked the hand was bending upward in a very strange way. It was all the way to the base of the wrist. It was then Leone figured it. Her arm was robotic. Just before Leone delivered the final blow, Seryu slightly lifted her free arm and part of her glove was destroyed. Her hand was bent all the way to reveal an opening. That was when she blasted Leone off of her. “This fight is far from over!” The other glove suddenly ripped open to reveal her other arm was robotic.

The White Fang members were whispering among themselves. “I’ve heard the two weapons she used was a ruse to fool her enemies. Her real weapons are those arms of her. I’ve heard she hacked her real ones off herself to prove how loyal she was to the White Fang.”

“I’ve heard that too. I also heard she was given a name. Some of the members called her…the Berserk Beast.”

Seryu’s wrist closed up and tightened her hands. She pulled back her right arm and extended it forward. As it did, the hand detached from the arm with a cable connecting them and it was headed over to where Leone was. The hand grabbed Leone by the throat and Seryu pulled her arm back again with the cable connecting to the hand along with the Faunus blonde. As Leone came in closer, Seryu pulled back her other arm. **“Justice…”** She punched the Faunus blonde once she was near. **“Beat Down!”** As soon as the first punch landed, her hand reconnected to the arm and delivered the next one. After that, Seryu was pummeling Leone with a barrage of punches all over the Faunus blonde’s body. The final blow was an uppercut under Leone’s chin. Leone took a few steps back until she recovered to send a kick coming from the right side. The other Faunus girl raised her left arm and blocked the attack. She raised her right arm and her hand began to spin fast. **“Devil’s Drill of Justice!”** Seryu thrust her arm at the other Faunus girl.

Before the attack reached Leone, she managed to grab it and set her leg down back on the ground. She threw her own punch but Seryu caught it with her other hand. The two were in a stalemate. Or so Leone thought. A curved blade pointed toward the elbow suddenly appeared out of the side of the arm and that managed to break Leone’s hold on her. Seryu let go of the hand she was holding on another blade appeared on her arm. **“Blades of Justice!”**

Seryu took the opportunity of her opening and delivered several slashes while passing Leone by. The result of the attack sent the Faunus blonde into the air and crash into the ground. She groaned in pain. _“What the hell is going on? How is she matching against my strength?”_ Leone turned over and tried to stand up.

The other Faunus girl turned around. “If it wasn’t for my semblance, you would have the upper hand in terms of strength. My semblance can reinforce my weapons, making them stronger to limit. It works well with my arms too.” She started to walk over to where Leone was now on one knee. All she needed was a few more seconds to recover and she’ll be back in the fight. “You’re everything Adam said you are.” She put her hand into the pocket of her skirt. “But now…it’s over.”

Leone fully recovered and was ready for the fight as she stood up. “We’ll just see about tha-mph!” A cloth was placed over her nose and mouth. She was about to pry the cloth off and slit Seryu’s throat since she was so near but she started to feel strange. Her mind felt like it was zoning out and couldn’t think straight. Leone lost her balance and fell backward to the ground again.

Leone couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. It was like she lost her sense of self. Seryu laughed as her plan worked. "So you had a reaction after all. I knew it would work. This cloth…" She presented it to the other Faunus. "Is laced with strong catnip. A lion Faunus you may be but you're still a cat in the end. That's why you're feeling the way you do. Also…" She reached into her other pocket and pulled out a strange looking pill. Seryu kneeled down and lifted Leone's head. She opened the other Faunus girl's mouth and inserted the pill. Seryu lifted the chin to make sure she swallowed it. Now Leone felt like she was entering a dream. "If a cat Faunus eats catnip, it'll act as a sedative. In other words, you'll be knocked out for several hours at least.” Seryu neared her face next to Leone’s ear. “It’s as I’ve told you. Justice always prevails over evil. Not that you can understand me anyway by this point.”

Leone couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She couldn't think anymore. The Faunus blonde only had one passing thought before everything went to black. _“Akame…”_ Leone had finally passed out.

Seryu dropped her enemy back on the ground and stood up as she turned around to her fellow members. She raised her arm to the air. “THE TRAITOR HAS BEEN DEFEATED!”

The White Fang members cheered at her victory and came out of the mines. All of them went up to her to congratulate on her win. One of the members had to ask an important question. “Ma’am, what are you going to do with the traitor now?”

Seryu looked back at Leone and smiled. “It would be easy to just kill her now but I want the entirety of the White Fang to see, to witness her execution. And then as I’ve said before, I would present her head to Sienna Khan. No one gets away for what they’ve done to the White Fang.”

Another member carefully walked up to Seryu. “Speaking of the White Fang ma’am, I received orders to relay to you.”

Seryu might as well hear them out. “Very well. What are they?”

“They uh…want you to come back quickly as possible.”

Seryu didn't need to know anymore. “I see. I suppose it was only a matter of time. They must’ve grown impatient with our absence.”

“What do we do with the traitor and her group?”

Seryu already had ideas forming. One she was particularly fond of. “Make sure she stays sedated. Use the cloth and the pills to do it every couple of hours. As for her little group, I plan to send them a very special present.” Seryu would make sure it was a present they wouldn’t forget.

**B**

Kurome knocked on the door a few times. “Hey, are you awake?” For a second time, she didn’t hear a response. It was quite strange Akame or anyone else hadn’t answered the door yet.

“Maybe they’re still sleeping?” Chelsea guessed.

Taeko thought that wasn’t the case. “No, they must be awake at this time. We have to get going soon.”

“Knock on the door again.” Rienna suggested. Kurome sighed as she didn’t have much other choice. Kicking the door down was a bad idea since it was the inn’s property. She was going to knock on the door again when it suddenly opened. The one who opened it was Cornelia already dressed. “Hey, it’s about time. Didn’t you hear us knocking?”

Cornelia nodded at the question. “Y-Yeah, we did.”

Taeko could clearly see the concern on her girlfriend’s face. “Cora, what’s the matter?”

The blonde lowered her head and opened the door wider. She stepped off to the side and the other group walked in. They saw Esdeath in her dragon pajamas sitting on the edge of her bed looking worried. When they looked over to Akame, she was still in her pajamas sitting on her bed with her arms wrapped around her knees brought up to her face. The most obvious of all was that Leone was nowhere to be seen. Kurome knew something was wrong. “Akame…what’s wrong? Where’s Leone?”

She didn’t hear a reply from her sister. “Leone didn’t come back last night.” They looked over at Esdeath who answered.

Kurome didn’t quite understand. “What do you mean?”

“Leone was out last night to get some information.” They looked back at Cornelia who was leaning against the wall. “She was supposed to come back but she didn’t. Akame was worried when she woke up. Leone isn’t the kind of person not to show up. I got dressed and went downstairs to check to see if the clerk knew anything. When I did, she handed me a box saying it was a present from a Faunus last night who knew us. I opened it and…” She couldn’t finish the rest of the sentence and looked away while closing eyes.

Now the girls were worried. Esdeath decided to carry over. “Cornelia brought it to us and explained. When she showed us what was inside the box, that was when Akame shut down. She’s been like that ever since.”

Kurome looked back at her sister and then back to Esdeath. “What was in the box?”

Esdeath stood up and walked over to the side of Cornelia’s bed. She bent down to pick up the box left on the floor and stood up. Esdeath walked over to Kurome’s group. When she stopped in front of them, she placed the hand on the lid. “This is what was sent to us.” Esdeath removed the lid. Kurome and the other girls leaned in to look what was inside. What they saw made them all gasp in horror. Inside the box was Leone’s scarf stained in blood.

 


	45. Separated and Reunited

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Five: Separated and Reunited

Kurome sighed as she took one more look at the map while the whole group was walking through a forest with the sun setting over them. “So thanks to Esdeath freezing the water over the bridge, we were able to cross it and should be able to make it to the next town by nightfall. We’ll be that much closer arriving at Anima.”

Chelsea had several concerns about the continent. “And what would we do when we do get to Anima? Isn’t our next town a port town? How long would it take from coming here to there? Also, Anima isn’t a small place either. We still have a lot of ground to cover when we do arrive.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” The two girls looked back at Taeko. “The maps my grandmother has marked the shortcuts all throughout Anima. It shouldn’t take too long at most.”

Chelsea whistled at that. “Really? Granny’s been to Anima too?”

Taeko nodded at the question. “Yes. Back when she was younger, grandmother traveled through the four kingdoms in twelve years and marked every route she could find. How else do you think she marked the shortcuts in the first place?”

Her childhood friend laughed nervously. “I sometimes forget how hardcore granny could be.”

Kurome cleared her through to draw her teammate’s attention. “While that is good to know, going back to Chelsea’s question, it’ll take a day at most so it won’t be that long.”

Rienna looked to the back and became worried. “Hey, um…” The rest of the girls looked back and saw the state of their three other members. Both Esdeath and Cornelia were looking mournful and Akame was barely keeping up in the back with her face looking at the ground. “Maybe we should-”

“We can keep on going.” Everyone heard Akame spoke but didn’t raise her head. “We have to.”

Kurome hated her sister being this way. She’s been like that ever since they left the town. Ever since she found out Leone had gone missing. The whole team wanted to search for her but didn't know where to begin. Much less know where she went. One thing they were sure of it must've been the White Fang who did it. Cornelia did mention it was a Faunus who delivered that present with Leone's blood-stained scarf. Kurome couldn’t bear to stand it anymore and stopped. “Yeah, I think a break would do us good.” Everyone else stopped except for Akame who kept on walking. “Akame…”

“I said we have to keep going.”

Kurome knew her sister would say that. She crossed her arms. “Esdeath…”

Esdeath looked between the two sisters was unsure. “Is this actually…”

“Just do it!”

Esdeath knew it was a bad idea but went with it anyway. She kneeled down and touched the ground with her hand. Ice quickly formed and traveled to where Akame was. An ice wall appeared in front stopping her. She stood still for a few seconds. “Esdeath…since when did you start taking orders from Kurome?”

The other girl stood up and was now feeling a little a scared. Kurome, however, was not. “Since you’ve been like this. Akame…I know you, Cora, and Esdeath are upset but-”

“Upset?’ The older sister interrupted as she turned around with her bangs covering her eyes. “Leone was taken away by the White Fang and you think I’m upset?” Kurome was starting to have a bad feeling about her sister. “I’m not upset.”  Akame raised her head and the team saw that the white in her eyes had turned black. “I'M RESENTFUL!" Once the rest of the team saw those eyes, they knew Akame was taking this harder than they thought. Her eyes only changed color when she was under extreme emotion. “The White Fang took Leone off to who knows where! I should’ve gone with her! Why didn’t I!? If I did, this wouldn’t have happened! Because of me…she’s…she’s…” The anger within her was replaced by sadness and tears started to come out of her eyes. “She’s gone. Leone’s gone and I’m all alone now.” Akame dropped to her hands and knees crying. “Why? Why does everyone I love and care about always leave me? Why am I cursed like this? Is it because someone like me doesn’t deserve to be happy? Is it because what I’ve done in the past? Is this supposed to be my punishment for what I did? I almost lost Leone once and now she’s gone. Taken away from me just like the others.” Akame continued to sob.

This was their leader. Reduced to a simple crying girl. They couldn’t blame her for feeling this way. What she said before about being alone had more meaning. She and Leone came to Remnant together and now that Leone was taken away, it really was just Akame on her own. Seeing her cry like this reminded them all of who she really was. Not the assassin she was raised to be, not a huntress-in-training, but just a girl. A girl who had lost one of the most important people in her life. Seeing Akame like this made Kurome feel a little sad. She walked up to her sister and kneeled down before her to give Akame a much-needed hug. The older sister began crying into her shoulder. Everyone else felt exhausted even though all they did was stand around. Cornelia sighed out of tiredness. “How about that break now?”

The whole group began taking their brief rest not only for them but for Akame to calm down. While everyone else was sitting on some rocks or leaning against on the surrounding trees, Kurome and Akame were sitting together side by side with Akame having her head rest on her sister’s shoulder while sitting against one of the trees. By this time, Akame’s crying had been reduced to mere sniffling and wiping her eyes to rid of what was left of the tears she had shed from before. Her eyes had also returned to their normal state. She took in a deep breath and breathed out. Kurome took that as a good sign. “How are you feeling?”

Akame sighed as her response. “A little better.” She had really held all of these negative emotions within her. The reason why no Grimm attacked the group was because Akame was that good in keeping her emotions in as she once told Tatsumi a long time ago. “I miss her. I miss Leone so much.”

All of them miss Leone. She was part of the team and it felt strange not having her around. Still, Kurome had positive thoughts. “You of all people should know not to give up on her just yet. This is Leone we’re talking about here.” She looked over at Taeko who was sitting on one of the rocks with her eyes closed. “Taeko, what did the White Fang mean when they sent that box to us.”

The other girl opened her eyes to look at Kurome. “It’s nothing more than a message telling us they have her. That means she’s still alive so they must have a reason for doing so. How they found us in the first place, I don’t know.”

It made a lot of sense to Cornelia. "Leone did kill several of their members back at Beacon so it would make sense they would have it out for her. They want serious revenge.”

“Killing her right away may not be what they want. I’m sure they want it to make it personal.”

“Esdeath…” Esdeath turned to Chelsea who was glaring at her.

“No, Esdeath’s right.” The team turned their gaze to their leader. “If the White Fang holds a grudge against Leone, they wouldn’t be satisfied just by killing her on the spot. They would most likely display an execution of sorts for all to see. In a way, it’s something similar the Empire would’ve done to send a message to those who would oppose them.”

As if that wasn’t worrying enough. However, Cornelia smiled at one little fact. “As if an execution would happen. This is Leone we’re talking about. One of the strongest fighters out there. I doubt she would just accept something like that. No, she would rather fight her way through while taking down those White Fang creeps and making it back to us. It’s true we don’t know where she is and she may not know where we are but one thing is for certain. Where would be the once place she knew where to find us?”

The answer clicked inside Akame’s mind. “Haven.”

Cornelia snapped her fingers at her leader. “Exactly. I’m sure that’s where we’ll find her. Like my papa always said. Separation doesn’t matter as long as the destination is the same.”

For once, her father’s saying was actually helpful this time. Akame could sense a tiny spark of hope within her and for once during the whole day, she smiled. “Yes, you’re right.” She separated from Kurome and stood up. “Leone would make absolutely sure to reunite with us no matter what the obstacle lies before her. As long as Haven is our destination, the mission is still the same. I know she’ll be there.”

All of the members smiled at their leader as they were glad she was back to her old self. Chelsea grinned at the other girl. “Looks like you’re ready to take on the world.”

Akame nodded at that and looked over at Cornelia. “Thank you, Cora.”

The blonde giggled as a response. "It's no problem. I am the big sister after all."

Chelsea chuckled at the words. “Does that mean Taeko is the aunt?”

Her childhood friend growled at her. “Chelsea…”

Akame grabbed her pack and turned around. "We can still make it to the next town by nightfall right? Let's get going. The sooner we arrive in Haven, the better."

Everyone understood perfectly and grabbed their gear. Except for Rienna. She dug around in her pack and pulled something out. “Akame…” Akame turned around to face and saw what was in her hand. Rienna smiled at the other girl and presented Leone’s scarf to her clean of the blood. “I managed to wash it before we left. I figured you should hold on to it.”

Akame stared at the scarf for several seconds before taking it and wrapping it around her neck until she was done. “Thank you for this Rienna.”

The second blonde was glad to hear the words. “It’s no problem. I know how much it means to you now.”

Her leader nodded and turned to the path before them. “Let’s get going Night Raid.”

Everyone nodded at the order. “Yes.”

**B**

Leone groaned as she slowly opened her eyes while her mind was feeling a little foggy. _“Ah…man. What the hell is going on? I feel so weird. Something tells me this isn’t one of my usual hangovers.”_  Her eyes began to focus and saw where she was. “Where the hell am I?” From looking around the area she was in, it was rather small. Medium in fact, with other crates but they were sideways for some reason and there was humming in the air. Then the Faunus blonde figured out she was lying on the floor. She sat up and tried to move but then stopped suddenly with the sound of chains being rattled. That was when the Faunus blonde figured something out. “What the…?” She looked down and saw her wrists being bound together by a large white lock with her hands sticking out the other end. Her ankles were in the same positions. Leone tried to bust out of her cuffs but to her surprise, she couldn’t. “Really? I can’t break out of these?” There was something else Leone noticed two very important things. She looked down and was surprised by something that wasn’t there. “My scarf. They freaking took my scarf!?” She looked over at her bound wrists. “And they took Lionel too. Freaking figures but seriously? My scarf? Oh, you do not take something that important from me and get away with it.”

Her lion ears suddenly picked up the sound of footsteps and laid back down on her side to the ground pretending to still be out of it. The door opened and two White Fang members entered. “Okay, how about this? Who would win in a fight? Adam or Seryu?”

The other member was unsure about the question. “I don’t know. I’m behind Adam all the way but Seryu can be nuts when she’s fighting.”

An idea came to the first one. “What if there was some internet show that would analyze their weapons, armor, and skill and use that to see who would win. That would be so cool.”

The second member flapped his lips at that. “Right and there some company out there that has to do with chickens and teeth. Let’s just do what we came here to do.”

Both members approached Leone. “Are you sure we shouldn’t chain her up to be safe?”

The second member shook his head. “No moron. She’s wearing heavy Atlesian locks. Strong as this chick may be, there’s no way she’s busting out of those and I’m the one with the key.” He presented the key to the other member. “Not to mention Seryu has her weapons so she won’t be doing anything anytime soon.”

The first member scoffed at his ally showing off. “So why didn’t Seryu take her along?”

The second member put the key away. “You heard the orders. The higher ups wanted her back soon as possible so she took one of the air carriers to fly out. Besides, they’ll be ready for when we do get there.”

Already Leone had picked up some interesting information. _“Be ready? The White Fang? What for?”_ One thing she was sure of, Leone had to get back to Akame and the others. They must be worried sick about her. Especially Akame.

“You got the pills and cloth?”

The first member nodded and pulled each of the items out. “Right here. Seryu said we should do this once in a while to keep her out of it. Cloth first, pills second." He turned to the other Faunus. "Too bad she had to end up as our enemy. She's actually kinda hot."

The second member rolled his eyeballs behind his mask. “Yeah, well, don’t get too attached. Let’s get this over with.” The first member nodded and kneeled down next to her. That was when Leone suddenly opened her eyes and jumped at the two who screamed.

Within the room, sounds of thumping and hitting could be heard until two bodies fell to the floor. There was a heavy thud soon after. After Leone unlocked her ankle restraints, she dusted off her hands and looked at the two members who were on the ground who had the life beaten out of them. “Seriously. Who brings the key to your prisoner? Idiots.” She turned her focus to the door. “Alright, let’s see what’s behind door number one.” Leone cracked her knuckles.

Three hits were all it took for the door to burst open. Two things the Faunus blonde noticed right away by looking out the front windshield was that she was in an airship and that it was night.  The nearby White Fang members freaked out when the door was knocked down and saw Leone walk out of their cargo hold. “What the-how did she get free?” Leone grinned at the remaining members. While their screams could be heard throughout the ship, the pilot grabbed the radio nearby. “Mayday, mayday! This is the air carrier transport. The prisoner is loose. I repeat. The prisoner-”

He heard another scream and saw his fellow member crash into the front looking he was beaten to a bloody pulp. Then Leone suddenly popped up in front and socked the guy in the face. “Alright, you’re going to take me back to where my friends are and maybe I won’t kill you.” She didn’t hear a reply or a plea from the other Faunus. It was then she took a closer look. “Ah, crap! I didn’t mean to kill the guy! At least this one.” She suddenly heard all kinds of alarms going off and saw that the airship she was in was going down and to make matters worse, they were over water. Without time to think, Leone threw the dead member off his chair and sat in it to take the controls. There was only one problem. “How the hell do I drive this thing!?” The Faunus blonde, obviously, had never driven anything before. Much less an airship. The best she could do was pull up the steering wheel hard as she could to prevent the ship from crashing. A little too hard, in fact. Leone unintentionally pulled the steering wheel right off from the dashboard. It was then she realized this was going to end badly. Leone was fast approaching the water below. “This is going to freaking suck.”

The airship hit the water full force and the windshield was instantly destroyed. Water flooded the inside and Leone took the full brunt of the crash. Once it slowed down a little, The Faunus blonde held what breath she had best before swimming out the front. Once she was out, Leone saw the ship slowly sink into the dark depths. She looked up and began to swim to the surface. It wasn't until halfway Leone began experiencing problems. The air she started out with was already running out. The Faunus swam faster to make up for it but it was using up what little air she had left. That was when Leone let out a gasp and covered her mouth. _“No…I have to…make it out.”_ Despite her words, already things started to go dark for her. _“I have to… get back to them. To…Aka…me…”_ Before the darkness completely took over, the last thing Leone saw was a strange green flash of light.

**_???_ **

“Hey, Akame? Do you have a minute?”

Akame was in the middle of stuffing her face during lunch when Leone approached her. She gulped down what was left of her food. "Sure. What is it, Leone?"

The blonde seemed a little nervous about the topic she wanted to discuss. “Maybe somewhere in private? I really don’t want the others to know about it. Especially Lubb.”

Now Akame knew what her friend wanted to talk about and to be honest, she’d been expecting this for quite some time. It was a miracle Leone even walked up and talked to her after what happened on that morning. She set her chopsticks down and stood up. “Then let’s go.” Both girls left the dining room and made their way to a place somewhere they won’t be disturbed. Ironically enough, that would be Leone’s bedroom. The place where it all started. Once they entered, the blonde closed the door. “Okay then.” She turned around to face the other girl who was just looking at her indifferently. “So…Akame. I just wanted to say…I mean about what happened…” She just sighed and should just get to the point. “Look I’m sorry for what happened okay!” That was all Leone wanted to say for quite some time.

Akame’s reaction wasn’t that big. “Is this about what happened earlier?”

Leone just sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry things got that much heated up. I mean we were drunk and you were kinda funny when you’re drunk but then…” She blushed at the next scenes that happened afterward. “I just want us to still be friends after that. I hope this doesn’t make it weird between us.”

The other girl just closed her eyes. “It doesn’t actually.” The blonde was grateful to hear that. “However…” And Leone’s face dropped after hearing there was a continuation. Akame opened her eyes and looked away with a slight blush on her face. “I did kind of…enjoyed it.”

Now Leone was confused. “Wait, what?”

The blush deepened on Akame. “I liked what we did. It felt like we became closer despite the circumstances that made it happen. I’ve never had anything like it before and…”

Leone put enough pieces together to figure out what her friend was going to say next. “Are you saying you…want to do it again?”

Hearing those words out loud made Akame feel more embarrassed. “If you want to put it that way. To be honest, I really haven’t seen you the same way since that time. Every time I do see you, I’m reminded of that night. The way you felt, breathed, and that look you had.” She shuddered at the thought. Akame never felt this strong of an attraction in a long time. Not since Cornelia. “I guess what I’m saying is…” She finally looked at Leone in the eye. “I’m attracted to you.”

Leone felt like the time had come to a stop when she heard those words. She herself was having a difficult time to process this whole situation. Despite what happened between them a few days ago, Akame did enjoy it and as ashamed Leone felt about it, she liked it too. Leone did feel a certain attraction to Akame since the first time they met. Having to hear those words from the very same girl made the blonde think it was a dream…. but it wasn’t. “Okay then. So what does mean for us?”

That was question Akame wanted to know as well. “It depends. Do you feel guilty about what happened?”

The blonde shook her head. “No. I mean yes but I did like what we did, to be honest. I just didn’t know how you felt about it. I mean…we’re friends and you’re my best friend. If you liked it and I liked it then I guess it’s okay between us.”

“Would you want to again?”

Leone thought she didn’t hear that right. “What?”

Akame steeled herself for what she was about to ask. “Would you like to do it again?”

The question was one Leone thought she would never hear. Especially from Akame. She honestly didn’t know what to think of it. “I uh…I don’t know. May…be?” The blonde had to collect her thoughts about this whole thing. “Are you really serious about this?”

The other girl nodded at the question. “I admit it’s been on my mind recently. As you’ve said before, we both liked it so what seems to be the problem?”

Leone could feel her heart pounding within her chest. “Wouldn’t this change something between us? I mean the first time was a mistake and now-”

“Leone.” Akame had interrupted her friend and walked over to her. She was now in front of the other girl. Leone now noticed how beautiful Akame’s red eyes were. “That night had already changed how we viewed each other. What’s stopping us from taking this further?”

The blonde had the right answer to that. “This war we’re fighting against the Empire. We both know every time we take on a mission, there’s always that chance we may not make it back.”

Akame knew that much but it wasn’t what she meant. “I know there isn’t much room for a relationship but I’m not asking for that. Perhaps this could be used for our enjoyment whenever we have the time.”

The smell of the other girl was almost intoxicating to Leone. “So you want this to be a friends with benefits thing?”

Akame wrapped her arms around Leone to bring the two of them closer together. “You can think of it that way.” After saying those words, Akame went in for the kiss. Leone's eyes widened in shock. Never in her life, she expected Akame of all people to start this off but she won't complain about it. She slowly closed her eyes as Leone wrapped her arms around the other girl and deepened the kiss.

They made the kiss last as long as possible before they had to break it and both of their faces were flushed. It was obvious they wanted it to take it further but Leone had to control herself. “How about we save the good stuff later on for tonight? That alright with you?”

Akame wanted it right now but decided to obliged. "That'll be fine." While Akame was glad they made this one step forward, deep down, this was the closest she could be to Leone as she was right. Maintaining a relationship had its consequences since every day they would fight life and death. At most, this was the only way and she would be fine with that. She did have that small twinging feeling deep within of wanting more than what they agreed on. Little did she know, Leone was wishing for the same thing.

**_???_ **

Leone groaned as she started coming to.  _“What happened? Am I dead? What was that dream all about? It looked more like a memory.”_  She started to open her eyes and saw a wooden ceiling. A ceiling meant she was in a house. _“Where the hell am I?”_

“Hey, you’re awake.” Leone heard a new voice and turned her head over to see a young man who seemed to be in his late teens. He obviously had tan skin and a short sleeved open blue shirt showing off his abs similar to what Sun wore and white shorts. He also has short spiky black hair. The one thing that made him unique was that he had something like scales on his cheeks and on his arms. Leone was about to ask who he was before noticing she was in a bed that was on the floor. “We were actually wondering when you were going to wake up.”

“We?”

He looked toward the door which had more like strings of beads hanging from the top of the doorway behind him. “Hey, sis! She’s awake!”

There was silence for a few seconds. “About damn time!” Another person came through the beads and entered the room. She looked older than her brother. Maybe in her early twenties like Leone. Her hair was long and black put up in a low ponytail. She was wearing a sleeveless pink tank top and large breasts along with wearing ripped jean shorts from the bottom. She too had scales on her cheeks and arms. It was obvious these two were Faunus. The woman looked down at the Faunus blonde. “About time you woke up. How are you feeling?” Leone slowly sat up as she groaned. It was then she discovered the Faunus blonde was wearing a different set of clothes. An oversized white shirt and grey sweat pants. “Hey, take it easy.”

Leone rolled her shoulder. “I’m uh…feeling alright I guess.” She put her hand on her face. “What happened?”

The woman crossed her arms under her breasts. “You tell us. You’re the one who my brother found lying on the beach unconscious. Mind telling us your story?”

The other Faunus girl tried to recollect what happened. “I was…uh…” Flashes of images were going through her mind and remembered exactly what happened. _“That’s right. That airship crashed into the water and I tried to swim but I almost drowned. The last thing I remember was that weird light. What was that?”_

“Hey!” The Faunus woman snapped her fingers a few times. “Can you remember or not?”

Leone thought it would be best to keep this to herself. She figured they wouldn’t believe her anyway. “It’s still a little foggy. How long was I out?”

The other Faunus would have to accept the answer. “A whole day at most. It’s not often we find a fellow Faunus washed up on a beach in Menagerie. I’m Kay. This is my younger brother Omar.”

Omar raised his hand at Leone. “Hi there.” 

Leone removed her hand and looked at the two. “Leone.” She had serious questions about the clothes she was wearing. “Were you the ones who dressed me?”

Kay scoffed at the question. “I did. No way I was going let him do it.” She pointed at her brother. “Oh, and we’re snake Faunus in case you didn’t know yet.”

Obviously, that made the most sense. Both in the dressing up and the scales. There was one other question on Leone's mind. "Thanks for that, I guess. Now, what the hell is Menagerie?"

Kay thought that was a joke and laughed. “Are you serious? You’re a Faunus and you don’t know what Menagerie is?”

Apparently, Menagerie was a big deal to Faunus. “Looks like I don’t then.” Her stomach growled all of a sudden and giggled embarrassedly. “I do know I’m kinda hungry, though.”

Kay chuckled at that. “We’ll get you a meal and then show you what Menagerie is.” She turned around as her brother stood up. She stopped in front of the doorway. “Oh, and your clothes are dry and are in the basket outside. We’ll see what we have for you to eat.”

Omar smiled at Leone. “See you in a bit.” Both of them left the room.

“Thanks!” Once they were gone, the Faunus blonde evaluated her situation.

She remembered what Seryu told her before about the Faunus. _“Any Faunus you've come across may have been a member of White Fang and gave reports of your whereabouts.”_

Leone always did learn from her mistakes and now it seemed even fellow Faunus seemed untrustworthy since she had no idea if they were with the White Fang. Once a member was out of uniform, they could blend in normal society. It wasn’t all that different from what she did back in the Capital. No one knew she was an assassin and walked around in broad daylight. Except for this time, it was different. Leone was wanted by the White Fang and they know her face and she didn't. Even their scent could be different by the time she met one and didn't know it. Still, if she was here for a whole day and hasn’t been taken prisoner yet, she could trust these two. The problem now was getting back to Akame and the rest of the team. There was only one viable option to her. Leone had to make it to Haven on her own. It was an idea she wasn't a fan of but had no other choice. For now, she had to get her bearings and see what she could do from there. "Time to get dressed."

**B**

Leone felt better wearing her clothes again except having trouble tying the bow around her hair. It’s always been a problem for her and usually had Akame or one of the other girls tie it for her. Still, the Faunus blonde managed to do it. She walked into the dining room where the kitchen was next to it. She could smell the distinct scent of fried fish. The Faunus blonde saw Kay standing in front of a stove. She looked over at the other Faunus woman. "Hey there. Just about done here. Take a seat.”

“Will do.” Leone walked over to the table and pulled up a chair. She sat down and Omar was sitting across from her.

He was tapping his fingers on the table looking a little unsure about something. “So…do you have a boyfriend?’

That was a random question out of nowhere. She actually wanted to laugh before Kay set a plate of fried fish in front of Leone along with a fork and a knife. “Leave her alone Omar.”

“I was just asking.”

Kay walked to the end of the table and put her hands on it. “There you go. Dig in.”

It did look appetizing to the Faunus blonde. “Thanks.” She took up the utensils and began eating. It was really good actually.”

While the Faunus blonde was busy eating, Kay still had some questions. “So if you can’t remember how you ended up here, do you at least know where to go?”

Leone didn't see the harm in telling them. "I've thought of heading to Mistral." She took another bite.

Omar raised an eyebrow to that. “Mistral huh? That’s pretty far.”

It may be but Leone didn’t have a choice in the matter. “Not like I have any other plans.”

Kay would agree with that. “It’s a start at least.”

They saw Leone eat the last of the fried fish and set her utensils down. “Ah. That was good. Thanks for you that.”

The other Faunus woman smiled at her. “No problem. Now how about we show you what Menagerie is.” Both siblings stood up as did Leone.

All of them walked to the front door and exited the house. It was there Leone saw an unbelievable sight. “What in the…” She saw the most Faunus that had ever gathered walking about everywhere. All of them had either tails, ears, antlers, or some other animalistic feature. It was simply amazing to her. It was also quite terrifying. _“Faunus everywhere and I don’t know which one of them could be in the White Fang.”_

Despite her last thought, Kay seemed to like her expression. “This is Menagerie. It’s a large island that’s mostly inhabited by Faunus. It’s pretty good if you ask me.”

Leone thought differently. _“Yeah, if you’re not wanted by the White Fang.”_ She had to keep up her impression. “It’s something alright. I’ve never seen this many Faunus.” Then she suddenly figured something out. “Wait, did you say island?!”

Kay didn’t see what the big deal was. “Well, it’s more of a landmass but yeah. If you want to head to Mistral, you gotta go by boat.”

If that was the only way, Leone had no choice but to take it. “Alright. You know when’s the next boat coming?”

“Not for a while.” Omar spoke. “The last boat left a couple of hours ago. Next one won’t come by for a while.”

The situation became worse for Leone. She was stuck on an island full of Faunus not knowing which could be the White Fang and had to wait for the next boat to come so she could travel to Mistral. White Fang or not, her being in this situation would mean she would have to be more careful from here on out. If any of the White Fang do come after her, they’ll regret it. “That’s just great. Is there another way? Someone who could help me out?”

Kay thought about it for a few seconds before coming up with a solution. “If you’re in that much of a hurry, you could go over to the Chief. He’s in charge here of Menagerie. Maybe he can help you out.”

It was good a start as any. “I suppose that’ll work for now. In any case, thanks for the help. I appreciate it.”

Omar was a little surprised to hear that. “Aw. You’re going to leave already?”

Leone did feel a little bad but she had to move soon as possible. “Yeah, sorry.”

Kay understood perfectly well. “It’s no problem. Gotta go where you need to go right? If you can’t find a place to stay, you can always come back here to spend the night. Now, if you want to find the Chief, you have to that path…” She pointed in front of her. “And it’ll take you to where he lives. You’ll be able to spot it easily as it’s in the center from down there.” She set her arm down and smiled at the other Faunus woman. “Take care of yourself and I hope you remember how you ended up here in the first place.”

Leone would make sure of that. “Yeah. I will. Take care and thank you.” With those words said, the Faunus blonde already started to make her way to the one person who could help her.

Omar was feeling a little sad Leone was leaving. “Man. I didn’t even get to find out if she had a boyfriend.”

His sister scoffed at that. “Oh please. A girl like that is way out of your league.” Kay walked back inside the house.

Omar turned around and sighed. “You don’t know that. She could be into me.” He walked back in shortly after saying that.

As Leone continued her way to the Chief’s house, she took the time to look around to see all the different Faunus walking about and doing business. If it was another time, she would like to explore it but last the Faunus blonde checked, she was a wanted woman with the enemy knowing what she looked like. She sighed at that thought. _“Man. Is this how Mine felt when she had a wanted poster of her?”_ Being wanted felt a little tougher than Leone thought. Still, though, Leone did like how the place looked. It was something similar to a tropical paradise. _“I’m sure Akame and the rest of the team would love it here.”_ Speaking of them, Leone wondered how they were doing now. _“Akame must be worried sick about me. She already lost Tatsumi and the others. Losing me is the last thing she needs. Well, don’t you worry anymore Akame. I’ll make it back to you no matter what. That I promise.”_ The Faunus blonde stopped on top of a steep hill and at the bottom was a building that stood out from the rest. "I guess that's the place I'm supposed to go. Right, let's get this over with."

She walked down the hill all the way toward the building. Leone walked up to the front door and chuckled. “Definitely looks like where the bigwig would live. Let’s see if anyone is home.” She grabbed the handle and knocked on the door. It made a bellowing sound which amused Leone all the more. “Like that doesn’t sound intimating.” She waited for the door to open. While she was, the Faunus blonde began to notice something familiar. A familiar scent to be exact. “Why does it smell like-” The door suddenly opened in front of her. “Finally.”

Once the door fully opened, Leone’s eyes widened at who answered it. It was an older looking woman who bared a striking resemblance to Blake. She was almost speechless. “Yes? Can I help you?”

Leone shook her head to snap out of it. “Uh, yeah. I was wondering if the Chief was around to help me out with some trouble if that’s alright with you.”

The woman in front of her smiled and nodded at the request. “Yes, of course. Please, come inside.” She stepped aside and welcomed the other Faunus in.

Leone walked in and the woman closed the door. The inside was just as impressive as the outside. It was also the scent she smelled before was stronger. _“These scents. They could only belong to-”_

“Follow me please.” The woman started to walk and Leone followed. “You must forgive my husband if he’s too busy at the moment. He’s…well, we’re in the middle of something.”

“Husband huh? Don’t worry, it’s cool.” If this was the wife, the husband who was the Chief must’ve been something else. The further they walked in, the stronger the scents became. _“Okay, now I definitely know the scents. They have to belong to-”_

“Dear.” They came up to an open doorway and the Faunus woman appeared in front of it. “Someone is here to see you.”

Leone walked up to the front and looked to see who she was talking to. It was at that moment where everything stopped. Her eyes were fixated on two very important girls ignoring the large man who was sitting at the back of the table. Said two girls were staring in disbelief at who they were seeing. They were none other than Leone’s adopted parents. Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna. Both the woman Faunus and Chief could clearly see they knew each other judging by how they were looking at each other. Blake was the first to speak. “Leone?” And saying that name alone confirmed she did know the other Faunus girl.

Blake suddenly stood up and ran over to her daughter to give her a much-needed family hug. Leone happily returned the hug. Out of everything that’s happened to her so far, this was the best thing she’s encountered. It wasn’t long after Yang ran up to them to join in on the hugging. She was happy to see her daughter too. It may have been a reunion none of them were expecting but they were glad it happened. And it was something Leone really happy about. She was happy to be in both of her mother’s arms once again. _“Wait a minute. Both arms?”_  She suddenly broke off the hug and took a closer look at Yang. Leone noticed one new feature her mother had. “Holy crap you got an arm!”

Yang brought up her robotic arm to show it off and smiled. “I sure did. Looks cool huh?”

Blake had all kinds of questions to ask her daughter. “What are you even doing here? How did you get here?”

Leone was about to answer but was interrupted. “Ahem!” All three turned to the man still sitting at the table. “So I take it you two know this girl?”

Blake was so caught up in the moment, she forgot about him. “Yes. Sorry about this. Father, this is Leone Wild. She went to Beacon with us. Leone, allow me to introduce you to Ghira Belladonna. The Chieftain of Menagerie. The woman you met before is my mother, Kali.”

The other Faunus girl almost had nothing to say. Kali giggled at her reaction. “It’s nice to meet another of Blake’s friends.”

Leone was still trying to process what she was told. “You’re telling me these two are your parents!?”

Yang loved her daughter’s expression. “Yep. I was surprised too when I met them which wasn’t that long ago actually.”

One thing is for sure, this family reunion of hers was a lot bigger than Leone thought. In fact, it brought up one very important fact. _“I just freaking met my grandparents from Blake’s side of the family.”_

Ghira cleared his throat again to gain everyone’s attention. “So then, Leone. How about you come join us and we’ll hear out what it is you wanted to see me.”

“And while we’re at it, catch up.” Yang added.

Leone couldn’t agree more to all of it. “Sure.” Suddenly, Leone’s world became a little bigger.

**B**

Walking a road with a cart of what’s left of their merchandise, Wave and Armasu were heading back to Armasu’s house. The selling went rather well as usual and were happy about it. “I’d say things went nicely, wouldn’t you say?”

Armasu giggled. "Yes, but do you always have to pick a fight with Holler every time we go?”

Wave just shrugged. “Hey, he’s the one who wants to fight me. Besides, it’s nothing more than a friendly fight. He’s still trying to prove he can beat me.” He laughed at that. Holler was a regular customer of theirs and always challenged Wave to a fight. So far, he hadn’t won any of them. Wave looked up to the sky and saw how the clouds looked. “It looks like it might rain soon. We should probably pick up the pace so we’re not caught up in the rain.”

Armasu looked up as well. “I think you’re right but we’re still a little away from the village. Maybe we should cut through that old village again so we can get there faster.”

Wave knew that was the only option available to them at the moment. “If you say so. Come on, let’s pick up the pace.” Both of them walked as fast as possible to reach the abandoned village. Once they crossed through it, the journey wouldn’t take much longer to reach Kaki. Soon they were coming upon the village. “There it is. Still looking a little creepy as usual.”

The wolf Faunus giggled at that. “Are you still afraid of it? It’s been abandoned for a long time now.”

That didn’t make it any less creepy to Wave. “I know but-” Wave stopped talking and looked over at one of the walls of the village.

Armasu now looked worried. “What is it Wave?” Wave could feel it. There were multiple auras coming from the village which was strange since no one lived in it. What was stranger was that all of them seemed to be fighting. He took a running start at one of the walls. “Wave! Where are you going?!”

As Wave neared the walls, he heard several sounds something similar to gunfire. _“Someone is definitely fighting. The question is who?”_ Once he approached the wall, Wave jumped to the top of it. It was then he saw who was fighting. “What the…?” He saw four kids fighting against one man who fought in a most unusual way but he handled all of them with ease. Upon a closer look, the man who was fighting all four of them had a tail like a scorpion. _“That guy’s a Faunus like Armasu.”_ The last straw for Wave was when he saw the man strike the young girl wearing a red cape a few times and landed on the ground. That was when Wave felt his blood boil. _“He’s going to kill her.”_

The Faunus landed on the ground while having a sinister smile on his face. “Say goodbye little rose.” He sent his stinger to where his target was.

Ruby opened her eyes to see the attack coming right at her. She could hear her friend’s cries calling out to her. Only one thought came to her mind. _“Weiss…”_

Before the stinger could reach her, Wave suddenly appeared before her and grabbed the tail tightly with his hand. Everyone was surprised by his entrance. Including the Faunus man who was attacking. Wave glared angrily at him. “That’s enough.”

Behind all of them, Qrow stopped and saw what just happened. If given another second, he could’ve intercepted the attack but someone else beat him to the punch. He was glad his niece was safe but now there was another question. _“Who is this guy?”_

Ruby looked up to the man that saved her and wondered the same question. “Who…are you?”

 


	46. Showdown at Oniyuri

**A/N: Sorry about the wait folks. Holidays and all. Now let’s get ready for the last chapter of the year. I know a lot of you were looking forward to it.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Six: Showdown at Oniyuri

The silence was present for everyone within the abandoned town of Oniyuri. The ones were present Ruby and the rest of team RNJR, the assailant who was moments away from striking Ruby down, Qrow who witnessed some stranger appearing out of nowhere who saved his niece's life, and Wave who was glaring at the scorpion Faunus, Tyrian. The last one to arrive was Armasu who was standing next to an incomplete building and saw what was happening. It was the first time she had seen Wave rush into anything without a second thought. She didn’t know what was going on but from the look of things, the situation was about to escalate. The Wolf Faunus felt afraid for what was about to happen as she hugged the corner of the building as a lifeline. _“Wave…”_

The rest of RNJR were just as perplexed. One moment they were fighting their enemy and the next, someone saved their leader. They were relieved Ruby was okay but now there was one present question. “So…anyone have an idea who this guy is?” Jaune asked.

Nora shrugged at the question. “Beats me but he totally saved Ruby’s bacon.”

“One thing’s for sure. At least he’s an ally to us.” Ren summarized.

Qrow got over his initial shock and jumped to the nearest building to observe for the time being. He was quite curious about the arrival of the new player. _“Who is the guy? To grab an attack like that with his bare hand, he’s no ordinary passerby.”_ He noticed the weapon Wave was carrying on his lower back. _"Is he a huntsman?"_

Tyrian winced slightly at the pain caused by Wave gripping his tail tightly. “And who are you supposed to be? The gallant knight come save his flower?" Wave didn't reply as he kept glaring at him. It made Tyrian chuckle. "Well? What's the matter? Can't you spea-" And he was suddenly punched in the side of his face and flew away from both Wave and Ruby. Tyrian crashed into one of the buildings that were behind him.

Everyone was surprised by the sudden action. Especially Jaune. "Whoa! Did you see that?"

"If you mean he just socked the guy in the jaw, pretty much." Nora confirmed.

Ren was having a little of a hard time believing what he saw. “All of us combined couldn’t hit him and yet he did with a single strike.”

He had a point but Jaune had one of her own. “Yeah, but he did kinda grab his tail to get in that shot. Kinda hard to avoid an attack. Still, man.”

Wave breathed out and turned around to Ruby who was still lying on the ground. He walked up to her until he was in front of the girl. Wave offered his hand to the young leader. “Are you okay?”

Ruby didn’t know what was happing but decided to accept it and go along. She nodded at the question. “Uh-huh. Thanks for…saving me.” She grabbed his hand and Wave pulled her up. “So who are you?”

Wave just smiled as she was no harm came to the girl. _“Look at her. She’s just a kid. At least she’s safe.”_

He did notice the giant red scythe she was carrying. Before he could ask about it, they heard a noise coming from the destroyed building and looked over at it. “Ahh…not a bad punch right there." They saw Tyrian come out of the hole in the wall he went through and moved his jaw a little. "Clearly, there is more to you than meets the eye." He grinned at him.

Wave resumed his glaring at the scorpion Faunus. “Who the hell are you? Answer me!”

Tyrian was more than happy to answer. “Very well since you much deserve it. I am known as Tyrian.”

That was one question. Now Wave had another. “Okay, then what are you doing attacking these kids for?”

That question Tyrian laughed. “An excellent question. I’ll be happy to shed some light. You see, I was given a mission to hunt down a certain rose, the one who is behind you by the order of my queen.”

Qrow narrowed his eyes when he heard the description. He knew who the scorpion Faunus was talking about. _“Salem.”_

There he went mentioning someone. Ruby thought he was talking about Cinder before they fought but he laughed at the assumption and said that Cinder wished she was a queen. Or goddess, whatever he said. _“Who’s this queen person he keeps talking about?”_

It was more than enough information for Wave. In fact, gritted his teeth out of anger hearing that. “So you’re here to kill her? Is that it?”

Ruby gulped upon hearing that. _“K-Kill me?”_

Tyrian continued to laugh at the question. “Not exactly my dear boy. Let’s just say, my goddess has developed quite the interest in this young budding rose.” Ruby had no idea what to think of that.  “However…” He held up one finger at Wave. “There is an obstacle in my way who dares to obstruct the mission my goddess gave to me and it’s my best interest to get it out of the way by any means necessary.”

Obviously, he was referring to Wave. It was exactly what Wave thought all of this was. The more he looked at Tyrian, the more he felt familiar to him. He decided to test that feeling out. "And let me guess. You view those who you fight lesser than you are and treat them as you see fit."

The scorpion Faunus cackled at the assumption. "A well-educated guess. How did you know?" He grinned wickedly at Wave. "Indeed you are right. Anyone I fight is nothing more than a mere toy to me. A toy that I see fit to play with until I get bored and break them. That sweet rose is no exception and neither are you.”

Now Wave knew what this feeling was. After seeing the look in Tyrian’s eyes, he was reminded of one other certain individual Wave knew the displeasure of knowing. _“Alright, I’m making you my next toy. Be grateful.”_

Just remembering him now brought his blood to a boil. _“Syura.”_ No doubt Tyrian was similar to the former son of the Prime Minister which made this all the more personal. “People’s lives…” He closed his hands tightly while looking angrily at the scorpion Faunus. “People’s lives aren’t for your amusement!”

Armasu gasped quietly at this new side she was seeing. _“I’ve never seen Wave this angry. I’ve never seen him angry at all. He’s always been kind to others. Including those who were less fortunate. Seeing him now like this is…”_

Despite Wave being angry at him, Tyrian was all the more amused. “I beg to differ. I do what I please and what I please, I enjoy." He licked his lips. "And what I would like to enjoy now is to complete the mission my goddess has given me. The question now is…what are you going to do about it?"

The answer was obvious to Wave. He knew where this was going to go from the start. Wave grabbed the handle of his weapon. “Listen to me. Stay back, no matter what.”

Ruby didn’t need to be told twice and nodded slightly. “R-Right.” She quickly rejoined the rest of RNJR and they made sure to stay back a little. All they could do now was watch.”

Wave began to draw his sword out slowly until it was fully drawn as he held it underhanded. Armasu couldn’t believe it. _“This is the first time I’ve seen Wave pull out his weapon.”_

Tyrian was loving where this was going. “So you finally decided to take up arms. As a hunter, I hope you’ll prove to be entertaining.”

Wave leered at the scorpion Faunus. “I won’t be entertaining anyone. I’ll show what happens when you meet the wrong person. And one more thing. I’m not a hunter. I’m a soldier!” Wave stabbed his weapon into the ground and placed his hand on his arm.  **“GRAND CHARIOT!”**

The ground began to rumble throughout the town and slowly starting to become more intense. Then from behind Wave, a giant blue hand came out of the ground and slammed down with a thunderous crash pulling up a giant monstrous beast. A bright azure light suddenly came out of nowhere while dust kicked up all around. Everyone was in shock and awe of the monster’s sudden appearance. The mere sight of it made Ruby tremble in fear. The monster gave out an intense terrifying roar that could be heard from far away miles around. The people present had to cover their ears. Qrow had all kinds of questions about what was happening. _“What the hell is that thing? It doesn’t even look like a Grimm.”_ He suddenly noticed numerous cries and looked off into the distance to see flock after flock of birds chirping and screeching while flying away. It wasn’t only the birds. The nearby wildlife was fleeing as well. _“It’s scaring off every living thing around the area.”_ He looked back at the monster to further observe. _“It must be one hell of a monster to pull something like this off.”_

From up close, Ruby had never felt so terrified before. She couldn’t even find the words to speak. Jaune apparently could and asked the question on everyone’s mind. While screaming like a girl and jumped into Ren’s arms. “What is that thing?!”

Ren couldn’t stop staring at the monster. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t appear to be a Grimm.”

“Guys…” Both Ren and Jaune looked over at Nora to see they thought they would never witness. A frightened look on her face. “Is this what fear feels like?” And they certainly didn’t expect her to say that.

Every sense Armasu had told her to run but she couldn’t. She was frozen in fear in witnessing the monster Wave had summoned. Tyrian was the same. For once, he was at a loss for words until he could find some. “What the hell did you do?! What is that monstrosity!?”

Wave didn’t reply as the dust enveloped both him and the monster behind. They were now surrounded by a cloud of dust that didn’t look natural to anyone. The way it looked was familiar to Qrow. And then, it hit him. _“This scene. It looks similar to what Akame did back at the Vytal Festival.”_ After a few more seconds, the dust cloud was suddenly blown away. What they saw was Wave wearing strange armor they had never seen before. It was incredibly perplexing to Qrow. _“He’s wearing that monster as a suit of armor?”_

Armasu couldn’t take her eyes off the man she spent so much time with. She never imagined Wave changing in such a drastic way. _“Is that…really Wave?”_ At the same time, something was glowing from within Wave’s bag back at the cart.

It took Wave several seconds to get used to wearing his armor after not wearing it for so long. He had long forgotten what it felt like. “Imperial Arms Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot!”

Ruby gasped when she heard that. _“Did he say…Imperial Arms?”_ She also caught the name which sounded very familiar to her.

The young leader then remembered a small detail Akame once explained before. _“The other members are Wave whose Imperial Arms is called Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot which is an armor type like Tatsumi's Incursio.”_

Ruby couldn’t believe it but there was no denying it. _“This person…he’s from the same world as Akame and Leone.”_

After the dramatic transformation, everything was quiet once again but something was different this time around. There was an overwhelming sense of some sort looming all of them. Qrow could definitely sense it. He actually chuckled at the thought of it. _“Heh. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this on edge.”_

Ren could sense the change in the air. “I can sense there’s a heavy pressure around us. It’s…unlike anything I’ve felt before.”

Jaune nodded quickly at the fact. “Y-Yeah. I could say the same thing.”

The two were quiet for a few seconds before Ren narrowed his eyes at his teammate. “Do you mind?”

It took Jaune a few seconds to figure what he meant by that until he realized he was still in Ren’s arm. Jaune laughed awkwardly and removed himself from his teammate’s arms. “Right, sorry.” They returned to looking at Wave in his armor.

Tyrian was having trouble deciphering of what just happened. The monster he saw was gone but he still felt wary and didn’t know why. _“What was that he just did? Was it a trick of some sort? If it was, how did he managed to put on that armor so quickly?”_ The time for questions would have to wait for later. Right now, he really had to deal with the problem in front of him. “Quite the show you displayed. Which now begs the question, who the hell are you? Really?”

Wave didn’t reply to the question. Instead, he asked one of his own. “Remember what you said earlier? About how you treat others as mere toys? Let’s see how you like it…” He leaned in forward. “When you’re treated as a toy!” Wave launched himself right at Tyrian with a boom and left a footprint with several cracks in it.

Before Tyrian could react, Wave was already in front of him. Everyone had the same thought at that moment. _“He’s fast.”_

Wave yelled as he delivered an uppercut straight at the scorpion Faunus. Like before, the attack left a resounding boom upon impact and made Tyrian fly away from him. Wave didn’t waste a second after following him with another boom after effect. It wasn’t until Tyrian was halfway that Wave appeared behind and delivered a kick to the back. The scorpion Faunus was sent back to where Ruby and the others were and crashed into the ground. He went through it while dust kicked up. It took them seconds to register what they saw. “Oh man. That was like…a couple of seconds.” Jaune pointed out.

Ruby was in awe at the whole thing. _“The way he moved. I couldn’t even see it. Is he faster than me when using my semblance?”_

Wave landed back on the ground but he was far from done. Over to Tyrian, he was lying face down trying to figure out what just happened to him. _“What is this insane strength? No one has gotten the drop on me like that before.”_ Before he had the chance to stand up, Wave was already rushing toward him.

As soon as Wave approached him, he grabbed the scorpion Faunus’ tail just as he barely passed him. Wave then picked Tyrian up by the tail and spun around to throw him up high into the air followed by a strong whoosh of air. Obviously, Tyrian was screaming when Wave threw him up. Wave clasped his hands together and raised them above his head. Once Tyrian came in close, Wave slammed his combined hands straight at the chest and the scorpion Faunus was instantly sent back down to the ground. It took him a mere second and a half to crash into the ground leaving him in a crater upon his crash landing. Tyrian could feel his aura dropping. It was the only saving grace that none of Wave's attacks killed him yet. However, one more attack of that degree and he would really be finished.

**“GRAND FALL!”** Tyrian saw the next attack coming and had to move out of the way and quick. He turned around and fled just in time before Wave’s drop kick could reach him. Upon the initial impact of the attack hitting the ground, several things happened at once. The first was the large column of dust appearing after Wave’s attack had missed when it struck the ground. The second was the shaking of the ground underneath Ruby and the others as it felt similar to an earthquake. The third was that large deep cracks appeared from where Wave hit the ground and traveled throughout the abandoned down and destroyed some of the buildings and walls. The fourth was the shockwave that came after the attack. Tyrian may have avoided the attack but the shockwave quickly caught up with him and hit him all over his body. He rolled over the ground until he stopped and was lying on his stomach.

After everything settled down, Ruby and the others saw the after-effect of the attack. They were understandably at a loss for words. At the spot Wave struck the ground, there was a large crater where the cracks were coming from. All of that damage was just from one attack. It was certainly unbelievable to Qrow. _“You’ve got to be kidding me. He could destroy the whole town if he attacked like that again.”_

Tyrian managed to stand up after everything that had happened. He saw Wave slowly walking out of the crater slowly. With each passing step, Tyrian was hesitant to try a counterattack. In fact, he was feeling something very foreign to him. With each step Wave made toward him, that feeling grew. It quickly dawned on him what the feeling was. It was fear. Wave could clearly sense it. “That look in your eye. People like you, I’ve seen them before. You always think you're above the rest because you pick on those who are weaker. But when someone stronger than you comes along, you soon realize you're not as strong as you think you are. And then, you've become the very same as those you belittle. In short, you're getting a taste of your own medicine." He stopped walking but continued to stare at the scorpion Faunus. “So what does it feel like being afraid?”

Tyrian growled at the words. Despite what he was feeling, anger raged within him. “Don’t spout such bullshit!” He jumped right at Wave. “I have my goddess by my side! As long as I have that, I will never admit defeat!” He tried to attack using his wrist blades but Wave easily caught the attack. A second later, he kicked Wave using both of his legs and separated from him into the air. Tyrian pointed both his arms and two firearms on each arm appeared in the front. He fired a series of shots at Wave but none them had an effect as they ricochet off of him.

After the attack failed, Wave jumped to where Tyrian was and struck him the stomach. The scorpion Faunus coughed out before Wave removed his fist and elbowed him on the back. Tyrian crashed back into the ground. He struggled to get up but Wave landed in front of him. Tyrian looked up at him and growled. As a final attempt, he did a surprise attack by using his tail but Wave grabbed it before it could even reach him. Wave fully crushed it which made the scorpion Faunus scream in pain. To top it off, Wave grabbed the tail with his other hand and ripped it apart. Tyrian screamed louder at that and Wave threw away the part with the stinger. Venom was spewing out at the other end of Tyrian’s ripped tail.

The sight of it was horrifying to Ruby and the rest who were watching. They knew he was the enemy but the way they have seen Wave treat him was one of the worse they've seen. Armasu was beyond terrified. She had never seen Wave like this before. She was even starting to doubt if he was the same person. _“Wave…this isn’t like you. This isn’t like you at all. You’re kind, caring, and you make people laugh. Seeing you like this is…”_ Tears were starting to come out of her eyes.

Even Qrow thought this was a bit much. _“He’s already beaten him and yet he still kicks him while that guy is down. This is one ruthless guy right here. Even I’m feeling bad for his opponent.”_

Tyrian’s breathing was ragged. Never before has he felt this humiliated by an opponent. Whoever he was fighting, he was beyond anything but human. “Damn…you…bastard!”

Wave continued to stare down at the scorpion Faunus. “It’s over for you now.” He raised his arm and was ready to deliver the final blow. “This will end it!”

“Wave, please stop!” Wave gasped as he and everyone turned to see Armasu running up to Wave.

Qrow certainly thought it was strange seeing someone run up to Wave. _“A Faunus?”_

 Armasu hugged him tightly while crying into his chest. “Enough, please. No more. You’ve already won. So please…stop this.”

Wave didn’t even notice Armasu was here. Seeing her cry made Wave feel remorse. He didn’t want her to see this side of him. He didn’t want her to know about all of this. Wave hugged back his friend and brought her closer. “I’m sorry.”

While everything seemed calm at the moment, Tyrian took this as an opportunity and flee quickly as he could. Nothing mattered more than to get away from the person who did unbelievable pain to him. All that mattered now was getting back to his goddess and the others while still being alive. Everyone saw him run. “Hey, he’s getting away!” Jaune pointed out.

Wave saw it as well and wanted to finish what he started. “Let him go.” Everyone heard a new voice and turned to where they heard it. To everyone’s surprise, especially Ruby’s, they saw Qrow walking up to them. “Something tells me he’s not coming back for a while.”

Wave took a closer look at the new arrival and gasped. _“This guy has red eyes same as Akame but…there’s no way he can be related to her.”_  He separated from Armasu and his armor began to dissolve. At the same time, the light that was emanating from Wave’s bag faded away. The armor returned back to its original sword form and Wave sheathed it back in. “Who are you?”

 Ruby already had his answer. “Uncle Qrow?”

All kinds of answers were coming up. “Were you following us?” Jaune asked.

“How did you get here?” Ren asked next.

There was one question Ruby really needed to know. “Uncle Qrow, what’s going on?”

Qrow just sighed at the all the questions and rubbed the back of his head. He looked directly at his niece. “Ruby…what’s your favorite fairy tale?”

 


	47. Moving Forward

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Seven: Moving Forward

The day Wave had was not exactly what he thought it would be when he woke up. It was going great for him. Traveling to the nearby town Armasu, selling their merchandise, getting into another banter with Holler, saying their goodbyes, and going back home. Taking on a guy who was targeting a young girl in an abandoned town definitely wasn't on the agenda. And now here he was with Armasu hearing one hell of a history lesson about all kinds of important things around a campfire. That are from legend and stories no less. In short, this day turned out nothing like he had thought it would be. Obviously, it proved a little too much for him to take it all in. The same could be said for Armasu and for the rest of team RNJR. Qrow could definitely see it as Wave took this a little harder than he thought. He took another sip from his flask. "You alright?"

Wave was sitting on one of the logs next to Armasu hunched over grabbing his head with his hand. He took in a deep breath and straighten himself out. “Not really, no.” Qrow really couldn’t blame him. At first glance, Qrow kinda guessed Wave wasn’t the thinking kind of guy.

Armasu was feeling the same way. “It’s just…it’s kinda hard to believe. These are all stories from a past long ago and…it turns out some of them are actually true.”

Qrow didn’t blame her. She was just a civilian in all of this who had nothing to do with what just happened before. “It’s a little much for you I’ll say that. Still, I gotta thank the guy you’re with for saving my niece.”  He took another sip from the flask. “Which brings me to my question. Who the hell are you?” Qrow was looking directly at Wave. “Don’t get me wrong. While I am glad for what you did, I’m also wondering what you did. That monster you summoned, it wasn’t a Grimm and sure as hell, it scared every living thing near around here. And then you wear that monster as a suit of armor. What you did in that armor was on a different scale too. You beat the guy you were fighting to an easy bloody pulp without a sweat along with almost destroying the entire town. One thing is for sure, there’s defiantly something about you. So again I ask, who the hell are you?”

Wave knew these questions would come sooner or later and he had to come clean to not only these people in front of him but in front of Armasu. He was about to answer but someone did for him. "His name is Wave." Wave gasped as he and everyone looked over at Ruby. "He's from a city called the Capital and was part of a group called the Jaegers." Wave's eyes widened in shock. "His weapon is an Imperial Arms is known as Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot. And Imperial Arms are weapons created from something called danger beasts and rare metals like Orichalcum. They were created one thousand years ago in his world by the order of the first emperor. Forty-eight in total were created but five hundred years later, half of them were lost due to a civil war and the rest were scattered across the land. Most importantly, there is one rule all of the Imperial Arms have. When two Imperial Arm users fight, one of them always dies.” She stared at Wave. “Did I miss something?”

Wave didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know what to think. He just continued to stare in disbelief at what he just heard. Armasu was looking between Ruby and Wave while being confused. She looked at Wave. “Wave? What is she talking abou-”

“How?” The Wolf Faunus saw Wave narrow his eyes at the young leader looking angry. His hands closed tightly. “How the hell do you know all of that?!”

Qrow readied himself if something bad was going to happen. As much as he was interested in his niece said, her safety was still a top priority. Despite Wave's yelling, Ruby wasn't scared. “Because someone told us about it. All of it and what she’d done. She came from the same world you’re from. Her and another. I think you’ve met her before. Even fought her. I believe you know her as…Akame.”

Time had instantly stopped for Wave when he heard that name. It was a name he thought he would never hear again but this girl he was looking at said that very name. His expressions told Qrow everything he needed to know. _“So he’s from the same world as that girl and her friend. If that’s true, maybe there’s one more legend that is real.”_

Anger flared up more intensely within Wave. “How the hell do you know that name? How the hell do you know her?”

Ruby knew this would happen the second she spoke about what Akame told her and everyone about the world she and Leone came from. It was still surprising to her that she was able to meet another person from their world. “She went to Beacon with us. All of us. Her and Leone.”

Leone. Chances are she was part of Night Raid as well. So not only Akame was in this world but another with her. There was something he needed to know. “If that’s true then do you know where she is now? How long as she been in this world? How did you even come across her?”

Ruby took in a deep breath. “We found her and Leone while my…team found them fighting against Beowolves and we brought them to Beacon. Since then, they’ve students. As for how long…six months I think last time I saw her and Leone. And the last time I heard about them, they were going to Shade Academy in Vacuo. That’s all I know.”

Wave didn’t know which was more unbelievable. That he and Akame were in the same world all this time and didn’t know about it or the fact that Akame went from being a wanted criminal assassin to a student. With all of this new information to process, Wave left the group in a huff and headed into the woods. Armasu stood up not a second later and chased after him. “Wave, wait!”

With them gone, it was only Qrow with his niece and the rest of RNJR sitting around. Qrow looked at his niece again. “You sure that was a good idea to tell him all that? Sounded like he and Akame had some history together.”

Ruby looked down to the ground. “I heard about him before from Akame. When I heard him say Imperial Arms and the name, I knew he was the one Akame described.” Qrow definitely had more questions about this whole thing including these Imperial Arms but there was still other important topics to discuss. Ruby thought so as well. “Uncle Qrow. About what that guy Tyrian said about a goddess, who was he talking about and what does she want with me?” Qrow sighed at the question.

Meanwhile, a little away from the camp, Wave yelled as he punched a tree and left a small crater. “Damn it! She’s been here in this world all this time and I didn’t know it!”

“Wave?”

Wave turned around to see Armasu. It was clear she was worried. “Armasu.”

The wolf Faunus took a few steps forward and stopped. “About what that girl said, is it really true? Are you from another world and who’s this Akame girl? Is she…the one you spoke of before? The one you wanted revenge for what she did to your teammate?”

Wave’s anger within was replaced with guilt and slightly looked away. “Yeah, all of it’s true. I didn’t tell you that because I didn’t see the need to and I thought you wouldn't believe me. I was telling the truth when I said I am a soldier. As for Akame…yeah, she’s the one who killed Kurome. Her own sister at that.”

Armasu gasped quietly at that. This ran a little deeper than she thought. While it was shocking, there was one thing she needed to know. “Now that you know this person is here, what will you do now? Will you seek her out? Vacuo is very far away from here. It could take months to arrive there.”

Wave had thought of that but there was something else on his mind. Something he heard earlier. “I don’t know. Just knowing she’s in this world is unbelievable enough. I do want to go after her but…”

The wolf Faunus raised an eyebrow. “But?”

Wave sighed. “I’m a soldier, right? I’ve been in battles before but those kids, they doing something that may be way out of their league and what that guy said is true, this is way over of what they’re capable of. I mean they’re just kids.”

Armasu kinda saw where this was going. “Do you want to help them?”

Wave thought about the question for a few seconds. “That bird guy did say the one who was behind that school fall destruction thing was also responsible for killing their friend even if it was for some greater power. And who knows how many others were hurt during that. I understand what they’re trying to do but they really handle for what they’re doing?”

Armasu decided to ask a very important question to Wave. “Wave, do you know what a soldier is supposed to do?”

The answer to that came naturally to him. "A soldier's duty is to protect the people.”

The wolf Faunus smiled at the answer. "Yes, and what they're doing is not that different." Wave about to say something but Armasu put up her index finger to him. "I know they're children and not soldiers but they're determined to do this and they'll make sure that whatever happened to them doesn't happen to other people. Don't you think…you should help them instead?" That was something Wave hadn’t considered. "If you do think this may be too hard for them, maybe you can help them. Perhaps this is a sign. That this is something you can finally do. You were only staying with me until you figured something out. This is that something. Don't you think so too Wave?"

Armasu brought up a few good points. There was a force out there plotting their next move and most likely what they have planned wouldn’t be good if innocent people were going to be caught in it. It was an answer to him but that answer also had a question. “What about you? Are you going to be alright by yourself?”

The wolf Faunus giggled at the question. “I’ve lived by myself a long time before I met you Wave. It won’t change after you decide to leave. It was fun having you as company. If anything, our customers will be the one sad that you’re no longer with me. Besides, I kinda knew you were a little odd. Being from another world does certainly explain some things." She smiled at Wave. "It is shocking to hear all of this but to me, you're still that kind gentleman I've known. You being from a different world doesn't matter to me. And if you have that kind of power, I know it'll come useful for whatever comes up you have to face. In the end, it's your decision. You can either help them with this quest of theirs or can chase after this Akame girl like you’ve envisioned. Whatever the outcome, I won’t change your mind and I’ll respect your decision.”

Chase after Akame or stop whatever scheme was being planned. In the end, Wave knew what he wanted to do. He decided to hold that decision for later. “Alright then. I’ll give you my answer in the morning.”

It was good enough for Armasu. “Alright then. Shall we go back to them now?”

Wave looked at the direction where the campsite was. “Maybe later.”

**B**

Laughter could be heard in the living room. Kali was having fun talking to Yang and Leone as Yang told one of her infamous puns along with what team RWBY did. "And I guess you can say…I ended that fight with a _Yang._ ”

Both Leone and Kali laughed at the pun the blonde made. Kali was certainly enjoying herself. “You have quite the sense of humor Yang.”

Yang chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head. “Thanks for the compliment Mrs. Belladonna.”

Kali smiled at the blonde. “You don’t have to be so formal with me Yang. You can just call me Kali.”

Now Yang felt a little embarrassed. “Kali, right. Sorry about that.”

The older Faunus woman waved her hand nonchalantly at her. “Don’t worry about it.”

Leone giggled a little more. “Have to say, I’m glad you didn’t lose your touch last time I saw you.”

Yang smirked at her daughter. “Come on. You know my puns are…the _cat’s_ pajamas.”

Leone laughed at the pun. She really did miss spending with the other blonde. While they were laughing among themselves, Kali looked between the two. "If I may say something, has anyone said that you two look strikingly similar to each other?”

Both blondes stopped laughing and had the deer in the headlights look. Yang cleared her throat. “Y-Yeah. We’ve been told that a few times. Kinda weird huh?”

Leone needed to change to subject and fast. “So uh…where did Blake go all of a sudden? She’s been gone a while now.”

Kali glanced over to the door that led outside. “My guess she stepped outside for a while. Probably trying to work up the nerve to speak to her father again. It has been a long time since we’ve seen her.” Before she could continue, she heard the sound teapot whistling. “Oh, the tea is done. Excuse me while I’ll go set up the tray. My husband does like to enjoy his tea while working.” She stood up and left to attend her duties.

Now it was just Yang and Leone alone in the room. It was the perfect chance for them to catch up and to ask other certain important questions. Yang decided to start off and turned to her daughter. “It is really great to see you again Leone. It’s been how long now since we’ve seen each other?”

The Faunus blonde shrugged. “Not since I left your house going to Shade.”

A lightbulb went over Yang’s head as she remembered something. “Oh yeah. My dad says hi to his granddaughter.”

Leone was surprised to hear that. “He knew about us?”

Yang nodded at the question. “Yep. He figured it out.”

The Faunus blonde thought as much. Taiyang was a teacher and a hunter. “Guess I’m glad that cat is out the bag. No pun intended this time around.” She looked over at Yang’s robotic arm and smiled. “It’s hard to believe you’ve got a new arm.”

Her mother brought up the robotic arm to show it off. “Pretty cool huh? I would like to think this makes me more badass. What do you think of it?”

Leone obviously agreed to that. “It’s awesome. In fact, you having that robot arm reminds me of Najenda. Except you don’t have an eyepatch.”

Yang scoffed at that and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, losing one part of me is enough.” As much as they could continue on like this, Yang really needed answers. “So what are you doing here? It’s a pretty long way from Vacuo. What happened to Akame and the others?”

The Faunus blonde sighed as she looked away from her mother and stared at the table. “To give you the short version, all of us in team ALCE and KRCT left Shade over six months ago to stop Cinder for whatever she was planning next. Our plan was to go to Haven since that was our only lead. Along the way, I was ambushed by the White Fang.”

Yang instantly stood up when she heard that name. “The White Fang!?” Leone shushed her and the blonde sat back down. “Seriously? They actually attacked you?”

Leone scoffed at the guess. “Something like that. They’ve been tailing me and the team through their members. Some of the Faunus I talked to might’ve been part of the White Fang and I didn’t realize it. You remember the enemies Akame and me had fight? One of them is actually in the White Fang. The bitch called Seryu planned this. She and I fought and I lost.”

Yang couldn’t believe that last part. “You lost? No way. How did that even happen?”

That was the part Leone really didn’t like. “The bitch pulled a dirty trick and stuck a cloth in my face. Next thing I knew, my whole head felt out of whack. It was like I couldn’t think straight at all.”

The blonde had a small theory to that. “Did it feel like your mind was zoning out really far away?”

Leone nodded at the question. “Yeah and it was really weird.”

Yang sighed as she now knew what hit her daughter. “Leone, you were hit with catnip.”

The Faunus blonde didn’t say anything for a few seconds until she spoke one word. “Say what?”

Yang had to make it clear to her daughter. “You were feeling the effects of catnip. It has strong effects towards cats making them act weird. I guess in your case, you were drugged.”

Leone gritted her teeth in anger. “Why that no good freaking…!” She stood up as she raised her and was about to punch the table but then remembered she was in the Chief’s home. The Faunus blonde sat down and reluctantly calmed down. “That freaking bitch.” She set her elbows on the table and grabbed her head. “Akame has gotta be freaking out that I’m gone. She had a hard enough time losing everyone else close to her and the last thing she needs is losing me.”

Yang moved in a little closer to her daughter. “You’ll find a way to reunite. Don’t worry.”

The Faunus blonde raised her head and sighed. “I know that. My only hope is getting to Mistral and running into them. That’s why I need to get there quickly as possible.”

Hearing all of that explained one thing but Yang still had one more question. “How did you get to Menagerie in the first place?”

Leone groaned at what happened before. “After Seryu beat me…” She put up air quotes. “I woke up in some holding area and busted out only to find out I was on an airship. After beating some those losers and…an unfortunate accident with the pilot, I tried to steer the ship out of the water but that didn’t pan out well. The ship crashed into the water and I blacked out. Next thing I knew I was in a house recovering that belong to these two snake Faunus. They told me I’ve been out a whole day. After that, the rest you know.”

Yang looked at the other blonde’s arm and noticed something was obviously missing. “And what about Lionel?”

The Faunus blonde grabbed her wrist. “They took Lionel and took my scarf.” Lionel Yang could understand but taking Leone’s scarf? Now she thought that was evil. That scarf was the only reminder Leone had of her original mother. “Those bastards. Next time I see them; I’ll make sure they’ll learn not to screw with me or what take what belongs to me.”

Yang couldn’t agree more. There was one little detail she’d noticed about her daughter’s story. “You said you crashed into the water and washed up here. Where were you when this happened?”

Leone thought back to all of that. “Last time I checked, all of this happened when Akame and the rest of us were one trip away to the next town where it’s closest to crossing over to Anima by water.”

The blonde knew what the other girl was talking about and that’s what confused her the most. “But that doesn’t make sense.”

Leone raised an eyebrow to that. “What doesn’t make sense?”

Yang pulled out her scroll and went to the map app. She presented it to her daughter. "You said all of you were going to the town where it's closest to cross over to Anima right? That would be here." She pointed a specific point. "Menagerie is…" She dragged her finger all the way to where they were currently. "Is all the way over here." Leone found it hard to believe she traveled that much distance in the water in over a day. So did Yang but even more. "Even if you were dragged by a current, there’s no way you could’ve traveled over here that fast. It’s just not possible.”

Leone could see it. It wasn’t even that long ago she was taken. She did recall one certain detail. “There was something else. Right before I blacked out, I saw some weird green light. What it was I don’t know. A day after, I woke up here.”

There was something else. Yang was smart enough to put two and two together. And on this day, you ran into me and Blake. Don’t you think that’s kinda weird?”

Now that Leone thought about it, it did seem a little strange. “I guess it’s weird to call all of this coincidence. Do you think someone brought me here only to run into you two?”

Yang wanted to know the answer to that too. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

Leone groaned while leaning back. “Goddamnit. This is way too confusing for me to figure out.” She decided to change the topic. The Faunus blonde leaned back forward. “We can figure all of that out later. There is something I want to know now. Why are you here with Blake?”

The blonde put away her scroll and sighed. “Blake told me she was leaving to do something important and I wanted to come along with her. That something also involves the White Fang somehow.”

Her daughter was now worried since she knew what happened last time. “And you still came along even after what happened to you?”

“I had to!” Yang’s eyes flashed red for a second before returning to their lilac hue. “I came along because I won’t get better if I do something about it. About this.” She gestured at her robotic arm. “I can’t move forward if I’m always afraid of what happened to me in the past. This is something I have to do just like Blake has hers.”

Leone was rather proud hearing her mother say all of that. She understood what the other girl said having been in similar situations of losing most of her friends. “Glad to hear it. Maybe we can take down some White Fang goons together. All of us. You, me, and Blake. Speaking of which, I’m guessing Blake didn’t tell her parents about you two huh?”

Yang shook her head. “Not really. I asked her that same question a while back and she doesn’t know how her parents would react to it. She hasn’t seen them in a long time and the same goes for them not seeing their daughter. So telling her parents she’s in an interracial relationship with me, a human girl is probably not high on her list. On top of telling them about you being our daughter.”

The Faunus blonde could see that and had to agree. “Yeah, you got a point. I guess some things are best kept secret for now. So how’s Ruby? She must be pretty lonely back at the house.” At the mention of the name, Leone saw her mother lower head. She knew it what it meant. “What happened?”

Yang was silent for a couple of seconds before speaking. “Ruby left the house a long time ago. She just went up and ran off. She left a note saying she was heading to Mistral, same as you and the rest.” There are times I worry about her if she’s okay but she’s strong and I know she can take care of herself. I guess that’s just me being a big sister.”

It was worrisome to Leone that Ruby did something like this. It was surprising that Ruby was traveling to the same place as her and the rest of Night Raid. _“Heh, if we’re heading to the same place, I’m pretty sure we all would’ve met up in Mistral sooner or later. Or rather Akame and the others now. What are the chances?”_ She suddenly had a funny thought. _“Esdeath would be happy if she knew about that.”_ All the Faunus blonde could do was chuckle. “That’s some crazy aunt I have huh?”

Her mother chuckled in agreement. “I guess so.”

“I’m back.” Both girls straightened out as they saw Kali walk back in.

As soon as she sat back down, Yang had a question for her. “So did you happen to run into Blake?”

Kali giggled at the question. “Yes. I gave her the tea set to give to her father as a way to talk to him. I realize it’s been a long time since she’s seen us so I can understand why Blake would be nervous.” She smiled sadly at on particular thought. “We were worried about her for a long time. My husband and I left the White Fang a long time ago but Blake stayed behind. Seeing her again has been the happiest I’ve felt and I’m glad she didn’t go down that same dark road as the others have. I was afraid she wouldn’t be the same after all this time.”

Yang and Leone could understand and they were glad Blake didn’t take that same path. Yang especially. “Mrs. Bel-I mean, Kali. You don’t have to worry about anything about Blake. From what I know, Blake is an amazing person from the first time I met her and she’s a really great fighter. Blake’s been through a lot since she’s was on our team and we fought against the White Fang several times together. I can confirm that your daughter is a good person and I know plenty of others who can say the same thing.”

Kali smiled sweetly at the kind words she heard. “That’s wonderful to hear from you. I'm so happy Blake has a such a kind friend as you, Yang. You and Leone." Both blondes chuckled sheepishly at the description.

Leone had been meaning to ask a question ever since she first saw Menagerie. “About the White Fang, are they…prevalent here?”

The older Faunus woman shook her head. “No, they’re not. Even if they were, most likely they would not be wearing their masks since they’re among other Faunus.”

That was what Leone was afraid of. _“Shit.”_

It was equally worrying to Yang and stood up. “We gotta tell her. The White Fang knows Blake’s face and yours Leone. Come on!” She walked out of the room in a hurry. Leone stood up as well and followed suit.

As soon as they were gone, Kali thought about what she heard about what Yang had said before. In truth, she came back around the time when Leone asked why Blake hadn't told her parents about her and Yang. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop on their conversation but it happened. Now she didn’t know what think about what she learned. _“So Blake is in a relationship with Yang and Leone is their daughter? Now that I think about it, Leone does seem to have Yang’s looks and Blake’s eyes.”_ She sighed tiredly at these thoughts. “Perhaps we should all have a talk about this when they come back.”

Yang and Leone quickly approached the door that belonged to Ghira’s office. They stopped in front of the door and did the only sensible thing. Yang knocking on the door. They heard Ghira’s voice a second later. “Yes? What is it?”

Leone opened the door and saw Blake and her father sitting on the couch. They figured they were having a father/daughter moment which now they felt bad for interrupting. She cleared her throat. “Excuse me sir but can we borrow Blake for a few minutes. It’s…kinda important.”

Ghira narrowed his eyes at the other Faunus which made Yang feel a little intimidated and sighed. “Very well.” He looked to his daughter. “Blake, we’ll continue talking another time.”

Blake nodded at her father’s words. “Of course. I’ll be back.” She stood up and walked over to her own family. All of them left and Yang closed the door.

Once the three were on the balcony alone, Blake crossed her arms. “Alright, what’s so important you two had to tell me?” She was a little miffed they interrupted her and father when they were just patching things up.

They decided to cut to the chase. “Your mom told us that the White Fang don’t wear masks when in Menagerie.” Yang explained.

Blake didn’t seem too surprised by the news. “So?”

“So? Blake, they know your face. They already know my face. Maybe some of them already saw you when arrived here. We need to prepare if we’re attacked.” Leone pointed out.

In truth, Blake really didn’t care about any of that. “I’m not fighting the White Fang. Not right now. I just want to spend time here a little longer trying figure things out.”

Yang couldn’t believe what her girlfriend was saying. “What more do you need? We already had two of those members come by here earlier.”

Hearing that caught Leone’s interest. “Wait, the White Fang was already here?”

Yang looked over at her daughter. “Yeah but they were just messengers but this is still concerning.”

The Faunus blonde groaned at this. “That’s just great. Can this get any-” She suddenly stopped speaking.

Both Blake and Yang were curious why she stopped talking. "Leone?" Yang spoke. Blake sensed something and looked over at the trees as did Leone. Yang tried to look at what the other two girls were seeing but couldn't since it was very dark. "What are you two looking at?"

Blake narrowed her eyes as she saw a figure in one of the trees. So did Leone. “We got company.”

Both Faunus girls saw the figure which looked to be a girl and saw a very familiar mask. Blake gasped at the realization. “The White Fang!”

Since the member was found out, she immediately fled. In the moonlight, Yang finally saw her and was confused by the choice of clothing. “When did the White Fang have ninjas?”

Blake immediately jumped over the railing of the balcony. “She’s getting away!”

Yang ran up the railing and saw her girlfriend chasing after the member. “Blake, wait!”

 “Sorry about this Yang.” Leone suddenly picked the other blonde up and was carrying her bridal style which was a little embarrassing to Yang. “We’re not letting her get away. Hold on tight.” She jumped off the balcony and joined in the pursuit. “Get back here!”

**B**

When morning came, Qrow and the members of team RNJR woke up early and packed up their gear. They had to arrive at Haven now more so than ever. Qrow oversaw everyone. "Alright then. Are we all ready to go?"

Ruby nodded and spoke of the team. “Yeah. We are.”

“Let’s haul our butts over to Haven!” Nora added.

Qrow had to like their enthusiasm. "That's good to know." He looked passed them. "Does that include you too?" Everyone looked back at the direction Qrow was speaking and saw heard footsteps.

 Out of the trees came Wave with his bag slung over his shoulder. “What are you doing?” Jaune asked.

Wave looked at each member carefully. "Even if all of you are kids, I commend you for what you're doing and for that, you have my respect. Still, from what I heard last night, this enemy that you're facing can't be taken lightly and you're going to need all the help you can get."

Ruby had hope in what she thought Wave was trying to say. Her uncle had other thoughts. “And why do you want in on this? This doesn’t concern you and it’s not your problem. So why do you want to get involved with all of this? You’re not even from this world.”

Wave already had his answer ready. "That may be true but…I am first and foremost a soldier and soldier's duty above all else is to protect the innocent. I wouldn't live with myself knowing there are forces out there who may hurt civilians for whatever it is they may gain out of all of this. And for that, I’m willing to come with all of you to stop them.”

Now Ruby felt really excited. Having Wave with them would be a huge help. She wanted to say yes but Qrow had to have the final say. To her surprise, she heard her uncle chuckle at Wave’s speech. “Soldier boy huh? You and Ironwood would get along well if you two met each other.” Wave raised an eyebrow at the name. “You realize that the enemy we’re facing, Salem will be unlike anything you’ve faced before. Sure you’re up to the task?”

Wave narrowed his eyes at the huntsman. “With what I had to go through back in my world, I’ll do everything I can just the same to stop this Salem person.”

Qrow could tell in Wave’s eyes he was serious about this. He also saw how hardened they were meaning that he must’ve been in some pretty tough fights. He was nothing but a complete stranger to them all but he had a feeling he could trust the guy. “If you’re serious about this, you should be prepared for the fight that’ll come up when we do get Haven. Hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Wave smiled at Qrow’s words. “You usually don’t back where I came from.”

While most of team RNJR were glad Wave was going to join up with them, there were a few questions before they left. “What about Akame? What are going to do with her?” Ren asked.

Wave sighed at the question. “I’ll deal with her when I cross that bridge. This is more important.”

“And your Faunus friend? Aren’t you going to say goodbye to her?” Qrow inquired.

Wave closed his eyes and lowered his head. “We already have. She left before all of you woke up but not before telling her what my decision was.” He opened his eyes back up. “Shall we get going now?”

Qrow scoffed at the question and smirked. “Yeah. Let’s head out team RNJR and…what was your name again?”

“Wave.”

The huntsman nodded and turned around. “Wave. Got it. Let’s go.”

Ruby jumped for joy. “Yeah! Let’s head toward Haven all the way!” She started walking to their destination with the rest of RNJR following her.

Wave walked not too far behind while approaching Qrow. “I want to ask you something.” Wave stopped just a little in front of him. “What is it that you have against Akame?”

The wind blew through both of them softly and the leaves rustled in the trees. “She killed someone I cared deeply for.” He resumed walking.

Qrow sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. “I have a feeling things are going to get interesting.” He began walking and awaited what would happen next.

In another part, Armasu was pulling the cart back on the trail and was already missing Wave’s company but she understood why Wave had to leave. She stopped momentarily and looked at the sky. _“Wave…I wish you good luck on your journey.”_ That same wind blew through her and her hair was flowing along it. She couldn’t help but smile. _“Kurome. I may not know much about you but you must’ve blessed to have someone like Wave. I’m almost a little…envious.”_ The wind died and Armasu lowered her head. “I’m glad I was able to meet you in that forest on that Wave.” With those final words said, she continued pulling her cart all the way back to her home.

Wave and Qrow caught up with team RNJR who were talking amongst themselves. However, they’re talking was drowned out as Wave had some personal thoughts about what he had learned recently. _“Akame. Now that I know you’re in this world, it’s only a matter of time until our paths cross. When that time comes, I’ll make sure to avenge Kurome for what you’ve done to her and I’ll be ready for you.”_ Upon those thoughts, a faint blue light lit up for a brief second inside of Wave’s bag.

 


	48. Looking Back

**A/N: Hello everyone! I’m back with another chapter! And…RWBY Vol 4 has ended by the time this chapter goes up. Great timing! Right so…last two episodes, episode nine and ten, really didn’t leave me much to work with. Hence why there wasn’t an update. Now that Vol 4 has ended, I suppose I should focus all my attention on this. As of this time, I haven’t seen the finale yet so no spoilers. So let us get started with the story. Also, I have not finished the Akame Ga Kill manga by this point either.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Eight: Looking Back

“And over to our right, we have more forest that is probably filled with Grimm waiting to tear us apart limb from limb if we’re not careful.”

“And maybe if we’re lucky, they’ll rip your head off first Chelsea.”

“I told you that’s not a funny joke Taeko.”

Night Raid made it to the continent of Anima but it wasn’t easy for one certain girl. In the few days Leone went missing and was separated from the rest of the group, Akame missed the Faunus blonde terribly. She missed the warmth Leone provided her whenever she had to sleep in the bed. During the boat trip over to Anima, some of the team members volunteered to keep her company. They were Kurome, obviously, and surprisingly Esdeath. Chelsea understood her girlfriend had to be there for her sister on the boat trip and Esdeath didn’t like how sad her leader was so she was next during the day after they arrived at Anima. Akame did admit Esdeath sleeping next to her did feel a little strange and somewhat wrong because they were former enemies. Still, Esdeath was unexpectedly warm despite her semblance is ice. One thing she was certain of. The faster they arrive at Mistral; the sooner she can hope of reuniting with Leone. “Taeko, did you find the fastest way to Mistral?”

Taeko checked the map again. “We do have a route but we have to go over a mountain if we are to arrive there.”

Chelsea sighed at that. “Great…that’s going to be a ton of fun.”

“I didn’t know you think that was fun Chelsea.” Rienna spoke.

The other scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “I was being sarcastic.”

Akame could care less about what they had to cross over. “It doesn’t matter. If we have to go over a mountain, we go over a mountain. Is that clear?”

Everyone perfectly understood their leader. They did notice she had a slight change of attitude but that was probably because she was worried about Leone. Speaking of the Faunus blonde, Esdeath was wondering about something for quite some time. “Hey…Akame?” Her leader glanced back at her teammate. Now Esdeath felt a little unsure about asking her question but decided to ask anyway. “What was…your old team like? Not the one you and Cora were on before but the one you and Leone were on.”

Akame looked in front after hearing that question. Now that Esdeath brought it, Cornelia was also a little curious. “Yeah. I mean you did tell us you were on a team of assassins but not much about them other than Najenda who’s not only our headmistress back at Shade but was the leader of your old team.”

Their leader continued to be silent for a few seconds longer. “Before she was our leader, Najenda was a general of the Empire, same as Esdeath. She defected to join the Revolutionary Army but paid the price in losing both her right eye and arm. Taken by Esdeath.” Esdeath whined at that and wondered what has her other self hadn’t done yet? Kurome was more surprised by that adoptive mother used to be such a big shot back in Akame’s world. She did narrow her eyes at Esdeath for doing such a thing but couldn’t blame her for Esdeath’s other self’s action. “As for the rest of the original members of Night Raid…” Akame looked up toward the sky. “They were wonderful people and the closest I had to a family.”

Cornelia smiled a little while giggling. “They’ve must’ve been great people then. What can you tell us about them?”

Akame didn’t see why not. In fact, it would be good talk about them. “Alright then. I suppose I can start with Lubbock. He was the only member who’s been with Najenda the longest, back when they were both with the Empire. When Najenda defected, so did he.”

Taeko was rather impressed so far. “I see. His loyalty is rather commendable for her.”

Her leader thought otherwise. “That’s because he was in love with her.”

Kurome’s eye twitched a little. “Say what?”

Akame thought her sister would have a reaction like that. “It’s true. He did keep it hidden from the rest of us rather poorly. Lubbock was also the only one how called Najenda by her name.”

Esdeath smiled at what she heard so far. “That’s so sweet. He must’ve been a great guy.”

Her leader scoffed at that. “Except that he occasionally tried to sneak a peek whenever the girls were in the hot spring.”

And now Kurome had a more disliking to him. “Really? What a creep.”

Akame didn’t blame her for saying that but she still had more to say. “Maybe but he was an invaluable ally and a good friend.”

“What Imperial Arms did he use?” Rienna asked.

That was a question Akame could answer easily. “His Imperial Arms was called Infinite Uses: Cross-Tail. To describe this weapon easily, you can say it’s similar to the one your opponent used Cora.”

The blonde of the group could actually see that. “Really? How good was he?”

Akame recalled few of the details. “He was very good. Lubbock used Cross-Tail as a sort of barrier around our base to detect intruders who were close by. However, he wasn’t bad in combat either. Lubbock can manipulate the wires he controlled to form various weapons. If the weapons ever impaled one of his targets, the wires can find their way around the heart and cut it to pieces.”

Cornelia gulped at the description. “Whoa…” With control like that, she could tell she would never win against him in a fight.

"Sheele was another member of ours." Akame continued. "At first, she may come off as a scatterbrain of sorts but when it comes to killing, Sheele was very prolific at it." Everyone thought not to get on her bad side. "Sheele's Imperial Arms was known as the Shears of Creation: Extase. In a simple description, they're a giant pair of scissors capable of cutting anything and has a considerable defense."

Chelsea raised an eyebrow to that. "Wait, how do you use a giant pair of scissors as a weapon? Seems unconventional if you ask me."

As usual, Takeo thought her friend didn’t see the whole picture. “As long as it can be used as a weapon, it doesn’t matter. Especially with what Akame described what it can do.”

“Besides, you really don’t want to mess with someone who can wield a giant pair of scissors that can cut through anything.” Kurome added. Chelsea couldn’t argue against that.

“Then there’s Mine.”

Esdeath didn’t quite understand what her leader meant. “What’s yours?”

Akame thought the name would cause confusion. “No, Mine is the name of the girl who was with us.” Now everyone understood what she meant.  “Out of all of us in Night Raid, Mine had the most troubled past. Mine was from the Western Tribe back in my world and was treated horribly because half of her blood was foreign. That served as her drive to rid whatever evil there was so others wouldn’t suffer as she did.” Chelsea couldn’t help but feel a little bad about the girl. “Her Imperial Arms was a sniper gun called the Dangerous Adventurer: Pumpkin.”

Already Kurome had questions about the name. “Why would you name a gun Pumpkin?”

Akame ignored Chelsea’s comment and continued to explain. "Pumpkin isn't like the usual guns all of you have seen before. For one, it fires off concentrated energy given off by the user. The more dangerous its user is in, the more powerful it becomes. It's useful to turn a dangerous situation into an advantage."

Chelsea whistled at that. “That’s pretty cool. Wish we had something like back at Beacon.”

Her leader couldn’t agree more. “Like Sheele, Mine was very good at using Pumpkin. In fact, Pumpkin was once used by Najenda before she passed it on to her. Mine occasionally called herself a sniper genius.”

Now Chelsea couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Wow? Someone was full of themselves.”

“She proved it time and again. Mine would also butt heads with you sometimes, Chelsea.”

What Akame mentioned grabbed the other girl’s attention. “Really now? Were we friends?”

Akame chuckled a little. “You two had…mutual respect for each other. You sometimes teased her time to time.”

That detail sounded very familiar to Taeko. “Sounds like she was the same back in your world.”

Akame could tell by the time she spent with her. “Then there was Susanoo.”

Esdeath was curious about this person now. “Who’s he?”

Her leader smiled at the memories. “To start off, he was an organic human Imperial Arms.”

Rienna didn’t quite understand that. “A human Imperial Arms?”

Akame slightly nodded. “Yes. Organic type Imperial Arms have the ability to regenerate, making them difficult to defeat. Murasame can’t kill them because they do not have a heart.”

Already Taeko thought they sounded troublesome. “They must be quite the foes then. Is there a way to defeat such a thing?”

Luckily for her, Akame had the answer. “There are two ways. Either kill the user or destroy the core. Susanoo was very powerful and he was Najenda’s new Imperial Arms. He was originally used as a bodyguard for those of high class. On top of him being strong, he was also very talented among other things. Like cooking for one and he could cook over a thousand dishes.” Akame really missed Susanoo’s cooking.

Chelsea thought that was impressive until she heard that last part. “So basically, he was like a glorified nanny.”

“A nanny that can actually kill you.” Kurome added.

Akame thought it was a rather crude way of summarizing Susanoo. “Bulat was another member of ours. He was originally a soldier who served the Empire until he left them. The Imperial Arms he used was called the Demon Armor: Incursio.”

The name rang a bell for Cornelia. “Incursio…I think you’ve mentioned that before. Yeah, back at the festival. You and Leone were explaining the whole Imperial Arm thing back then too.”

Kurome noticed what the blonde said. “Really? What kind of things she said about them?”

Esdeath tried to remember some of the details. “Something about the Imperial Arms being made from something called dangerous beasts and rare metals. Akame also said something about Cross-Tail having World Severing String.”

Taeko was impressed by how the Imperial Arms were created. “I see. That’s very interesting.”

"I've as said before, Incursio was created by the flesh of the Tyrant Dragon. An S-Class Danger Beast that could survive any of the harshest environments. Its trump card allows its user to turn invisible."

Kurome really liked that little fact. “Turn invisible huh? That’s pretty handy.”

“It’s not as useful as you think it is.”

The younger sister questioned Akame’s choice of words. “And why’s that?”

“Because that’s all Incursio can do.” Akame replied. “It may hide the user’s body but someone skilled could sense the user’s aura, making the invisibility useless. That’s why masking your aura is very critical.”

Now Kurome understood what they had to do earlier in their journey. “So that’s you and Leone had us do all that aura training. Except it’s for sensing and not hiding.”

Her sister was catching on finally. “Yes. I highly doubt anyone in this world can sense aura so all of you do have an advantage when it comes to fighting. In any case, let me get back on topic. Bulat was one of the first people I met along with Leone and Lubbock before Night Raid was formed. One interesting fact about him is that he was gay.”

Everyone went silent for a few seconds until Chelsea spoke up. "Huh. That's a surprise. I'm sure you and he hit it off as great friends."

Akame thought differently. “You can say something like that but not in the sense you’re thinking. If anything, Leone had a closer friendship to him since they…” She really wasn’t sure to tell them that Leone used to drink. Leone may have become younger but that was only her looks. Her age was still the same.

Her pause had the other girl’s curious. “They what?” Esdeath inquired.

Their leader sighed as she decided to tell them “They drank together.”

That was a surprising detail to know about their friend. “Seriously? Isn’t Leone a few years short to drink?” Kurome asked. She really didn’t see Leone as the drinking type.

Akame knew this would be troubling but she thought up a good lie. “The drinking age was very different back in our world.” She’d hope they would buy it.

Thankfully, they did. “Wow. Your world is something else.” Chelsea commented.

Akame quietly sighed they believed her. Now came the most difficult part for her. “Finally, there was Tatsumi. He was the new member of our group and inherited Incursio when Bulat died.”

Chelsea chuckled a little hearing that. “So how did he get roped in with you?”

Her leader remembered clearly how they first met. “Tatsumi arrived in the Capital in hopes of making a name for himself to help with his village. However, that didn’t work out as he planned. All of us first met him when we had to kill a family who would pick up people who were out of town and experiment and torture them for their own enjoyment. I didn’t know how long he had before they moved on to him but he quickly learned the truth. It was too late when Tatsumi learned that the two friends he came along with were captured. One of them was killed while other held on for as long he could before seeing Tatsumi again before passing on.”

Esdeath couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the guy. “How awful.”

Akame was just getting started. “Tatsumi quickly became a great ally and friend to all of us. Even if everyone fell one by one, he still continued on. Of course, he did have his fair share problem. There were two that were…above all others. One was that he was the main affection for Esdeath.”

Once again, Esdeath sighed. “What did I do this time?”

Her leader expected the reaction. It became quite common now whenever she would hear what her past self did. “Nothing much. Just trying to make him love you back. You may remember what Leone said about you back at Beacon.”

Esdeath tried to remember what her teammate said before. _“Let’s just say you put a collar around a friend of ours and dragged him off and then tried to force yourself onto him. Oh, and you were pretty nuts about him too.”_

Esdeath groaned at the description as she realized what Leone meant. “I’m really glad I’m not like her now.”

Akame couldn’t agree more. “I do admit I like you as you are now rather than before. However, it seems your taste hasn’t changed at all.”

The other girls seemed curious as to what Akame meant by that. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Esdeath asked.

Her leader figured she better say the truth. "For one and as a comparison, you like a person who is younger than you, is a capable fighter, and has a nice smile. That's pretty much all it took." Esdeath really didn't like she had that in common with her past self. "But unlike you in the past, you're considerate of Ruby's feelings and taking one step at a time." That made her feel a lot better. “Even with that, Tatsumi still powered through until…”

Her pause made Rienna a little worried. “Until what?”

Akame took in a deep breath and exhaled. “There was a time he was captured by the enemy and we had to rescue him with Mine leading the assault. We managed to do it but not costs. For one, Mine faced off against Budo and used all of her power to defeat him. The tradeoff was that Mine was able to defeat him but at the cost of her own life. Second, during our fight against both Esdeath and Budo, Incursio changed Tatsumi, taking a completely different form. It was then we learned that Tyrant Dragon that was used to create Incursio was slowly taking over his body. When he uses Incursio three times, that’s when the Tyrant Dragon will completely take him over.”

Cornelia gulped at what her leader had explained to them. “And…did it?”

Akame was silent for several seconds. “Yes.” Everyone felt how heavy the answer was. “It during the final confrontation with Esdeath that it happened. Although he had transformed, Tatsumi still retained what little consciousness he had. It was then I had to honor our promise.”

Kurome could already tell this promise of theirs wasn’t good. “And what was that promise?”

Again, Akame didn’t speak for a few seconds. “That if I would ever to use Murasame’s power, its trump card, I would be deemed as an enemy and asked Tatsumi to kill me should I ever go out of control. If he would turn into the Tyrant Dragon, he asked that I would have to kill him. And I did.” None of them uttered a word hearing that. “It was then Murasame’s trump card activated and I used it to finally end Esdeath.”

Said girl gulped at the description. Kurome had a funny feeling about the trump card her sister mentioned before. “And this trump card, was it the same one you used back in our match?”

"It is." Akame quickly replied. Kurome was really glad their fight didn't escalate to that point. "After everything had happened, what we had to go through, had to endure, only Leone, Najenda, and I were what was left of Night Raid. It wasn't long after we disbanded and went our separate ways. Six months later, I was reunited with Leone again and then after one night, we both arrived in Remnant.”

Everyone could pretty much guess the rest of the story up to now. Cornelia had no idea her friend carried such heavy burdens. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. You and Leone. I can’t imagine how much all of it must’ve been for you both.”

Akame didn’t blame her. “It’s okay. What happened in the past is in the past but I’ll never forget what it’s done to me. All I can do now is keep moving forward with all of you by my side.”

Finally, they had a reason to smile after hearing what Akame had to say about her old team. “Thanks for sharing all of that with us Akame. I know it must’ve been hard on you.”

Akame smiled at Cornelia’s words. “Actually, it felt rather nice to talk about them but you’re welcome.”

Taeko could understand why her leader would feel that way. “It comes as no surprise. Talking about past friends can help lift one’s spirits. It’s only naturally you would feel that way.”

The other girl though it was a good explanation. “I suppose so. I also feel a little better after saying all of that.”

They weren’t surprised by that. Akame had a lot buried deep within her so she would feel better after saying all of that. “Akame…” Akame looked back at Esdeath smiling at her. “We’ll be here with you all the way. You can always count on us and we’ll do the same.”

Akame was fully aware of that. In truth, she was afraid history would repeat itself in this world but there wasn’t much she could do. However, her world and Remnant were two different things. That thought still didn’t quell her worries but it was enough to convince her that things may not end up the same as before. She smiled back at all of them. “Of course. We count on each other. That’s how we’ll make it through this together.” Everyone couldn’t agree more. Akame looked forward at the path ahead of them. "And once we reach to Mistral, hopefully, we can reunite with Leone." With that said, everyone continued their journey with an added boost of morale.

**B**

“Ah-choo!”

Yang noticed Leone’s sneeze while she was carrying her. “You alright?”

Leone sniffed and shook her head a little. "I'm fine. Must've been something from around here." The two were following close behind of Blake who was pursuing the person that was spying on them. The chase led them through parts of Menagerie. While Blake was jumping tree to tree, Leone was pretty much running on the group but could keep up with Blake. The chase eventually led to the spy landing on the roof of a house and Blake continued to follow. Leone and Yang finally landed on the roof and continued to follow Blake.  All of them were hoping across rooftop to rooftop.

The spy looked back to see the other Faunus not giving up her chase. It became inevitable to the spy that Blake wasn’t going to stop. The spy stopped soon after sliding under some pipes and turned around to face Blake. The spy’s colors changed and took out a weapon that seemed to be a cross between a whip and a gun. Blake hesitated for a second before running toward the White Fang member. The spy sent her whip to the pipe and struck it to let the steam out but Blake made it out without a problem. She still didn’t understand why a member of the White Fang was here. “Why are you watching me?”

The member didn't give an answer to her. Leone finally reached the other Faunus girl and jumped over her. Both she and Yang landed to the side of the member and Leone set her mother down. "How about you make this easy on yourself and give it up?” Her response was the spy attacking both blondes and had to separate in two different directions.

Blake took this an opportunity and rushed at the member. She jumped and kicked a scroll the spy was holding out of the hand. Yang yelled as she jumped at the spy and pinned her to the ground. “Blake, get the scroll now! I think it’s important to her!”

The member struggled to break free. “Get off!” She headbutted Yang and that was enough to break free. Her mask was destroyed as a result. The spy quickly stood up and chased after Blake for the scroll.

Leone then intervened and backhanded the member away from Blake. The Faunus blonde turned to her. “Get it now!”

Blake didn’t argue and continued running after the scroll. The member groaned as she stood up and pointed her weapon at her. “Watch out, Blake!”

Blake turned around due to Yang’s warning. All of them saw the mask completely break apart and revealed the member’s face. It was one Blake recognized. “Ilia.”

She doesn’t even look like a Faun-” Ilia sent her whip while suddenly changing color at Leone and struck into her shoulder while emitting electricity into the wound.

“Leone!” Yang and Blake saw their daughter fall to the ground.

Ilia pointed her weapon back at Blake. “Give it to me.”

Yang’s eyes changed color out of anger. “I’ll make you pay for doing that!”

Blake was hesitant on what to do next before making her decision. “No.”

Ilia changed color once again and had a worried look on her face. “You shouldn’t have come back.” She struck the ground across and steam came out. Yang and Blake block it out with their arms and once the steam cleared they lowered their arms to see that Ilia was gone.

Both girls turned to their daughter and were very worried. “Leone!” They ran over to her.

Yang was the first to kneel down next to the Faunus blonde. “Please say something!”

To their relief, Leone groaned a little in pain. “Ah…son of a…that freaking smarts.”

She started to sit up with Blake helping her. “Are you okay?” She took a closer look at the wound and it seemed like it hurt.

Leone hissed a little at the pain. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Believe it or not, I took way worse things than that.”

Although Blake was glad to hear that, that didn’t help with her guilt. “But you got hurt.”

Her daughter laughed a little despite the pain she was feeling. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll heal up quick.” That didn’t make Blake feel any better. Again, someone Blake cared about was hurt because of her. It wasn’t as serious as Yang but she still felt responsible.

After a few more seconds, Leone started to stand up. “Take it easy.” Yang knew how tough her daughter was but it did seem like the wound really hurt. Once the Faunus blonde stood up, Blake walked over to where the scroll was and picked up. Yang glanced at it a little. “How about we head back and see what’s in the scroll that was so important to her.”

Blake turned around to look at both Yang and Leone. “Alright.”

**B**

Ruby had stars in her eyes when held Wave’s weapon and had one of her smiles. “This is so cool! Such a great weapon!”

Nora was looking around the weapon curiously. “So where does that giant monster come out?”

Jaune really didn’t think it was a good idea. “Are you sure you should be holding that?”

Their comments didn’t escape Wave. When he was asked by Ruby to see if she could have a closer look at his Imperial Arms, he was a little hesitant at first but then remembered she wields a scythe twice her size. Wave kinda figured she would be careful with it. “I’ve never met anyone who had such an interest with Grand Chariot.”

Qrow wasn’t the least bit surprised. “Ruby always had a fascination with weapons.” Wave thought it that was quite odd for a girl of Ruby’s age to be interested in weapons. Qrow glanced back at the weapon and had a few questions. “Should we worry about anyone else using that thing?”

Wave chuckled at the question. “Not really. Only I can use Grand Chariot’s power.”

While that was good to hear, Qrow wasn’t quite sold on it yet. “And why’s that?”

“Because I’m only compatible with it.” Wave replied. “An Imperial Arms can only be used if it’s comparable with its user. It’s more like they choose who uses them.”

Qrow thought that was quite interesting. “You don’t say. That’s quite the helpful little system.”

“Hey, Wave?”

Wave looked back at Ruby who seemed to be unsure of something. “What is it?”

Before Ruby could ask her question, she quickly walked up to him to hand back Grand Chariot. He took it and sheathed back in. After that, Ruby went back to Jaune and the others. “Right so…you’re from the same world as…well, you know.” She knew how sensitive a topic Akame was to him.

Wave didn’t mind too much. “Go on.”

Ruby took that as an okay from him. “She and Leone told us a lot about the Empire and I was wondering what you thought of it.”

Nora thought the question was brilliant. “Oh yeah. We know one side but not the other. How about spilling some secrets?”

Wave thought about the question for a few moments. “Alright, fine but it’s not much.” He looked forward again. “To start off, I’m not originally from the Capital. I was in the Imperial Nary. I was sent over to the Capital because I was chosen to be part of the team.”

“The Jaegers.” Ren spoke.

Wave wasn’t surprised by that. At this point, he figured Akame told them everything from her side. “Yes. I was new to the Capital so I didn’t know how things worked over there. I kinda figured things out here and there thanks to Seryu.”

“What did she do to help?” Jaune asked.

Wave sighed as he lowered his head. “We were on a mission to capture some bandits who we thought were part of Night Raid. When I caught up with her, I saw drops of blood coming from Koro. That’s when I figured out she massacred them. I knew they were bandits but even I thought what she did to them was extreme. I tried to explain to her just because we’re Jaegers doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want. However, to her, they were still evil and didn’t think she did any wrong. That’s when I realized that the current state of the Empire was bad for her to be that kind of person.”

Qrow had a question of his own. “If it was as bad as you think it was, why still be a part of it?”

For Wave, the answer was obvious. “Because I still had the duties of a soldier. Besides, I had to repay a favor to someone.”

Qrow didn’t know what to think of Wave’s answer. _“A loyal dog huh?”_

There was something else Ruby wanted to know. “And what about Esdeath? What was she like?”

Her question sparked some enthusiasm from Nora. "Yeah! Akame said that she was some raging psychopath who drank the blood of her enemies!"

Wave didn't know what to think of the description. "W-Well…I have heard what the Commander had done but that's only to her enemies. To her allies, she was quite nice. Considerate even. Whenever she was given a huge reward, she would just give it all to the soldiers who needed it more."

Ren defiantly saw the differences between Wave’s and Akame’s description of Esdeath. _“In short, in considering each side, she would be an ally to count on and an enemy who was dangerous.”_

“And the General even trained me for a short amount of time.”

What Wave said caught Ruby’s attention. “You were trained by Esdeath?”

Wave chuckled at the question. "Yes, and I thought it was a good opportunity. I wanted to get stronger so I asked her."

Jaune was a little curious to know more about the whole thing. “So what did you train?”

Wave was silent for a few seconds. “To use two Imperial Arms at the same time.” Ruby and the others silently gasped when they heard that. “When it comes to the Imperial Arms, a person can only wield one. If one were to use two at the same time, it would certainly bring about destruction. The General thought I had what it took to use two Imperial Arms but the second also had to be compatible with me. It was the quickest way for me to become stronger.”

Qrow thought back to Wave’s fight against Tyrian. _“He was already plenty strong as is. I hate to see what he could do with two of those weapons. Still, I’d rather have that kind of power on our side.”_

After all of that explaining, Ruby had one more question for him. “So can you use two at the same time?” Wave was about to answer until he saw a couple of signs up ahead. The group

All of them looked at the direction the sign was pointing at. It didn’t make Jaune happy. “That path goes over the mountain.”

Qrow didn’t seem too fazed by it. “It hasn’t been easy the entire trip. Why start now?”

Wave looked back at the sign and noticed something unusually odd. “Why the name Kuroyuri scratched up?”

“That’s not important.” Ren spoke up. “Let’s just get Mistral.” He was already walking away from the group.

Jaune and Ruby thought it was strange since they’ve never seen Ren speak out like that before. “What’s gotten into him?” Jaune asked.

Nora giggled nervously and smiled at them. “It’s…nothing. Come on, Mistral is just a hop, skip, and a mountain away.” She left next after Ren.

The way Nora acted was strange even for her. Ruby and Jaune looked at each other not knowing why they were acting the way they did. “I guess we move forward then.”

Jaune had to agree with Ruby. “Yeah…I guess so.” They started to walk the path where it led toward Mistral.

Qrow quickly followed them but stopped when he noticed Wave was standing still. “What are you looking at?”

Wave kept on staring at the direction to where Kuroyuri was for a few seconds long before turning to the other path. “It’s nothing.” He didn’t say anymore and started to walk with Qrow alongside him. Even though he said it was nothing, that wasn’t what his gut was telling him. _“For some reason, I can’t shake off this weird feeling. I don’t know why but something about it bothers me.”_

**A/N …I did all of this while back on episode nine. Son of a…guess that’s I deserve for underestimating how long this chapter would be. Sorry to put all of you through such an unnecessary waiting time. I didn’t think it would be this long. Also as a defense, I did look up the Akame Ga Kill Wiki and found out Murasame was destroyed. This was something I decided on myself and can figure out how that happened. Now I made this story before the final chapter was up so there was no way of knowing that would happen in the manga. Hence wise, why Akame still has Murasame in this story.**

 


	49. Peace Before Chaos

**A/N: For those who are wondering why the updates are taking so long, you can blame it on the college assignments I have to do. Also, I am not happy with this chapter. You’ll see why.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Forty Nine: Peace Before Chaos

The sound of flames going off could be heard in the training room Cinder was in. She was busy slaying Beowolf after Beowolf using her new Fall Maiden powers but the look on her face clearly showed signs of fatigue. As of now, four Beowolves were slowly walking toward her. Cinder swept her arm across and fire emerged to cut all four Beowolves in half. Cinder didn’t know how much more she could keep it up. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t done yet. Cinder heard heavy thudding and looked up to see a Beringel jumping to attack her. Fire instantly surrounded Cinder’s hand and punched through the Beringel with ease. The Grimm disintegrated, much to Cinder’s relief and dropped to her knees feeling exhausted. “Enough.” As if Salem arriving seeing Cinder in a pitiful state wasn’t bad enough. She glanced over to her master. “I thought you were the girl that wanted power. Did you lie to me?” Cinder looked away slightly before turning to her master again and shaking her head. “Then stop holding back. If you wish to master your new powers, you must-”

The door suddenly opening interrupted Salem and both she and Cinder turned their attention to it. To their surprise, Tyrian had returned but he was not acting like himself. Cinder saw as she thought would never see. Frightened. Tyrian shakenly walked into the room whimpering to himself and then dropped to his hands and knees with his head looking down at the floor. “I’m sorry. She’ll forgive me. Please…forgive me…”

“Tyrian.” The scorpion Faunus raised his head to his goddess and sat on his knees. “Your task…were you successful?”

Tyrian couldn’t bear to tell his goddess the bad news but he didn’t have much of a choice. He looked away from her in shame. “N-No…” The news Salam had heard didn’t please her. “Someone got in my way. Someone…who is beyond human.”

His words caught Salem’s attention. Cinder was just wondering what he was talking about. “Would you care to explain Tyrian? What happened?”

Salem could see the sheer fear in the scorpion Faunus’ eyes. Whoever he fought must’ve been quite the foe to even leave him afraid. “This man…he was the one who interfered. I was about to accomplish the mission you have graciously given me but then he appeared.” He recalled how his fight with Wave turned out. “He was no ordinary man. He summoned a terrifying monster out of the ground. It was not unlike any Grimm. It wasn’t even a Grimm at all.” Now Salem was very interested in what her failed servant had to say. “He wore that monster like a suit of armor and called it something. Imperial…Imperial…”

Cinder’s eyes widened in surprise. She knew exactly what Tyrian was trying to say. So did Salem. “Imperial Arms?”

Tyrian nodded his head quickly at his goddess. “Yes, yes. That’s it. He called it that. I fought him and…” The scorpion Faunus slightly looked down at the floor. “He utterly devastated me. His power was unlike anything I had seen before. I was helpless to even do anything against him. He even pulled apart my tail with his bare hands.”

Salem couldn’t help but wonder who this induvial was now. More pressingly, hearing the term “Imperial Arms”. It was the second time she heard that. _“Two people in possession of these Imperial Arms. This is no coincidence. Someone is pulling strings behind all of this.”_ There was one more thing Salem wanted to know. “Did you happen to learn the name of the man who defeated you?” She wanted to know just who they’re dealing with.

Tyrian tried to recall and then remembered what that wolf Faunus said before he delivered the finishing blow. “I believe it was Wave and before the fight, he mentioned something about not being a hunter but a soldier.” That was all Salem needed to know. Obviously, there was something at work and Salem didn’t like it. She started to walk away from Tyrian. Said scorpion Faunus looked up again seeing his goddess leave. “P-Please!” Salem stopped walking and turned her head to him. “I beg for your forgiveness for my failing. I promise…I won’t fail a second time! Forgive me!”

Salem narrowed her eyes at her subordinate. “You disappoint me.” With those words said, Salem looked forward again and continued to walking away from Tyrian. As of now, Salem had a lot more to deal with. _“First this Akame Cinder had fought and now this Wave who defeated Tyrian. Something is at work here but what?”_

As Tyrian saw his goddess walk away from him, he didn’t know what was worse. The fact Salem didn’t forgive him for failing his mission or her saying she was disappointed in him. The thought of it depressed him and began to sob. Unknown to him, a Beowolf was sneaking behind the scorpion Faunus. It jumped at him but he quickly turned his head to see the Grimm coming at him and roared while his tail smacked the Beowolf away from him. Tyrian brought out his wrist blades and jumped on top of the Grimm where he proceeded in stabbing it repeatedly while continuing to sob. His sobbing eventually turned in crazed laughter. Cinder couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy seeing Tyrian like this as she continued to watch him stab the Beowolf.

**B**

Walking on the trail ahead of them, Akame and the rest of Night Raid continued to make their way to Mistral. For the countless time, Chelsea groaned at the pace they were going. “Come on…are we almost there yet?”

Takeo looked at the map hoping that where they are now would finally make her friend stop complaining. To her relief and soon Chelsea’s, there was some good news. “We’re closer to the mountain now. All we have to do is go through a place called Kuroyuri.”

Chelsea couldn’t help but snicker at the name. “Heh, Kuroyuri.”

Rienna didn’t understand the joke. “What’s so funny Chelsea?”

The other girl didn’t know why the others didn’t find the name funny but decided to let it go. “It just is. Anyway, all we have to do is go through this Kuroyuri place and then cross over a mountain to get to Mistral. Seems easy enough. Hey, maybe we can resupply or something.”

For once in a rare while, Chelsea had a good idea. They had pre-destination set and the sooner they can arrive, the better for Akame. “Taeko, how much further is it until we reach Kuroyuri?”

The other girl checked the map again. “It’s not far off from where we are. We should arrive there shortly.”

Akame could accept that. “Alright, let’s pick up the pace and head there quickly as possible.” She increased her walking speed and the others did the same. They were so close to their destination now and closer to where they’ll meet up with Leone again.

After some time had passed with their increased pace, the group saw several buildings off the horizon. Seeing them made Rienna glad. “Hey, I think that’s it!” The other girls thought the same.

With each step, they approached closer to their destination. When they finally saw the whole place up close, that happiness was gone. What was replaced was shock and awe at the state Kuroyuri was in. It was in ruins. They slowly entered the village and looked all around the area. The sight of the village was very depressing. Chelsea’s enthusiasm from earlier vanished and sighed at what she was seeing. “Well, this place is depressing.”

The more Esdeath looked at the place, the more she felt sad about it. “How awful. I wonder what happened here.”

Cornelia was thinking of the same question. “Nothing good I can you that.”

They continued to walk through the ruined village until they arrived at a large dead tree in the center of the village. That’s where Akame stopped in front of the group and turned around to face them. “I think we can afford to take a rest here. Mistral is just up ahead and we need all the strength we have if we’re going over that mountain. You’re free to do what you wish here but go in pairs just to be safe.”

Everyone else was glad they were getting some rest. Kurome dropped her pack and sighed as she rubbed the back of her head. “Sounds good to me. I could use a little relaxation. Think I’ll take a look around. Coming Chelsea?” The other girl was about to reply but Kurome cut her off. “Not what I meant. Let’s go.” Kurome was walking off in a random direction with Chelsea closely following her.

While everyone else saw the two walk away, Esdeath smiled at them. “I think I’ll walk around a little too.” She dropped her pack to the ground. “Who knows, maybe we’ll find something interesting here.”

Rienna was next to drop her pack and ran up to Esdeath happily. “I’ll go with you.” She smiled at the other girl.

Esdeath smiled back as she was all too happy for Rienna’s offer. “Sure thing.” She looked past her teammate and at her leader. “What about you Akame?”

Akame’s response setting her pack down and sitting down against the tree. “I’ll just sit here for a while. Don’t mind me.”

Cornelia giggled softly at her leader and looked at her two teammates. “I’ll be here to keep an eye on her. You two go on ahead.”

Taeko was the last to set down her pack. “So will I. Go on ahead.” With the go-ahead, Esdeath and Rienna took their leave and went to explore the other half of the village.

With them gone now, Akame sighed as she could finally relax. Seeing her as she is now was a rare sight for Cornelia to see considering the journey so far. “You look pretty happy.”

Akame smiled contently at their most recent point of their journey. “We’re close now. We just need to push a little further and we’ll be there. We’ll find Leone and then…make Cinder pay for what she did.” 

The other two girls didn’t forget that small detail. Akame couldn't forgive Cinder for what she did back at Beacon. Not only she managed to destroy their school and made their separate from each other, Cinder also did the one thing Akame could never forgive her for doing. Taking away the only normal life Akame had experienced. Shade was the closest thing to having it again but the thought of Cinder still being out there, doing who knew what next after what she had done back at Beacon, it was something Akame couldn’t let go of. _“I will never forgive you for doing this.”_

Akame quietly gasped at the sudden random thought. _“Why am I remembering that now?”_ She lowered her head and stared at the ground. _“Maybe this is how he felt during that time.”_

“Are you alright Akame?”

Akame quickly looked up at Cornelia and Taeko who seemed to be a little worried. She gave them a comforting smile at the two girls. “I’m fine. Just…thinking about some things is all.” And as if on cue, her stomach growled.

Akame slightly blushed out of embarrassment while Cornelia laughed. “I guess your stomach is thinking too. I’ll get something to help out with that.” She kneeled next to her pack and searched for something for Akame to snack on. Akame was grateful for the help and for the rest they’re having at the moment.

**B**

Qrow, Wave, and team RNJR were trekking on a mountain trail that was less than smooth. Jaune groaned at the hiking they had to do. “We couldn’t find a more pleasant path to get to Mistral?”

Ren could more or less agree with his teammate. “We never get the easy path.”

Nora put her arms behind her head. “Easy’s no fun anyway.”

While they were hiking, Ruby couldn’t help but worry a little about Ren. Mostly because of how he acted from before about Kuroyuri. “Hey, Ren. Is everything alright?”

She didn’t hear a reply from him for a few seconds. “I’m fine Ruby.” The young leader had no choice but to accept the answer but she could still tell something was wrong.

Wave spotted something ahead of the group. “Huh?” He narrowed his eyes and saw what was ahead. “Hey, there’s a cave ahead of us.” Wave walked ahead of the group a little quickly and reached the cave opening. Sure enough, he felt something hitting his body and turned to the group. “There’s some wind coming out of this cave. I think it could be a shortcut!”

Jaune sighed in relief. “Thank you!”

The rest of the group caught up with the soldier and peered at the inside of the cave. “Does anyone else think this’ll lead up to the peak?” Nora asked.

“One way to find out.” Wave took several steps forward when the wind blew suddenly at him and a piece of cloth smacked right into his face. The others found it a little funny as Wave struggled to get the piece off his face. He managed to do so. “Jeez. Even in this world, I can’t catch a break. What hit me anyway?” Wave looked at the cloth to see a symbol of some kind on it. “What’s this supposed to be?”

Everyone one else took a closer look at it and RNJR easily recognized it. “That’s symbol for Shion Village.” Ren described.

Wave turned to Ren looking more confused. “Shion Village?”

“It was a place we passed by a couple of weeks ago. It was destroyed. No one survived.” Ruby answered.

Already Qrow had a bad feeling about this. “Why is a flag from Shion during here?”

Ren already had a guess and suddenly ran into the cave. “Ren? wait!” Nora and the others followed Ren into the cave. All of them traveled into the cave and saw Ren stop and for a good reason.

They saw what was in front of them and couldn’t believe it. “Oh my gosh.” Everyone shared Nora’s reaction.

What all of them were saw were weapons scattered everywhere in the cave. It certainly wasn’t what Wave was expecting to see inside the cave. “What is this place?”

Ren walked a little further in until he saw a familiar arrow and picked it up. Questions arose all around the group wondering who would have such a collection. Everyone looked back at the cave entrance and walked outside to see some of the trees moving. Seeing them move confirmed Ren’s fears. “No…”

Qrow saw the path in which whatever is shaking the trees. “It’s heading toward the village.”

Ren shook his head in denial. “But there’s no one there! There shouldn’t be!”

Wave could say otherwise. “Well, there’s gotta be a reason why it’s heading over to the village. If there are people in the village, they’re in danger.” Wave jumped off and slid down the rocky slope.

Ruby ran up to the edge. “Wave, wait!”

Qrow could see what was Wave’s intentions. Being a soldier, he would want to warn those who happen to be at the village below. But somehow, he knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. _“Why do I get the feeling something bad is about to happen?”_

**B**

Leone yawned as she walked through the hall of the Chief’s home. After she, Blake, and Yang came back from their chase, they were confronted by Kali and Ghira. They wondered and Kali was worried what happened to them and why they left so suddenly. Kali was especially worried seeing the wound in Leone’s shoulder but was surprised it healed. Blake explained to her parents that the White Fang was spying on her and chased a member down. It was where Blake had acquired a scroll and handed it to her father. She had a suspicion that something was important in it and would like her father to see what it was. After that, all three girls went to bed. Leone rolled her shoulder and it still felt a little sore. “Damn. When I get my hands on that…chameleon girl…”

She approached the room Yang and Blake were sleeping at. Well, it was Blake’s room and Leone could imagine how happy Yang must’ve been seeing it. She stood in front of the door and was about to knock. “This is why I left in the first place, Yang!" Leone stopped and closely listened. It sounded like Blake yelled at Yang which was something Leone had never heard before. "I don't want to see those I love keep getting hurt because of me!"

“But, Blake-”

“It’s my fault you lost your arm and my fault everyone is separated! I brought this upon all of you! I loved all of you and you and Leone gave me something I thought I would never have. But every time I found happiness, it was always stolen from me. There was even a time that I hoped you and everyone would hate me for leaving all of you.”

Leone wanted to open the door and intervene but decided it was best for Blake to finally vent out whatever she had inside of her. Her lion ears picked up something else and turned to see who was approaching. Inside Blake’s room, the Faunus girl was sitting on her bed looking away from the other girl while Yang was standing in front of her. The blonde just let Blake vent out her frustrations. She knew there was more than what Blake let on. It wasn’t just her being hurt. It was hurting the whole team and feeling responsible for what happened to them back at Beacon. “I thought I was done with it, done with this but now I dragged both you and Leone into this mess. You saw Ilia last night and she wasn’t even the worst. I think…you would be better off without me. That way, you could’ve kept your arm and none of this would never happen. These are my choices and I’ll deal with consequences because they belong to me.”

After hearing all of that, Yang took in a deep breath. “Blake…look at me.” The Faunus girl did just that but reluctantly. As soon as she did, a loud smack echoed throughout the room. It took Blake a few seconds to register that Yang had actually slapped her with her human hand. Her cheek was stinging in pain as Blake stared at Yang in disbelief at what she did. She could see that Yang’s eyes turned red and they were glaring at her. “You…moron!” Now it was time for Blake to hear out Yang. “Don’t you ever say something like that in front of me! How can you say such a thing about yourself?! What happened back at Beacon wasn’t your fault. It was Adam’s and it was Cinder’s. You had nothing to do with it. Yes, I did hate you for leaving me but you came back. Came back to me. And you didn’t drag me into this whole thing. I came along with you on my own choice. And I told you I never blamed you for losing my arm. Never have and never will. As for Leone, she’s taken a lot worse than some stab to the shoulder. We both know that and we both know she would do anything to protect us because that’s just who she is! I would do the same because you’re important to me. Hell, you’re important to a lot of people! So don’t come off thinking you’re being selfless at this whole thing because you’re not! You can make all the choices you want but you don’t get to decide ours.”

Yang’s word did cut into Blake deeply but despite all of them, the Faunus girl still had doubts. “And what if you can’t?” She stood up and looked at the blonde directly in the eye. “What if you aren’t able to protect me? What if there’s someone stronger than you, someone you can’t handle on your own, then what?”

Yang never gave much thought about that scenario but she didn’t care. “I don’t care if they are stronger than me. I don’t care if I lose my arm again because I would do the same thing over if it meant protecting you. When I, we, all of us, your friends fight for you, it’s because we want to. So don’t think this is your fight alone. It’s OUR fight. Quit pushing us out and belittling us. That hurts a lot more…” She grabbed her robotic arm. “Then this will ever feel.” Blake didn’t know what to think of what Yang said to her. She did admit the other girl had a few good points about what the Faunus girl was thinking and doing.

There was silence between the girls for a few seconds until Blake’s door suddenly dropped forward to the ground. Both turned to the dropped door and saw Ghira and Leone standing outside while Kali was on the door. Kali quickly stood up while feeling a little embarrassed. “Oh, oh dear, would you look at that. You two are awake. Thank goodness.”

Ghira couldn’t help but facepalm at his wife. “Kali, please.” Leone couldn’t help but snicker at what happened and at the sight.

Blake was both mad and embarrassed by her mother’s sudden intrusion. “Mom!”

Yang couldn’t help but wave awkwardly at the Belladonna couple. “Uh…good morning.” She suddenly had a terrible thought. _“Oh crap. Did they hear all of that?”_

Blake took a few steps forward to her parents. “What are you two doing here?”

Kali really didn’t want to worry her daughter but there was an important issue to talk about. “Well, sweetheart, your father and I needed to speak to the both of you and…Leone.”

Already Yang didn’t like where this was going. “So I’m guessing we’re not going to have breakfast?”

**B**

Everyone gathered in Ghira’s office and Blake and Yang were nervous about what they wanted to talk about. Obviously, it was about the scroll Blake had given to her father but chances are there was something else. The three girls were sitting across from Kali and Ghira with Leone sitting in between Yang and Blake. Ghira set down the scroll Blake handed to him last night. "Before we discuss the contents of what was found here, I'll ask you the same question before Miss Xiao Long." Hearing her last name confirmed the blonde's fears. Ghira narrowed his eyes at her. "What is my daughter to you?"

Yang had two choices in answering. Either continue to play it off or tell the truth. “I…uh…it’s like I told you. We’re teammates.”

And the blonde obviously chose poorly because she saw the look Ghira was giving her and it wasn’t pleasant. “You’re lying to me and I do not condone lying.”

Yang had never felt more afraid. Probably because the people in front of her was Blake’s parents. Blake knew where this was going and thought it was time to finally come to talk about them. “You know, don’t you?”

 Kali nodded at her daughter’s question. “We do. Shortly after you three left last night, I told your father about what I heard between Yang and Leone. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. It just happened.”

Leone groaned at herself. _“I knew we should’ve been more careful.”_

Both Yang and Blake looked away from the Belladonna parents. Kali could sense the worry coming from her daughter. “Why didn’t you tell us about this?” She heard what Yang said before but she wanted to know directly from her daughter.

Blake continued to refuse to look at her parents. "Why do you think? We haven't seen each other in a long time and the last thing I wanted you two to know was your own daughter being in a relationship with another girl. A human girl. I thought you would disapprove. Both the relationship and who I’m with. Yang’s father was accepting of it but you two? The Chieftain of Menagerie and his wife, what would they think? I’ve feared that question ever since we left Patch. I thought it would’ve been better if you didn’t know it at all.”

Yang looked over at the other girl with a soft look in her eyes. “Blake…” She finally turned to her girlfriend’s parents. “You asked me what your daughter is to me right? Well, here’s my real answer. She’s important to me. Both as her teammate and as the girl who loves your daughter. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe it was fate we found each other, I don’t care. What I do care is how lucky and glad I could meet her. I couldn’t ask for a better partner and I can’t imagine anyone else I would spend the rest of my life with. And I would kick anyone's ass who hurts her in any way." She held her robotic arm again. "That includes Adam Taurus and not only for Blake but for me too." Yang took in a deep breath and exhaled while letting go of her arm. “That’s my real, true answer.”

During that whole explanation, Ghira studied the human blonde and didn’t find any hint of lies. Unlike the first time he asked the question, the Chief saw uncertainty in her eyes when she answered. What Ghira saw now was the strength and resolve in Yang’s eyes. That much told him she was telling the truth. He studied the two girls for a few seconds longer before moving on. “For my last two questions, what does Leone have to do with both of you? What’s this about you being their…daughter?”

It was Leone’s turn to be put on the spot. The Bumblebee pair turned to the Faunus blonde who chuckled lightly. Leone looked back at the Chieftain. “To make a long story short sir, I was the one responsible for pairing these two up after a…misunderstanding. As for the daughter bit, well, as you can see, I do kinda resemble the two of them. My looks from Yang and Faunus heritage from Blake. It may seem a little stupid but I do think them both as my parents. My real mother died when I was young so I didn’t have a parent for a long time. Yang and Blake come close to being parents to me. It’s kinda simple really. I think of them as my parents just as they think of me as their daughter even though we’re not related. It may come across as a joke to others but to us, we are a family and just like Yang said before, anyone who hurts them, I’ll make sure they’ll pay for it.”

Ghira saw that same strong resolve in Leone’s eyes. In a way, she was like Yang and not because they look similar. There was only one last thing he needed to confirm. “You do realize the difficulties that’ll come along with this. Are you prepared to face what’s to come? The hardships? The discrimination? Of what others would think?”

Blake was already prepared for a question like that and looked back at her father. “I don’t care what others think about us. Humans or Faunus. I only care about what my friends and family would think.”

Yang was pretty much on the same boat. “To me, it’s worth it.”

Leone just grinned at the question. “If others have a problem with it, I’ll gladly make them think otherwise. The hard way.”

With their explanations done and hearing their answers, Ghira finally came to his conclusion. “Blake…” His daughter stiffened up when she heard her name. “I know you’re old enough to make your own decisions and this isn’t any different. You’re free to choose what to do in your life and I won’t force you to change your way of thinking. What I heard alone is proof enough.”

 Blake couldn’t believe what she had heard from her own father. She was completely dumbfounded. Her mother smiled at the three girls. “I personally think it’s wonderful you found someone like Yang. I could tell even before I found out. You care for each other very much. All three of you.”

Blake lowered her head while shivering slightly. She tried to best to hold back the tears but they came out anyway. “Thank you…”

Yang smiled at the Faunus girl. She was happy that Blake’s parents were accepting of them and she could tell Blake thought the same.

Leone laughed as she hooked her arms around the two girls’ necks and brought them close to her. “Alright! Everything worked out in the end after all!” All three girls started to laugh together.

Unfortunately, their little celebration had to be cut short as Ghira cleared his throat. All three girls looked at him and Leone let go of Yang and Blake. "We're not done yet. We still have to discuss what was on that scroll."

Blake had almost forgotten about that and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves to rid of the leftover tears. “Right…” She set her arm down and looked at her father again. “So what did you find?”

Ghira looked down at the scroll. “I’m afraid you were right to be suspicious.”

Blake already didn’t like where the conversation was going. “What do you mean?”

“Adam Taurus is planning to overthrow the leader of the White Fang and stage a full-scale attack on Haven Academy. It would be the Fall of Beacon all over again.”

Hearing that made Blake very worried. _“Sun…no.”_

Yang was equally worried with what she heard. _“Ruby…”_

Leone gritted her teeth at what she heard. _“You gotta be kidding me. Never thought he would do a coup d’état.”_ To make matters worse, Akame and the others were headed to Haven. The very thought of it angered her. “Not if we destroy the White Fang for good. Those assholes had it coming for way too long now.” She was already prepared to such a thing from the start.

However, Blake had another idea. “No.” She stood up and looked at everyone. “We’re not going to destroy the White Fang. “We’re going to take it back.”

The room was silent as Yang Leone couldn’t believe what Blake had just suggested. “Say what!?”

**B**

Wave was running fast as he could to reach the village of Kuroyuri. If there were people in that village, their safety was top priority. Once they’re out of danger, then he and the others can take care of whatever it is headed toward the village. He made it to the entrance of the village and the state it was in. “What the hell happened to this place?” That was a question he would have to ask later as he kept running. Wave finally saw some people up ahead next to a large dead tree. _“They must be the ones in this village.”_

The people he saw were none other than Akame and the others with her who heard the roar coming toward them and Cornelia didn’t like it one bit. “Well, there goes our break.”

Taeko grabbed the handle of Tsugaku-Hime. “We have to be prepared for whatever’s coming at us.”

Akame had to agree with her teammate. “The others must’ve heard it too. Whatever made that sound, it’s likely something we haven’t faced before.”

“Hey! Are you alright!?”

Akame gasped at the voice she just heard. There was no mistaking of who that voice belonged to but she couldn’t believe it. _“That voice. It can’t be. There’s no way.”_

Cornelia and Taeko looked at the one who yelled at them and saw him. Who’s this guy?”

Taeko wondered the same question. “I do not know.” She noticed the clothing he was wearing. _“He’s wearing the same attire as Kurome.”_

Wave saw that he came just in time. “You should get out of here! There’s something…” He stopped when he saw a very familiar figure among them. That figure turned around to face him. Wave felt a single strong heartbeat resonate through his body as he saw the one person who responsible for Kurome’s death. “Akame…”

Akame was in the same state of shock at who she was seeing in front of her. It was almost unbelievable to her and yet he was standing in front of her. “Wave…” Both stared at each other deeply into each other’s eyes looking at each other’s reflections in them. It was at that moment, everything else vanished around them. The last sound either of them heard was the roar of the beast that was still coming towards them.

 


	50. A Grimm Situation

**A/N: And all of you didn’t need to wait another month.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Fifty: A Grimm Situation

Wave ran as fast as he could through the forest while wearing Grand Chariot. He had to find Kurome and fast before it was too late. _“Damn it Kurome. Where the hell did you go?”_ All kinds of thoughts were going through his head. The most prominent one was the kiss Kurome had given him before she knocked the soldier out. That image kept replaying in his mind over and over. Wave kept all feelers out for sensing Kurome’s aura. It was his only chance if he ever had the chance in arriving in time to stop Kurome’s fight with Akame.

Wave remember what Akame said to him from their last confrontation. _“If this is what she truly wants, then I’ll fight. I’ll fight and save her from her own suffering. As her sister…this is all I can do for her now.”_

Those words still vexed him at this moment. _“There has to be another way to resolve this. This doesn’t have end with Akame killing her own sister.”_ While he searching all over for his missing teammate, the rain started to fall. The rainfall didn’t slow Wave down in the least. _“Where are you, Kurome?!”_ He finally had his answer as Wave saw something in the air. A person with black wings was flying in a direction. He knew who it was. _“That was Run.”_ He took that a sign where Kurome was. It also meant something else to him. “Have they started fighting already?” If they have, then Wave had no time to waste. He rushed over to their location following Run as quickly as possible. Everything was riding on Wave to arrive in time in hopes of stopping the fight. He was near the location of where the sisters were. _“Just a little more…”_ Wave approached a building and jumped over it. As soon as he was on top of the building, the soldier arrived just in time but not for the right reason. Just as he arrived at the site, Wave saw Akame stab Kurome with Murasame. For Wave, it was as if time had stopped for him. His sight was focused on the two sisters who stood still in front of him. Anger flared up deep from within him and roared. “DAMN YOU AKAME!”

Akame looked up to see Wave of all people here. “Wave?” Wave was headed toward Akame but was then kicked away from them and smashed through several pillars before crashing into one of the other buildings. Akame saw who it was landing in front of her. “Tatsumi…”

Wave groaned as he stood up. He saw Tatsumi in his Incursio armor but it had vastly changed since their last encounter. It looked more like the actual Tyrant Dragon from where Incursio was created from. He had heard about it from Esdeath but didn’t care at this moment. “Get out of my way Tatsumi.”

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes at Wave. “The fight is over Wave.”

The other armor user growled deeply at the words. “NO, IT’S NOT!” He stood up and launched himself at Tatsumi. “I’M GOING TO MAKE HER PAY!”

Tatsumi prepared himself for Wave’s incoming attack. “I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU HURT AKAME!” Both pulled back their arms and their fists collided when Wave neared Tatsumi. Their attacks created a thunderous boom that blew away the rain around them.

Wave didn’t let up an inch before his opponent. “IT’S HER FAULT KUROME IS DEAD NOW!”

“KUROME WAS THE ONE WHO WANTED THIS FIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE!” Tatsumi unleashed a barrage of punches all over at Wave. Wave felt how powerful each punch was and pushed him back. He came back at Tatsumi with a kick but Tatsumi caught the attack with ease. He then delivered a powerful uppercut at Wave which launched him straight into the air.

Wave coughed out blood as a result and couldn’t believe how powerful Tatsumi had become. _“Such power…what the hell? His strength’s shot through the roof since the last time we fought. Just taking a few of his attacks back then was nearly enough to finish me.”_ He crashed back onto the ground and created a crater below him. Wave gritted his teeth at what happened to him. _“Tatsumi…it can’t end like this…”_

“That’s enough, Tatsumi!” Both Tatsumi and Wave looked over to where Akame was with Kurome’s motionless body lying next to her. “That’s enough, please…” She lowered her head to the point where her bangs were covering her eyes. "I'm sorry…Wave. In the end…this is how it ends between us."

Even with the rain pouring upon them, Tatsumi could tell Akame was crying. He started to walk over to his teammate and stopped in front of her. “Let’s go back home Akame.”

Akame didn’t say anything back and the two started to walk away. As they were walking, Wave stood up and walked over to where Kurome was. Seeing that bloody spot on her body will forever be a reminder of his failure of both him being a teammate and as more than a friend. He picked up Kurome in his arms and turned his attention to the two Night Raid members leaving. Wave gritted his teeth at the one who will forever be responsible for killing her own little sister. "I will never forgive you for doing this. Do you hear me Akame?! I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!”

_F_

Wave and Akame kept staring at each in disbelief. Akame could scarcely believe that they were to meet again a second time in this world. She could see it in Wave's eyes that this was the Wave from her world. Cornelia was familiar with the look her leader currently had. _“This was the same kind of reaction Akame had back when she first saw Kurome which means…”_ She looked back at Wave who still had a shocked face. Something about him bugged the blonde. _“Akame said Wave. Does she know this guy?”_ It quickly dawned on her who the person in front really was and gasped. _“No way. He’s from the same world as her and Leone! If that’s true, then…”_

Akame came to the same conclusion and snapped out of her shock. “Cora, Taeko! Get out of here no-”

**“GRAND CHARIOT!”**

All three girls felt immensely powerful wind blowing at them and shielded themselves with their arms for protection. The wind blew through other parts of the town where Kurome and the others were and shield themselves the same way. “What the hell now!?”

The danger beast that created Grand Chariot appeared behind Wave and let out its devastating roar. The roar Esdeath and everyone else heard was very different than the one they heard before and it sounded more terrifying. “That roar came from where Akame and the others are!” Every member had the same idea and ran back to where their leader and other teammates were.

Wave was fully in his Grand Chariot armor and Akame knew this situation was about to become worse. “Cora, Taeko, we need to-” Wave suddenly appeared in front of Akame and hooked his entire arm around Akame. He then blasted off into the air with his arm around Akame. He sendoff blasted the two girls near their leader away and a crater was left behind.

They saw Wave carrying their leader away from them and from the looks of it, out of the village. “Akame!”

On their way back to their leader, Kurome caught a quick glimpse of a figure traveling through the air. She gasped at the sight of who the mysterious figure was carrying in their arms. Kurome stopped and stood in place while witnessing that armored figure carrying her sister away out of the village. "Akame!" 

Chelsea stopped and turned to the other girl. “What’s wrong Kurome?” She didn’t receive an answer as Kurome resumed running to where Cornelia and Taeko were at a faster speed this time. Chelsea followed her closely and could tell something was bothering Kurome.

Cornelia stood up after being knocked down and stared at the direction her leader was carried off too. _“This is really not good. Not good at all.”_

Taeko had similar thoughts about what had just happened before them. “What in the hell was that?”

"Hey!" The two girls saw Kurome, Chelsea, Esdeath, and Rienna running back to them. They saw all of them worried and confused. Kurome felt the most out of all of them. "You mind explaining to us what the hell just happened?! First, some wind blew through here and then we heard a roar coming from here. On the way back, I saw some weird person in armor carrying off Akame!”

Cornelia hated being the person with the bad news but the rest of the team needed to know. “You remember that Wave guy Akame told us before? That was him and he’s in this world.”

Some of the other members didn’t know what to think what they were told. Esdeath was just confused by how this came to be. “But if that’s true, how did he arrive at Remnant? Could he have arrived the same way Akame and Leone did?” It was the only explanation she could think of and if that was the answer, how long had he been in their world?

“Is that you Esdeath?” Esdeath gasped at the familiarity of the voice she and the rest of the team heard. They turned to where the voice was and sure enough, they were surprised at who they saw. Ruby and her group. “What are all of you doing here?”

“Ruby?” Esdeath took quick notice of Ruby’s new outfit and felt something like an arrow piercing through her heart. _“She’s…she’s so…”_ And Kurome smacked Esdeath’s head from behind. “Ow!”

Esdeath whined as she held the back of her head. Kurome was not in the mood for her teammate’s reaction of Ruby’s new outfit. She turned her attention to Ruby’s group. “I can ask you the same thing.” She did wonder why Ruby of all people and the people she’s with are here. “Humor me, please but do any of you know a guy who wears a suit of armor?”

To her surprise, Kurome saw Ruby’s eyes widened. “Oh no. “Oh no. I thought it was weird when we heard that roar coming here”

Kurome took that as sign that the younger girl did know something. She stomped over to where the younger leader was and grabbed her by the shoulders tightly. “You better tell me why the hell you have someone from Akame’s world traveling with you!”

“Hey…” Kurome turned to Qrow who narrowed his eyes at her. “Let her go.”

Kurome leered back at him. “And who the hell are you?”

He pointed at Ruby. “Her uncle.”

Kurome looked back and forth between Qrow and Ruby and finally stopped at Qrow. “Uncle?”

Ruby giggled nervously. “Yep. That’s my uncle Qrow.”

Kurome just kept staring Qrow when she realized one unique trait about him. _“He has red eyes like Akame.”_

Everyone heard the roar again from before and Kurome let Ruby go. “Oh yeah, I kinda forgot about that.” Rienna spoke.

Ren recognized the roar all too well. “No…not again.”

Ruby turned to her teammate. “Ren, what is that?”

Jaune and everyone else heard something big coming their way. “Wait, you guys hear that?”

Ren did and he dropped to his knees and lowered his head. Seeing him do that worried Nora. “Ren?”

Taeko immediately sensed that something approaching them. “It’s here.” Everyone turned to where the noise came from and saw what the creature who made those roars truly looked like. Ren lifted his head to see the same Grimm that destroyed Shion, his village, and his family. All of them saw a large horse-like Grimm with a humanoid creature attached to the top with a variety of weapons stuck to its back and long curved horns on its head. They had encountered a Grimm called a Nuckelavee.

The Nuckelavee let out another of its shrill roars and everyone covered their ears. “What the hell is that thing!”

Everyone else had the same question as Cornelia. Once it stopped roaring, all of them uncovered their ears. Kurome walked away from Ruby and took Trisula. “I don’t care what it is. It’s in the way. I got to get to Akame before something happens to her!”

The rest of the team agreed and everyone took out their weapons. Chelsea smiled at their situation. “Well, at least this’ll be over quick. There’s only one of it and all of us. Easy.”

Just as she spoke those words, the Nuckelavee roared again but this time to the sky. The roar resonated throughout the air and echoed far and wide. Once it was over, the two groups heard another loud noise. Almost as if it was a stampede. A few seconds passed and the next thing they knew, a large hoard of Grimm was heading toward them from several Nevermores, Beowolves, to Ursas, to Beringels. Everyone couldn’t believe the number of Grimm before them. It was almost similar to the event at what happened back at Ruby’s scouting mission at Glenn Mountain. Taeko could only sigh at what Chelsea said before. “You and your big mouth Chelsea.”

**B**

Akame was thrown to the ground and crashed through the dirt until she stopped. She couldn't believe how quick everything had just happened and it was only going to be worse. Wave landed across from her and his bag dropped to the ground. Both were in a wide-open flat area with several large rocks scattered everywhere and a steep cliff face behind Akame. Wave saw Akame slowly stand up after throwing her down into the dirt. “To think I would meet you again this soon.”

Akame could say the same thing as she stared back at Wave. “I’m surprised to see you in this world Wave. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”

The feeling was mutual for Wave. “Not since that night. The night you killed Kurome.” He closed his hand tightly. “I’ll make you pay for what you did to her. So, in her memory, I’ll finish what she started and end you here! That way, she’ll be avenged. This fight is between only me and you!”

_“So that’s why he took me away from the others.”_ Akame weighed in the situation she was in. _“Wave doesn’t know that Kurome is alive in this world but he’s beyond listening to reason. My only option to get back to the others is going through him.”_ She knew it wasn’t going to be an easy fight but there was no other choice. She grabbed collar of her cloak and tossed it aside to the ground. Akame grabbed Yatsufusa’s handle and drew it out. She pointed her sword at Wave with a look of determination on her face. “Fine then Wave but you do well to remember how it ended with our last fight!”

Wave hadn’t forgotten about it but that was then and this was now. He was aware of the strategy Akame would use against him and was prepared for it. Wave also noticed the choice of weapon Akame was wielding. _“She’s not using Murasame?”_ It didn’t matter to him anyway. All he cared about was making sure Akame would get what she finally deserves. “Let’s end this once and for all Akame!”

**B**

“Get out of my way!” Kurome yelled as she slashed through several Beowolves while passing by them. She saw an Ursa charging at her and Kurome pointed her weapon at it. She fired a shot at it and the bullet went through the head. She turned around and observed what was happening. Everyone had their hands full trying to deal with the surrounding Grimm and the Nuckelavee attacking them when none of them were looking didn’t make the situation any easier. When one of them would turn their attention to it, several of the Grimm would attack from behind. They had their hands full and saw no way out. _“Damn it. We have to finish this as fast as possible.”_

“Kurome, look out!” Kurome heard Chelsea’s voice and did turn around to see an Ursa raising its arm at her. Before it could attack, Chelsea appeared before her and swung one of her fans at the Grimm. The attack was strong enough to take out the Ursa and it fell.

Kurome was very glad Chelsea came in to intercept. “Thanks a lot. I’ll pay more attention next time.”

Chelsea still had her back turned to the other girl while not moving. “You need to get out of here.”

Those were definitely not the words Kurome expected Chelsea to tell her. “What are you talking about?”

Chelsea still refused to look at Kurome. “You need to go where that Wave guy took Akame right? It’s best right now for you to on ahead while the rest of us handle things here. You remember what Akame told us about those who use Imperial Arms that one time right? One of them will die. I don’t care about that other guy but we can’t risk having Akame being killed. Otherwise, we’ll never hear the end of it from Leone.” Kurome couldn’t believe what her girlfriend was suggesting to her. Both girls saw another group of the Grimm stampeding towards them. “So get a move on now Kurome!” Chelsea raised her fans and then swung them down with powerful gusts of winds headed toward the Grimm. The wind managed to split the group apart and left a clear path in the middle. Chelsea smiled at her handiwork. “She is your sister, right?”

Kurome didn’t have much room to argue. Chelsea was right which was rare and would gladly take up the offer Chelsea had given her. “Alright then. Be careful.”

Chelsea chuckled at the other girl’s words. “Aren’t I always?”

Kurome let the joke slide and her clothes began to flow. **“Amplify times two!”** A strong pulse came out of her body and quickly took the path Chelsea gave to her. It didn’t take her long to exit the village and continue running. _"From what I can tell, that armored guy took Akame in this direction. That's my best shot at finding them. I just hope I can make it in time. If the worst comes to worst, I'll fight the bastard myself. Just hang in there Akame."_

With Kurome gone to search for her older sister, Chelsea turned to the rest of her group and Ruby’s. “Hey! Kurome’s gone ahead to look for Akame so not to cause alarm but we’re pretty much leaderless at this point!”

Taeko cut through several Grimm with her semblance. “I suppose that’s the right course of action.”

Rienna fired concentrated streams of fire at two Beringels and they howled at being burned to their deaths. “What do we do now?”

That was a question on everyone’s mind. Amidst of all this chaos, Esdeath froze several Beowolves solid and examined at their situation. She saw what each of the members from both groups was doing and some were still struggling. Esdeath closed her hands tightly and raised her right arm into the air. **“Heulender Blizzard!”** A powerful blizzard suddenly appeared and the Grimm nearest to everyone was caught in it. Those who were fighting jumped back to avoid being caught in the attack just like the Grimm. Esdeath heard some of the Nevermore screech and set both her arms forward at them. Several large ice shards formed around her pointing at the flying Grimm. **“Weiss Schnabel!”** Esdeath sent them to Nevermore above and impaled two of them through the body. They let out one more screech before crashing into the ground. With them taken out, their fight would become much easier now. Some of the Grimm broke through the blizzard and started to resume their attack. Esdeath slammed both of her hands to the ground. **"Kalten Königreich!”** Ice formed over the ground and froze along with the Grimm standing. She created a large ice wall to separate her and the rest of the group and the oncoming Grimm. She wasn’t done yet as Esdeath heard the Nuckelavee Grimm screech at her and extended one of its hands at Esdeath. She quickly stood up and waved her arm across with ice following. The attack was blocked and Esdeath extended her arm at the Grimm. **“Grau Horn!”** A horn of ice appeared underneath the Nuckelavee and tossed it away from everyone else. Thanks to her actions, Esdeath bought everyone a little time.

Ruby clapped at what Esdeath did as it’s been way too long seeing the other girl in action. “That was really amazing Esdeath!”

Nora was equally impressed. “You know, it makes me kinda happy you’re on our side.”

Qrow also took notice of Esdeath’s power. _“This girl…”_

Esdeath looked at everyone closely. “Okay, this is how this’ll go. It’s obvious we’re constantly attacked by the Grimm surrounding us and that horse Grimm. Which is why I propose something. Cornelia, Taeko, Chelsea, Rienna, and I will handle the horde. Our teamwork will rid them all easily. Meanwhile, Ruby, you and your team deal with that horse Grimm. Can you handle that?”

This was the first-time Ruby had seen Esdeath so…commanding before. She quickly nodded at the question. “Yeah, leave it to us.”

Esdeath smiled at the younger and nodded back at her. “Good. At least this’ll be easier on all of us.” She heard Cornelia giggle for some reason. “What’s so funny?”

The blonde continued giggling and smiled at the other girl. “It’s just that when our team first formed, you mentioned that you wouldn’t make a good leader but look at you now.”

Esdeath remembered saying that but she didn’t have a choice in this situation. “Akame has been taken away, Leone is gone, Kurome is off looking for Akame. Someone has to do this.”

Now that she mentioned it, Jaune and the others did notice Leone wasn’t with them. “Where is Leone anyway?” Jaune asked.

Chelsea sighed at the question. “We’ll explain that after we’re not being attacked by Grimm.”

Speaking of Grimm, they heard the Nuckelavee screech. That was their signal to start. “Let’s end this now!” Both groups turned to their respective targets of interest. The members of Night Raid tossed their cloaks aside.

An idea suddenly came to Chelsea. “Hey, to make this more interesting, whoever finishes their side first, the losing team has to buy for the winning team.”

Nora grinned at the offer. “Sounds great to me!” Esdeath snapped her fingers and the ice formed in front of Night Raid shattered. They saw the remaining Grimm were ready as usual to continue attacking them.

The Grimm began to charge at Night Raid in their sights. Rienna and Esdeath were the first to step up. “Rienna!”

The blonde nodded. “Right!” She pointed Devil Incarnate in front of the horde. **“Flaming Spiral!”** Fire furiously streamed out in spirals and was headed toward the Grimm.

Esdeath pulled back arm and extended it forward. **"Gefrorene Misery!"** She unleashed a wave of ice right next to Rienna’s attack.

The two attacks combined and become one large powerful attack. **“Freezing Hellfire!”** The attack struck multiple Grimm at once and all of them were burning and freezing at the same time.

They heard the screech of the remaining Nevermore flying above them and sent its quills at them. Rienna and Esdeath jumped back to avoid the attack. Esdeath turned to Taeko. “Taeko, take care of the Nevermore!”

Taeko would gladly do just that but had one question. “How will I accomplish that?” Her answer was a pillar of ice suddenly appearing underneath her and was rising into the air. The ice pillar stopped when the top was at the same elevation as the Nevermore. Taeko saw the Nevermore flying at her while screeching. Taeko stood still as she readied Tsugaku-Hime. The flying Grimm came in closer to its target which was exactly what Taeko wanted it to do. “This attack will bring death to those who draw near.” As soon as the Nevermore opened its mouth at her, Taeko quickly swung her sword at the Grimm. **“Scattering Breeze!”** Several blades of wind emerged out of her sword and cut apart the Nevermore into several pieces as they passed Taeko by. The pieces of the Nevermore fell to the ground. And now there was a new problem present. “How do I get down from here?”

Her answer were some glyphs appearing that led the way down. Chelsea waved at her childhood friend. “Use that Taeko!” The other girl smiled at Chelsea and began hopping her way down using the glyphs.

While Chelsea was momentarily distracted, A Beringel appeared behind her and raised its arm. Chelsea barely noticed the shadow over her and turned around to see the large Grimm ready to strike her down. The Beringel roared as it swung it’s arm down but was then deflected by Cornelia who appeared at the last second with her axes. She took the opportunity present and crossed her arms while holding her axes. Both weapons began to vibrate intensely and the blonde yelled while swinging her two axes at the Grimm in front. Her attack managed to cut through the Beringel easily and split into four pieces. Cornelia turned to her teammate and smiled at her. “You alright?”

Chelsea nodded at the other girl’s question. “Yeah but…” She closed one of her fans and pointed it at Cornelia. Or rather what was behind her and shot the oncoming Beowolf in the head. Cornelia looked behind her to see the Grimm drop dead and then back to Chelsea who smirked at her. “I think that makes us even.”

Suddenly both girls heard a roar coming from their right and saw a Major Ursa charging at them. They were both prepared to take it on. **“Ridge Wind!”** A single blade of a wind cut through the Ursa and split apart. Takeo appeared before the two girls landing on the ground. She turned to her two teammates who were half impressed and half surprised. “If you have time to talk, you have time to kill the Grimm.” Chelsea and Cornelia nodded in agreement.

Esdeath and Rienna regrouped with the rest of the girls and had all their backs turned against each other staring at the Grimm nearing them. Despite their situation, Chelsea couldn’t help but laugh. “You think Ruby and her group are having as much fun as we are?”

While the members of Night Raid were busy handing with the Grimm reinforcements, Ruby and her team, along with Qrow were busy fighting off the Nuckelavee. The Grimm shrieked as it launched one of its extendable arms at Ruby but she jumped over it and aimed Crescent Rose at the ground. She fired a shot and went up into the air with her scythe ready. However, the Nuckelavee managed to grab her mid-air and slammed her into the ground. Nora ran toward it but was struck by the other extendable arm. The Grimm retracted both of its arms and was being shot at by Ren who was circling around it. He kept shooting at the Grimm but it proved to have no effect on it. The Nuckelavee threw both of its arms at him and grabbed Ren by the arms. Ren struggled to break free of the Grimm’s tight grip. Jaune came up with a quick idea to help Ren out. “Keep moving, go in a circle!” He ran after saying that.

Nora fired a shot at the Grimm and struck it. With it being momentarily distracted, Ren broke free and began to follow what Jaune told him to do. Him, Jaune, Ruby, Nora and Qrow began to circle around the Nuckelavee while firing at it. It tried to attack them but they dodged it. While circling, Jaune quickly came up to one of the legs and slashed at it. The horse part of the Grimm neighed loudly and turned around to kick Jaune away from it. Ruby ran to his side and Jaune stood up once he stopped. Ruby saw her teammate sheath his sword for some reason. “What you doing?!”

Her answer was Jaune taking out his sheath with the sword still in it and changed slightly into a combined sword. He ran back to the Grimm and Ruby smiled as she provided cover fire for him by shooting with Crescent Rose in its weapon form. The bullets were enough to draw the Nuckelavee’s attention while Jaune came at it again. He jumped at one of the legs and slashed it again. The horse part of the Grimm neighed loudly again. While it was doing that, Qrow came from the side and slashed at the main body of the Grimm while passing it by. When he stopped at the other side, he aimed his sword at the Grimm and fired a few shots. They had a little more of an effect and did push it back only a little. He clicked his tongue at how the fight was going so far for them. _“This one is a tough bastard.”_

The Nuckelavee twitched a little and then spun its whole body around while stretching out its arms. The attacked managed to hit everyone except for Qrow who blocked the attack with his weapon but was still able to push him back. The Nuckelavee retracted its arms again back to it and then grabbed its shoulder. When it did that, the spines on its back suddenly grew longer and twitched several times before opening its mouth all the way to let out an ear-piercing screech and the Grimm screeched along with it. Ruby and Jaune covered their ears while the screech grabbed the attention of Esdeath and the others. Rienna can pretty much guess what the screech meant. "I think they made it mad."

Ren ran off and headed toward the tree. He ran up the tree and started shooting at the Grimm while being on top of one the branches. The Nuckelavee turned around to him and sent one of its arms at him Ren tried to jump out of the way but the claw grabbed him and slammed Ren into the building behind the tree. Nora saw the Grimm getting ready for its next attack and turned to Ruby. “Ruby!” The younger girl looked back at Nora and nodded. She readied Crescent Rose and Nora jumped over to her. Ruby spun around and Nora landed on the blade. Nora jumped off Crescent Rose while the young leader fired a shot for extra momentum. The Nuckelavee sent over its other arm at Ren to finish him off but was intercepted by Nora. Ren had braced for the attack but it didn’t come to him. He lowered his arms and saw that one of the Grimm’s arms was in a different direction. He looked over to where it led and saw Nora dangling from her hammer being grabbed by the Grimm. Nora turned to him and realized the precarious position she was in. “Stop looking.” She crossed her legs and looked away in embarrassment while Ren looked away as well.

The Nuckelavee twitched again and pulled Nora’s hammer while Nora still hanging onto it. The Grimm raised her high into the air and then slammed her into the ground hard. It did the same thing twice to her and she let go while rolling away a little with her aura finally giving out. Ren saw what happened and cut the claw holding him before stabbing it and shooting at it. Both Qrow and Jaune slashed at the legs again and it made the Grimm jump around again. Ren struggled to pull the claw off him and succeeded before falling to the ground. He quickly stood up and ran toward the Grimm. Ren deflected an attack coming from the Nuckelavee and was ready to attack it but was struck down again and away from the Grimm. He recovered quickly and ran back to the Grimm. Jaune knew this wasn’t Ren’s usual way of fighting. “Ren! Knock it off!”

Ren didn’t listen to him and continued to charge at the Grimm. Behind Ren, the Nuckelavee’s claw suddenly came back and grabbed Ren by the leg. The Grimm threw him around and Ren lost his weapons in the process. He was tossed aside to where Nora was and his aura gave out. Nora slowly sat up and saw Ren enraged while looking at the Nuckelavee. They stood up and then Nora tackled Ren underneath the building next to them while the Grimm began charging to where they were. They expected the Grimm to destroy the house but it didn’t come. Ren walked up to the opening and saw Jaune stopping the Nuckelavee by the hooves with his sword but only for a moment as it kicked him away. Two shots struck it and turned around toward Ruby. It sent one of its arms at her. Ruby jumped into the air to avoid the attack and continued to shoot at the Grimm while in the air. She landed on the top of a house and shot at the Nuckelavee a few more times before jumping out of the way of the next attack. While it was busy attacking, it felt a few slashes at its side and was pushed away. It looked over at Qrow who didn’t seem too happy. “That’s my niece you’re trying to kill.” 

While everyone else was busy dealing with the Grimm, Ren tried to join in but was stopped by Nora who grabbed his arm. “Nora, let go!” He tried to pull away but had no success. Ren finally turned to her. “Nora, they’re going to get hurt if we don’t-”

And Nora slapped Ren backhanded to knock some sense into him. Ren looked back at his childhood friend while she finally let go of his arm and lowered her head. “No. I won’t let you kill yourself like this. After everything we’ve been through, I won’t let it end.” She finally raised her head to look at Ren. What Ren saw before him was Nora when she was younger shivering in fear. When he blinked, he saw her in the present day with tears starting to come out of her eyes. “Not like this.” Seeing Nora cry like that was not what Ren wanted. He lowered his head and took out a small dagger that his father gave to him. Ren saw Nora’s hand placed upon the dagger and look up to see her again. He saw the determined look in her eye. “We can do this.” If there was ever a time to agree with Nora, this was one of them. Both emerged out of under the house and saw Jaune standing around while Qrow was busy dealing with the Nuckelavee. Ruby ran to her group and they were all back together.

Everyone looked at each other when the ground beneath them began to shake violently. They all took a step back and Jaune looked at the ground. “What’s going on now?”

Qrow deflected another attack from the Nuckelavee and turned to where all the shaking was coming from. “What the hell are they planning?”

**Insert RWBY Vol 4 opening**

During RNJR’s and Qrow’s fight against the Nuckelavee, Night Raid was beginning to thin out the Grimm horde. They just needed to finish them once and for all. It was during this Cornelia had an idea and needed Chelsea’s help. Both girls slammed their weapons into the ground with Esdeath and the others behind them. “You ready Chelsea?”

The other girl chuckled nervously. “Not really but let’s do this anyway!”

Both girls yelled while the ground started to shake violently. The shaking became stronger with each passing second and the ground began to crack and break apart with the Grimm on top of it. **“Seismic Terror!”** Cornelia used her semblance full power and Chelsea did the same. The houses in front broke down and the ground split apart into multiple paths. The result was the ground raising up and traveling toward the horde. The earth wave struck all of the remaining Grimm sent them up into the air.

It was Esdeath’s and the other girls’ turn now as they stepped in front of Cornelia and Chelsea with Esdeath standing in between Taeko and Rienna. “Hell’s Wind Formation!”

The wind circled around Taeko while she pointed her sword and Rienna pulled back her arms with her flamethrowers ready. Rienna yelled as she pointed her weapons in front and let loose large streams of fire. **“Flaming Spiral!”** The flames engulfed all the Grimm in a raging blaze.

With the fire ready, Taeko swung her sword and powerful gusts of wind were sent forth from her all the way to the fire. The wind combined with the fire and created a fire tornado. **“Hell’s Twister!”**

While the fire twister was still going, Esdeath brought her arm up. “Cold Front Formation!”

Taeko pulled back her sword and the wind began to circle around her again. She swung her sword with the wind blowing fiercely away from her. Esdeath extended her arm forward. **“Heulender Blizzard!”**

She sent her blizzard attack right next to Taeko’s winds and like with Rienna’s attack before, their attacks combined to form a large and powerful ice storm. **“Frigid Winds Assault!”** The second combo attack joined the first one and the all the Grimm felt the force of the two attacks conjoined together.

The combination attacks lasted for a few more seconds before subsiding and there was no sign of any of the Grimm left. Or the surrounding houses that were there previously. All five girls cheered and high-fived each other. "Overkill but I like it." Chelsea spoke. Ruby and the rest saw what happened and didn't know what to think of it. It even caught the attention of the Nuckelavee and let out another screech. “Oh, shut up already!”

They may be done but Ruby and the others still had to deal with their enemy. The young leader suddenly thought up an idea. “Ren…” Said teammate looked over at her. Jaune and I can take care of its arms.”

Nora already decided what her target would be. “I’ll take the horse.”

“And I’ll take care of the rest.”

Ruby nodded at Ren’s decision and turned to her uncle. “Uncle Qrow!”

Qrow jumped back away from the Grimm and looked back at his niece. He smiled as he could already tell what she had planned. _"Go for it, Ruby."_ He cleared out for whatever Ruby had planned for their enemy.

Nora started running to one of the buildings and jumped on a small roof before jumping again. Ruby began shooting at the Grimm while running around house to house to gain its attention while dodging its attacks. She turned around and fired again to land on the ground. The Nuckelavee stretched out its arm to attack her but Ruby jumped up again to avoid the attack. She fired again to go higher and turned Crescent Rose around and fired once more toward the arm. Ruby managed to stab the arm with her scythe and the Grimm screeched out in pain. That was only the beginning as Ren’s dagger suddenly stuck into the side of the Grimm and the horse part started to jump around a little. It saw Jaune and used its other arm to attack him but then Ren jumped off the roof of a building while holding Jaune’s shield. He managed to intercept the attack and kept it away from Jaune while Ren pressed the shield against the arm. He turned to Jaune. “Now!” Jaune ran over to the arm and stabbed it to keep it in place. The Nuckelavee screeched out in pain again. “Nora!”

Nora was standing on top of a tall building near the Grimm and began to fall backward with a grin. She twirled a little in typical Nora fashion before raising her hammer in front. Nora slammed the horse head of the Grimm with her hammer to the ground and it screeched out in agony and was brought to its knees.

**RWBY Vol 4 opening end**

With the Nuckelavee immobilized now, Ren walked up to it and pulled out his dagger. He stood in front of the Grimm that took everything from him on that fateful day in his village. The Grimm roared in his face but Ren wasn’t fazed by it. Ren flipped the dagger around and held it underhanded. _“For my mother.”_ He cut apart one of the arms and the Grimm shrieked in pain. Ren grabbed one of the horns to keep it still. _“For my father.”_ He cut off the other arm and the Grimm continued to shriek in pain. The Nuckelavee roared at him again. _“For all those you’ve slain.”_ Ren slashed across its chest plate and kept shrieking. It lowered its body in front of him and Ren closed his eyes. “For myself.” Ren opened his eyes and then finally cut the Nuckelavee’s head off. Its body flailed around before going limp and then dissipating into black smoke rising.

Ren exhaled and dropped his dagger as he had finally avenged those the Nuckelavee had killed. Nora in her usual way and in no other way to describe her happiness, glomped Ren to the ground while laughing.

Jaune and Ruby were happy that it was finally gone. The young leader then felt a hand placed on her head and turned to see Qrow smiling at her. “You did good kiddo.” Ruby smiled back at her uncle and Qrow removed his hand.

“Ruby!” The young leader turned around just in time for Esdeath grabbing her and shoving Ruby’s face into Esdeath’s cleavage in a tight hug. “I’m so happy to see you again and what you did with your team was amazing!”

Ruby tried to talk but it was unfortunately muffled thanks to her face being in Esdeath’s breasts. Qrow cleared his throat and Esdeath turned to him. She immediately let go of the younger girl who gasped for air. “Sweet freedom!”

Esdeath felt embarrassed for what she did in front of Qrow. “Y-You’re Ruby’s uncle, right? It’s very nice to meet you. I’ve never met anyone from Ruby’s family before except for Yang and-”

Qrow held up his hand to her. “Just calm down, okay?” Esdeath quickly nodded at him.

Chelsea and the others walked up to the other group while Chelsea was grinning. “Well, I’d say that takes care of that and all of you owe us some food.” And Taeko slapped her friend from behind her head. “Ow!”

Taeko leered at the other girl. “Take this seriously, will you? We’re not done yet.” The rest Night Raid had to agree. Akame was still out there probably fighting against Wave. Where they are right now, their best bet was Kurome hopefully finding them before it was too late. 

Jaune suddenly noticed something and looked up to the sky. "Guys! I think I hear something!"

Everyone else looked up and saw two airships flying their way. From the symbols they saw on the sails, they were from Mistral. They cleared out of the way for them to land. “Are all of you okay?!”

Ruby nodded at him. “We’re fine!”

While Jaune was happy to see some friendly people, he was wondering about something. “How did you find us out here?”

One of the pilots jumped off the airship and approached the group. “We were on patrol and we saw smoke, a blizzard, and a…fire tornado. Thought something might be wrong.” Chelsea giggled at that. “Nobody’s been out here for years.” He looked at everyone carefully. “Is this your whole group?”

Esdeath took a step forward and shook her head. “No. One of our friends was taken away. She’s still out there. We have to find her before it’s too late.”

Chelsea pointed off in the direction Kurome ran to. “One of our own ran off to catch up that way. Maybe you can help us.”

The pilot looked at the direction and then back at the group. “Alright then. We’ll go looking for your friends.”

The members of Night Raid cheered as they still had a chance. Esdeath turned to Ruby and her group. “Ruby…you go on ahead. We’ll meet again in Mistral. Make you’ll tell us where you are when you arrive.”

Ruby understood clearly. “Alright. Good luck finding Akame and I’m sorry. I never did think we’d see you again here of all places.”

Esdeath could understand that but was very glad to see Ruby again. “We’ll catch up later. See you in Mistral.” She and the rest of Night Raid walked over to the second airship while Ruby and the rest of her group boarded the first one. The two airships took off and flew in different directions. One towards Mistral and the other to where Akame might be. The fight against the Grimm may be over but the members of Night Raid won’t rest until they have Akame back with them. They can only hope either them or Kurome can reach her in time. _“Hold on Akame. We’re coming to save you.”_

 


	51. Demon vs Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Fifty One: Demon vs Angel

"Let's end this once and for all Akame!" Akame was fully prepared for Wave’s onslaught.  She knew Wave might’ve improved since their last fight which would make this one all the tougher.

Wave launched himself at his opponent and Akame was ready to counterattack. The way this was starting out was similar to how their last fight began. She saw Wave coming in close. That was when Wave suddenly struck the ground with his fist in front of Akame and dust kicked up everywhere. Akame had to look away while not getting any of the dust in her eye. She questioned the tactic Wave had just performed. _“An indirect attack? No, a distraction!”_ Akame quickly turned around just in time to see Wave’s silhouette and jumped back into the air while avoiding his swinging kick. The force behind the kick blew away the dust and Akame could feel the force behind it. _“He’s definitely become stronger."_

Akame saw Wave jump higher than her into the air. She knew what attack was coming next. Wave looked down and knew he had this. _“She can’t dodge in mid-air.”_ He was ready to end the fight. **“Grand Fal-”** He suddenly saw something wrap around his leg. “What the-” Wave was pulled back down and crashed into the ground leaving a crater. This was not how he planned it. “What the hell was that?” He raised his head and saw it was some sort of blade wrapped around his leg. Wave followed to where it led and it was coming from Akame. _“An extendable sword?”_

Akame pressed the switch on her handle and was pulled to where Wave currently was quickly. She double kicked him while he was still on the ground and then jumped off before he lay a hand on her away from Wave. Akame pulled back her sword and the part that was wrapped around Wave’s leg unwrapped and fully retracted to its original form. Wave groaned as he stood up and took a closer look at Akame’s new sword. “So that’s what your new sword can do.”

Akame continued to stare at her opponent. “You’d be surprised what I can do now after spending over six months in this world.” She held the sword in front of her. “With this sword, I have the edge in reach.”

 That left Wave with a new problem to deal with but he figured a way to get around it. “If it can reach, then all I have to do is attack you up close and personal!” He began to run toward where Akame was.

Akame could easily see through Wave’s battle strategy. _“He’s method of attacking hasn’t changed at all.”_ During their last bout, Akame delivered counterattacks whenever she would dodge and evade Wave’s attacks by striking the same spot on his armor again and again. If done enough times, the armor would eventually break. Even if Wave did become stronger, the same method used in the same order to defeat him has not changed. And that was what truly gave Akame the edge in this fight. She already knew all of Wave’s weaknesses. Akame anticipated Wave’s next attack. She was about to counterattack like before when Wave stopped suddenly changed direction. Akame wasn’t expecting that kind of tactic. _“Is he planning on attacking from a different direction?”_ The most likely place he would attack was from behind. She turned around and sure enough, Wave was there but he kept moving. Akame followed to where he was going and quickly discovering what her opponent was trying to do. _“He’s moving around me.”_ With each glimpse she would see, Wave would already move to the next spot around Akame. It was obvious he was trying to confuse her but this was a move Akame used before. She knew all too well how it’ll play out. The trick was not to follow but to know where exactly he’ll strike next. Akame stopped following Wave and waited for his next attack. Wave finally made his move and appeared before Akame. Akame used this chance and swung Yatsufusa from the side but Wave disappeared in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprised. _“Another fake out?”_ If the frontal assault was a ruse, what was the real attack?

**“Grand Fall!”**

Akame looked up to see Wave quickly dropping to where she was standing. She jumped away into the air again and Wave’s attack struck the ground. The attack left a large crater as a result but Akame remained unworried. “I told you it doesn’t matter how large a radius your attack has if you’re using an attack head on!” Wave turned to her with his arm raised which gave Akame an opportunity. She swung her sword at Wave and it extended all the way to him. The blade wrapped around Wave’s arm and Akame pressed the switch to bring her to where Wave was quickly. Once she was near her opponent, Akame managed to kick him in the face with both legs before jumping off of him.

Wave took a step back and looked back at Akame. “I didn’t forget but who said that was my real attack?” Akame didn’t understand what he meant by that at first but then realized something important. Unfortunately, it was too late. Wave strongly pulled his arm with Akame’s sword still wrapped around it. The force of the pull reached all the way to Akame and was pulled toward where Wave was. He wasn’t going to take any chances and jumped toward Akame. When the two met in the middle, Wave delivered a powerful blow to Akame’s stomach. Akame gasped out in pain but Wave wasn’t finished yet. Going with the momentum of his attack, he turned his whole body around with his fist still connecting with Akame and threw her back down. Akame crashed into the ground with dust scattering everywhere and Wave landed safety.

Akame coughed while clutching her stomach. _“If it wasn’t for my aura protecting me, that would’ve dealt massive damage to me.”_ She managed to stand up and focused on Wave. _“Everything he did from before was just to land that single attack. I can’t take more hits like that or else my aura will give out on me and then I’ll really be in trouble.”_

Wave was surprised Akame could stand back up after taking an attack like that and being slammed into the ground. He unwrapped the sword around his arm and it dropped to the ground. “I remember how our last fight went. Whenever I tried attacked you, you would always counterattack. I never landed a single hit on you. But now things are different. Attacking you head on won’t work so I came up with a different strategy.”

Akame could guess what it was and pulled her sword back to recall the rest of it into its original form. “You hide the real attack by doing several fake-outs. That’s not much of a strategy.”

“But I did finally land a hit on you.” Wave pointed out. “That edge you talked about before is also a double-edged sword. It may extend your reach but it also makes it easier to pull you towards me.” Wave made a clear example of that and Akame felt it. It also meant that using her sword’s extendable feature would be more of a risk than a benefit. “So what are you going to do now Akame?”

The answer was obvious to her and pointed Yatsufusa at Wave. “The outcome of the fight still hasn’t been determined. If you’re feeling that confident Wave, then come.”

Wave knew Akame was drawing him in like before. He would take it but would come at it in a different way. “Fine then!” He traveled quickly over to Akame.

Akame narrowed her eyes at her opponent. She knew Wave would try something different this time around so she decided to play his game. Akame took a running start at Wave which surprised him. Letting him have the first move and waiting wouldn’t have much an effect if Wave is going to hide his real attacks. She had to strike while still can. Even if that meant fighting Wave up close. Wave was surprised by Akame’s choice but thought this would make it easier for him. As they neared each other, one of them had to attack first. Wave thought it would be him and added a little strength in his next step to close the gap between him and Akame. He came in close quickly and pulled back his arm. Wave tried to deliver a punch at his enemy but Akame disappeared to avoid the attack and it stuck the ground. She reappeared behind him and slashed at his back. Wave quickly stood up and turned around for a kick but Akame jumped back to dodge but remained close. She swung Yatsufusa to the side and extended the blade just enough to slash across Wave’s armored chest plate before being recalled back. She could still use the extendable feature but only in short distances now. Once Akame landed on the ground, Wave was already running towards her.

Akame saw Wave pull his arm back again and she expected another forward assault. Wave reached Akame and threw his expected punch forward. Akame moved to the side to avoid the attack to the right and leaned in while swinging Yatsufusa and struck across the chest plate again. At that moment, Wave suddenly turned his body around and managed to kick Akame with his left leg to Akame’Akame turned to Wave and couldn’t believe what he had to do to land his next attack. “You purposely let me strike your armor just so you had a chance to attack me.”

That was exactly what Wave had planned. “I knew you would try the same strategy again so I used that to my advantage. There isn’t anything you haven’t done I’ve already seen before.”

Akame shifted her right foot back a little. Slowly but surely, she was being backed into a corner. This fight was completely different than their last one. The strategy used last time was to get Wave rattled and emotional. She knew his attacks wouldn't be as effective if he was panicked and on tilt. But now in this fight, he was in more control, more focused. Determined to avenge Kurome by any means necessary. In this situation, Akame had one option left. “I’m afraid that where you’re wrong Wave.” She closed her eyes. “While I was living in this world…I did learn something new and you’ll experience it firsthand.” The wind suddenly started to circle around her. Wave gasped quietly as he saw red markings appearing all over Akame’s body. The wind subsided and Akame opened her eyes to reveal they were black while still retaining her red eye color.

Wave felt a different feeling coming from Akame. Something sinister. “What…the hell?” It had been a while since Akame had to use her semblance and since then, she had been training to keep it in check. She hadn’t forgotten what Cinder told her on that night. Akame kept all that negative emotion from surfacing so the Grimm wouldn’t sense her when she activated it. She had promised herself not to use except for when the situation called for it and this fight fits that requirement. Akame leaned forward and launched herself at Wave. Before Wave had time to react, Akame was already in front of him. _“She’s gotten faster!”_

Akame raised her sword and dark red energy spiraled around her sword. **“Shrieking Sinner!”** She swung her sword at Wave but he crossed his arms to defend against the attack. That proved to be less than effective as soon as the sword struck his arms and immediately enlarged to the point where it engulfed Wave completely. The attack traveled away from Akame and Wave along with it.

The attack traveled a little more away from Akame until it finally began to dwindle and finally subsided. Out of it was Wave still standing with his arms crossed but he felt how powerful the attack was. _“What the hell was that?”_ While he was in that attack wave, the soldier heard all kinds of shrieks of terror. Wave could still hear them now which frightened him a little.

Akame’s first attack was only the beginning. She instantly vanished before Wave and he suddenly felt his armor being cut from the side. It took him a second to register what happened and shortly after, he felt a series of cuts and slashes happening all over his body. Akame was passing by Wave while delivering a single slash at his armor before stopping and then repeating the process of attacks all over again in different directions around him. He tried shielding himself but it proved very little to help. Finally, one of the strikes cut Wave from behind the knee and he yelled while being down on one knee. Akame appeared a little away in front of Wave. _“The area behind his knee is more vulnerable than the rest Wave’s armor.”_ She took the opportunity while her opponent was momentarily down and raised Yatsufusa above her. That same dark red energy spiraled around the sword. **“Devastating Wake!”** Akame slammed her sword to the ground and a large deep crimson wave of energy started to travel to where Wave was. However, the further the attack traveled, the more the attack divided itself into multiples all heading straight for Wave. The soldier knew he couldn’t avoid all of them so his only choice was jumping high into the air. He managed to avoid the attacks in time but Akame suddenly appeared before him. Dark red energy surrounded her sword once again and swung it down on top of Wave’s head. The attack sent him back down with the sword extending still connected to him. He crashed into the ground and Akame pulled her sword back all the way to return it to its original form. With Wave below her now, Akame raised Yatsufusa above and began to fall to where he was. The energy from before enveloped the sword completely and began to glow. **“Fatal End!”** Akame swung her sword down as soon as she came in close to Wave. The result was a large pillar of crimson light shooting up into the sky while destroying everything around it.

Away from the pillar of red light, Kurome saw it and stared at it for a few seconds before headed towards where the pillar came from. She had a pretty good idea where Akame was now and hoped she could make it to her in time. The pillar faded away and dust was kicked up from the attack. The dust cleared up to reveal Akame standing on top of Wave lying on the ground. There was silence for the first several seconds before Wave coughed. “So you’re still conscious.” She jumped off Wave and away from him.

Even with his armor on, Wave really felt that attack. The soldier figured if he took another attack like that, he wouldn’t survive. Wave coughed a few more times before slowly standing up and breathing heavily. A small piece from the right side of Wave’s helmet was gone to reveal his eye. “What the hell…did you just do? What is that power?”

Akame looked down at her sword. “This…This is my semblance. My power and what it does is utilize the sins I’ve committed into the attacks you’ve seen and increases my strength and speed.”

Wave understood a little of what Akame was saying to him. “Your sins? You mean…all the people you killed?”

Akame refused to look at her opponent. “Yes. The semblance I have now was once Murasame’s trump card.”

That would explain why her attacks were powerful but Wave doubted Murasame would do these kinds of things back in their world. That was when it hit him. “Was this how you killed General Esdeath?” He received silence as his answer. Wave had always suspected Akame was the one who killed Esdeath at the end of the war. To think he was facing off the very same power that was used to end her. Wave found it so funny, he laughed a little. “So it is true what they said about you. How you’re sometimes known as Akame of the Demon Sword Murasame. I do admit you’re strong but if you’re known as a demon…then maybe what I need to do is to become an angel so I can finally defeat you!” The inside of Wave’s bag began to shine brightly and was suddenly ripped apart as two objects were flying toward him. The two pieces quickly reached over to Wave and were placed behind his back. He roared loudly the wind started to blow fiercely out from him.

Akame shielded herself from the wind with one of her arms while seeing what was happening to wave. She gasped as her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the two pieces that were behind Wave’s back. _“That’s…”_

Wave continued to yell as he felt tremendous pain coursing through his body. During all of this, he remembered what Esdeath told him from before. _“Normally, a person can wield only one Imperial Arms. This is an ironclad rule that applies even to me. If one person were to try to use two Imperial Arms at the same time…what do you think would happen? The answer is destruction. You do possess physical strength and force of will so it's not outside. The realm of possibility that someone like you might, in fact, be able to wield two Imperial Arms at once…_ _but it’s imperative you be compatible with both of them.”_

The disks behind Wave’s back opened and wings came out from them with feathers scattering everywhere. He yelled one more time before the wind gave out with a final blast. **“IMPERIAL ARMS SIMULTANEOUS ACTIVATION!”**

Akame was speechless at what she was seeing before her. She couldn’t believe her eyes and yet what Wave had done was thought to be impossible. _“He’s able to use two Imperial Arms at once!?”_

Wave bared the pain that was going through his body but it was worth it in the end. _“Thank you, Run. With Mastema’s power, I can finally avenge Kurome!”_ He completely focused on Akame in front of him now. "THIS IS THE END FOR YOU, AKAME!” Wave launched himself high into the air. Higher than before at an incredible speed. His takeoff even had power behind it and Akame felt it even from where she was standing. Akame looked up to see that Wave was far beyond to use Yatsufusa. His original Grand Fall attack was already powerful enough so one just like it from that height and with the increased power…she started to run away. That was her only choice to avoid Wave’s attack. From high up above, Wave saw what she was doing. “You’re not getting away.” He quickly dropped down at an immense speed while aiming at Akame. **“GRAND FALL FLÜGEL!”**

Akame looked back just in time to see Wave closing in on her. As a last ditch effort, she jumped ahead before Wave crashed into the ground. As soon as Wave struck the ground, a massive explosion occurred. The ground underneath was completely destroyed underneath and all around. Even if Akame managed to avoid the attack, she was caught up in the shockwave the attack created upon Wave’s impact. She felt how strong the shockwave was and struck her entire body. Once the attack had ended, Akame crashed onto the ground rolling until she stopped. She slowly stood up and felt the effects of Wave’s attack. She also saw the devastation his attack had left when the dust finally cleared up. Everything in front of her was ruined. What lied in the center was an enormous crater left by Wave’s attack and from it was the surrounding area broken apart everywhere. Wave had changed the landscape of the area by himself with his attack. Speaking of Wave, Akame didn’t see him anyway. She looked around the area but there was no sign of him. _“Where did he go?”_

She searched frantically but he was nowhere to be found. That was when Wave landed right in front of her. Akame could only stare in disbelief as Wave quickly pulled back his arm and struck her in the stomach again which made Akame gasp out in pain again while letting go of Yatsufusa. This time around, he pushed forward while his fist still connected to Akame. While he doing this, Wave slammed Akame into the ground and dragged her through it while ripping the ground apart while yelling. He continued to do this until Wave reached the cliff face. Wave pulled Akame out from the ground and slammed her into the base of the cliff face. He pushed her in a little more until Akame’s body was fully embedded and cracks formed around her. Wave removed his fist and flew back a little away from Akame until he landed. At this point, Akame’s aura wore off and so did her semblance. Murasame was also detached from her and fell to the ground. It was inevitable that the next attack would finish her off. Wave could feel his heart race at the sight of Akame in front of him. To think this once feared assassin who had killed countless people including Kurome and Esdeath was reduced to a helpless girl. What he had waited for so long was finally in reach. All that was left was to finish her off. “Now…it’s finally over for you Akame.” He flew over to Akame to deliver the final blow.

Akame lifted her head just in time to see Wave coming at her. She couldn’t move at all and even if it were possible, Akame was sure Wave would still chase her down no matter what to end her. In these last moments, the last thing Akame saw were all the people she had met and made friends with. The last to show was Leone. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. _“So in the end…my sins managed to catch up to me after all.”_

Wave pulled back his arm for the final time as he neared Akame. “DIE AKAME!” He threw his arm forward at Akame.

**“AMPLIFY TIMES FIVE!”**

Wave suddenly saw someone get in between him and Akame. His attack was suddenly deflected and destroyed the right side of the cliff face. It took Wave several seconds to recognize who was in front of him and gasped. He was rattled to his core at who he was seeing before him. “K-Kurome…?”

Kurome panting heavily while staring angrily at Wave. The pillar of red light and that violent shaking of the ground led her to where her sister and Wave was. She barely arrived in time to see Wave flying towards Akame. That was when she used her Amplify semblance to stop his attack with Trisula in her left hand and save Akame. “I don’t give a damn about who you are or what history you have with Akame but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you kill…MY BIG SISTER!”

Wave was in a complete state of shock. Kurome was in front of him. The same girl he carried dead in his arms and now here she was standing before him and yelled out words he thought he would never hear. All kinds of emotions went through his mind and didn’t know what to think until it became too much for me. “You’re alive…Kuro..m…” He fell backward to the ground and passed out. His armor vanished and returned to its sword form. 

Kurome didn’t know what happened but didn’t care. As much as she wanted to kick Wave’s ass, her sister came first. She turned around to see the state Akame was in and it worried her. She put away Trisula and shook her sister a little in hopes that she was still alive. “Akame? Hey, Akame?!”

To her relief, she heard her sister made groan and lifted her head to see Kurome. She smiled at the younger sister though it was weak. “You’re here…Kurome.”

Kurome laughed a little while tears were starting to come out of her eyes. “Of course, you idiot. There’s no way I would let my big sister die on my watch.” She wiped the tears away and got her act together. “Just hold on. I’ll get you out of this.” Kurome grabbed Akame by the shoulders and pulled her out of the cliff face. She set her sister to the ground gently. Kurome sighed and looked around the area. “Just hold on. I’ll get you out of here somehow.” As soon as she said that, Kurome heard something and it was coming her way.

She looked up to see an airship of all things flying over her. When she took a closer look, she saw Chelsea and the others on it. “Hey! Kurome!”

“Chelsea?” Kurome was surprised to see her team on an airship but she won’t complain.

The airship landed near her and Kurome’s team jumped off. Chelsea was the first to run off and meet up with Kurome. “Hey, glad we found you.” She looked down over to Akame and saw the state she was in. “Oh man. What happened to Akame?”

Kurome turned to her sister and then to Wave. “He’s the one who did this to her.”

Chelsea turned to Wave and wondered about something. “And what happened to him?”

Kurome was wondering the same thing. “He just fainted when he saw me. Personally, I think that works out for us better. Aside from that, how did you know where to find me and what happened back at that Kuroyuri place and how did you get an airship?”

Hearing that made Chelsea laugh a little. “Well, we went the same way you went and hoped you found Akame. What really tipped us off was that huge explosion we saw and guessed that’s where you and Akame would be. As for what happened back at that place, we managed to win and some airships happened to be on patrol. Ruby and the others are already heading to Mistral and so will we.”

That was the best kind of news Kurome had heard in a long while. The pilots carried Akame on a stretcher back to the airship and Wave too much to Kurome’s disliking but he was technically part of Ruby’s group. Esdeath grabbed Yatsufusa while Chelsea grabbed Murasame. It was fine as long as she didn’t draw the sword out. The airship took off and was flying back to Mistral. The entire team looked at their leader and were understandably worried. “Is she going to be alright?” Rienna asked.

Cornelia smiled as she knew the answer. “She will be. This is Akame we’re talking about.”

Her words did bring comfort to the rest of the team. However, they still had some questions. Primarily about Wave. Esdeath looked over at him. “And what about him?”

Kurome scoffed at the question. “If it were up to me, I’d leave him back on the ground for what he tried to pull off.”

Everyone could understand that. He was Akame’s enemy after all but he was part of Ruby’s team and they would wonder where he was so they didn’t have much choice. Still, despite everything that happened, their journey was about to reach its end. Taeko looked out to take in the scenery below. “We’re almost done.”

The rest of the team smiled and looked out to see Mistral in their sights. Kurome sighed out of content and laughed a little. “Next stop, Mistral.”

 


	52. The Pieces Falling into Place

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Three

Kill Fifty Two: The Pieces Falling into Place

Akame moved her eyes a little before opening them to see a white ceiling. What she noticed next was that she was lying on something soft and something else covering her. It soon dawned on her and quickly sat up to find herself in a room. _“Where am I?”_ Akame looked around a little to see there were two beds and both her swords were leaning against a wall. Akame soon saw Kurome sitting next to her bed sleeping. Seeing this reminded Akame the same thing her sister did back at Shade Academy. “Kurome?”

She heard her sister stir a little before waking up. The first thing she saw was Akame awake. Kurome became instantly happy and hugged her. “Akame!” She laughed happily. Kurome embraced her sister for a few seconds before letting go and smiling at her. “How are you feeling?”

Akame moved her body around to see if everything was alright. She found it to still be sore and aching all over but she was still alive. "More or less okay. Where are we and the others?"

“We’re at a hotel in Mistral. The rest of the team is around and so is Ruby’s. As soon as we arrived, you got treated for your wounds.” Kurome replied.

Mistral. So, they finally made it. Akame was glad the rest of the team and Ruby’s were doing well. There was one more thing she needed to know. “What about Wave?”

Kurome growled at the name. “He’s here too but I still think he should be behind bars.”

Akame didn’t blame her for saying that. She was very thankful for what Kurome had done. She smiled at the fact. “Kurome…thank you…for coming to my rescue.”

The younger sister giggled. “You’re welcome and you totally owe me.”

Akame giggled a little and smiled at Kurome. “Alright then.” Her expression changed to a more serious one. “Do you know which room Wave is staying at?”

Kurome tilted her head in confusion at the question. “Why do you want to know that?”

The older sister looked out the window to see what Mistral looked like. “I need to talk to him.”

Kurome instantly stood up and was obviously not happy with what she heard. “Are you kidding me! You almost got killed by that guy and now you want to talk to him!?”

“Kurome.” She saw Akame turn to her and saw a serious look in her eye. “Please.”

The younger sister sighed and knew it was a bad idea but she had to go along with it. “He’s four doors down to the right from here. We figured we’d put as much distance from you away from him with all of us in the middle just in case.” Akame could imagine that. She threw off the covers and stood up to walk towards the door. “Wait, hold on!” Akame stopped and turned to her sister. “You’re going to talk to him without bringing your weapons? At least take Yatsufusa!”

Akame understood Kurome’s worry but she knew what she was doing. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

Kurome highly doubted that but she’ll have to trust her sister. “If you say so and if he tries to pull anything-”

“I doubt Wave will do anything. There are civilians around and he won’t endanger them.” Akame turned back to the door and turned the knob to open it. “I’ll be back. I promise.” She left the room and was headed toward Wave’s room.

Kurome still thought it was a bad idea. “I hope you know what you’re doing Akame.” An idea suddenly came to her. “I should let the others know about this.”

Akame walked over to where Wave’s room was and stood in front of the door. She knocked on the door a few times but didn’t receive an answer. She grabbed the doorknob and turned it to find out the door was unlocked.  Akame opened the door and entered the room. She closed the door quietly behind her and saw Wave standing in front of the window looking out at it. She took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Wave…" 

She didn’t hear a reply from him. She was about to speak again before Wave finally spoke to her. “What the hell is going on?” He closed his hands tightly. “Kurome showed up in front of me. She said that you were her big sister. Is this some kind of trick?”

Akame knew Wave would have questions about Kurome’s sudden appearance before him and didn’t blame him. “I can assure what you saw before really was Kurome. She's alive Wave." The silence was present between them before Akame continued to clear up a few things. "You should know that the Kurome you saw isn't the Kurome we know. She's this world's Kurome who born and raised here so please understand that.” A different Kurome. Wave found it hard to believe but he couldn’t deny what he saw. It was Kurome. Her face, her voice, that look in her eye, it was really her. “Wave…I know I don’t expect you to forgive me for what I did in the past but I won’t make the same mistakes. Even though we’re not related in this world, Kurome and I are sisters and will still be. You can think what you want but I want you to know that it won’t be like before between us.”

Akame said what she wanted to say. It was the truth and she wanted Wave to know. She didn’t hear him say anything else and took that as a sign. Akame turned around and reached for the doorknob. “Is she okay?” Akame stopped when she heard Wave’s voice. “Please tell me if she’s alright.”

Akame smiled softly as she knew what Wave was asking about. “She’s perfectly fine. Kurome wasn’t subjected to drugs or used in experiments in the past. The only bad thing that’s happened to her was being in a few bad foster families. Other than that, she’s living a completely normal life trying to become a huntress.” Hearing that brought great comfort to Wave. He was happy that nothing terrible had happened to Kurome in this world. So happy, tears were starting to emerge out of his eyes. It seems things were going to be okay for them from now on. Akame opened the door and heard a thud and a yelp. Akame looked down to see Kurome sitting on the floor. “Kurome?” She could pretty much guess why her sister was outside the door.

Kurome chuckled nervously and stood up. “Hey there, Akame. I was just making sure he wouldn’t try anything.”

Akame chuckled at her sister. “I told you not to worry. Everything is settled now.” Her sister really hoped so.

“Kurome?” Akame looked back to see Wave staring at Kurome.

The young sister growled at her but Akame put her hand up. “It’s alright.” She turned to Wave and smiled at him. “Wave…this is the Kurome in Remnant. Kurome Chariot.”

Kurome Chariot. Now that Wave had a closer look at her, she was dressed almost similar the way he was dressed. He slowly walked over to Kurome who had her guard up just in case he tried anything else. He stood in front of her and then gave her a hug. Kurome wanted to break out of it but then saw Akame shake her head. The younger sister sighed and reluctantly hugged Wave back. Tears were streaming out of his eyes. “I thought I would never see you again. I’m so sorry I couldn’t arrive to you in time.”

Kurome groaned and patted his back. “Don’t beat yourself up over it okay? Just try not to kill my sister again or else I’ll kick your ass.” Wave couldn’t help but chuckle. She may have been a different Kurome but her attitude was the same. For the first time in a long time, he felt a sense of closure within himself.

While this heart-warming scene was going on, Chelsea and the others arrived without Wave knowing. Chelsea growled at what she was seeing and there was a fire in her eyes. Taeko sighed as she knew Chelsea would get overprotective if a guy was ever close to Kurome. “Calm down. They’re just hugging.”

That didn’t seem to settle her at all. “No one hugs Kurome but me.”

Esdeath thought it would be a good idea to break the scene up before Chelsea decided to do something that would wreck the hotel they were in. She walked up to them and Akame while clapping her hands. “Okay…it’s great to see you up again Akame.”

Wave instantly opened his eyes as he recognized the voice. “Wait…that voice…”

He turned to where he heard the voice and couldn’t believe who he was seeing. Esdeath saw the expression on his face and held up her hand to him. “Uh…hello.”

Wave screamed and let go of Kurome as he fell to the floor. “G-General Esdeath!?” Seeing Kurome again was one thing but Esdeath was a completely different story. It was her but she looked like she was in her teens. Also, why was she in the same building as Akame?

“Kurome!” He saw another girl run up to Kurome and checked her around closely. “That guy didn’t do anything weird to you did he?”

Kurome sighed as she knew Chelsea would act like this. “No, Chelsea. It was just a hug. That’s all.”

Wave heard a giggle coming behind from Esdeath. “How are you feeling Akame?”

He followed the voice and saw who it belonged to. He gasped at who the girl was. “No way. You’re…” She was older but the girl was definitely Bols’ daughter. Seeing her like this now was almost spooky to him. He did wonder why she had a burn scar on the left side of her face.

“I’m fine Rienna.”

Cornelia was happy to hear that. “That’s great Akame. We were so worried about you.”

"What the hell is going on here!" Everyone turned their attention to Wave who finally stood up. "General Esdeath is standing in front of me and…so is Bols' daughter!" He didn't know what to think about this whole thing now.

Rienna’s eyes brightened up when she heard what Wave said. “You knew my dad?”

Before this could go any further, all of them heard a new voice. “Hey!” Everyone turned to where it came from and turned to see Qrow standing at the end of the hallway. “We need to talk.”

**B**

The entire group was sitting with Qrow and RNJR in Qrow’s and Ruby’s room. It was a little cramped so some had to stand up while others sat on the beds. Qrow was sitting on the front end of bed closest to the door. When the team had a closer look at Qrow, they noticed that his eyes were red just like Akame’s. It was a little strange to them. “I didn’t think there would be anyone else with red eyes like Akame.” Cornelia whispered to Esdeath.

Esdeath leaned next to her teammate. “You know, Yang’s eyes turn red but I thought that was just a trick whenever she used her semblance.”

Qrow’s reason for choosing the room was because he wanted the privacy for what he wanted to know. “So…I believe it wasn’t a coincidence that we all met right before coming to Mistral so I’ll get to the point. What are you doing all the way out here?”

 As the leader of the group, Akame stepped up to answer the question. “We’re here for Cinder and put a stop to whatever she has planned for at Haven.”

Qrow thought as much. Their mission was the same as Ruby’s. Speaking of the young leader, she knew someone was missing from Akame’s group. “What happened to Leone? Why isn’t she with you and why are you wearing her scarf?”

Akame closed her eyes and sighed. “Leone was…taken away from us by the White Fang.” The members of RNJR gasped quietly when they heard that. “We figured the White Fang held a grudge against her for killing some of their members back at the Battle of Beacon. They must’ve followed us and waited for the right time. We received a gift from them and it was Leone’s scarf covered in blood.” Ruby couldn’t imagine how Akame felt when she first saw something like that. “But I know Leone won’t be held by them for long. We figured she would make her way to Mistral and then we would reunite.”

At least she was confident about Leone coming to Mistral after what happened to her. Now they had to talk about the Goliath in the room. “How did you even get here? The last thing I heard is that your team was in Vacuo at Shade Academy. It’s practically over at the other side.” The young leader pointed out.

To answer the question, Taeko took out her map. “We took a series of shortcuts marked out by my grandmother back when she was younger and traveled across all four kingdoms. These shortcuts helped to cut the time for us to arrive here.”

Jaune groaned at what he heard. “There were shortcuts? I can imagine how much easier it would’ve been getting here.”

Akame had a question of her own for the younger leader. “And what about you Ruby? I heard from Leone you were still with Yang back at Patch but here you are.”

Ruby looked away while having a guilty face. "I'm here for the same reason as you. To put a stop to Cinder but…"

Qrow decided to take control of the conversation. “Akame, was it? How much do you know about what you’re getting you and your team into?”

Akame looked at him directly in the eye. “I know Cinder has the power of the Fall Maiden. Esdeath and Cora told me what the Story of the Four Season was about and it was tied to that. That power she gained must’ve been to related as to why Beacon was destroyed. To me, it doesn’t matter if she has the power of a Maiden. She’s a threat and I have finish what was started on that night. It’s just who I am.”

Qrow could believe that. “Because you’re an assassin?” Akame was surprised he knew what she was. “Ozpin told me and Ironwood about you and your Faunus friend after your match with Kurome. She’s a target of yours and a target has to be eliminated, right?”

Akame nodded at his question. “That’s correct.”

Qrow thought as much and sighed. “Well, at least you’re not going in blind but there’s a lot you still don’t know about what you’re getting yourself into. Let me explain everything to you.”

**B**

Yang sighed as she was leaning over the railing outside alone. All she did was stare at the scenery before her and thinking about her sister. “There you are.”

Yang turned back to see Leone walking up to her. “Hey there Leone.”

The Faunus blonde smiled at her mother and stood next to her. “So what are you thinking about? Ruby? The White Fang? Or Blake’s plan to take back the White Fang?”

Yang chuckled at the question. “All three actually but mostly about Ruby.” She looked at the scenery again. “The White Fang is going to attack Haven and Ruby’s going to be in the middle of it.”

Leone understood that all too well. “I know what you mean. Akame and everyone else will be caught up in that mess too.”

The blonde sighed and slumped over the railing. “I have to go Mistral. I need to know Ruby is safe.”

Leone was all for the idea but chuckled at one detail. “Well, if you’re going to go, you should at least dress appropriately. You saving the day in that outfit doesn’t exactly say heroic.”

Yang stood up and smiled at her daughter. “To be honest, I had a feeling something big would happen so I…packed something just in case.”

The Faunus blonde liked where this was going. “Really now? If that’s the case, we should get you changed before you can do any saving.” The two blondes laughed a little together and enjoyed the scenery before them. There was silence between them before Leone spoke again. “You know, I did happen to hear what Blake said to you earlier. About what if there’s someone stronger than you.”

Yang rolled her eyes at that. “What about it?”

Leone sighed as she knew they needed to have this talk. “She has a point. Sooner or later, you will fight an opponent you can’t handle.” The other blonde scoffed at Leone’s words and the Faunus blonde turned to her. “I’m serious. I’m an example of that. You couldn’t beat me back when we first fought even with your semblance and I was just holding back. Speaking of your semblance, did you ever notice that you’ve always used it to bail you out and win.”

Yang really never thought about that but she didn’t care. “So what? The more I take damage, the more I can deal damage. It’s plain and simple as that.”

Leone could tell it wasn’t that simple or easy. “That’s true but your semblance is also your weakness.”

Now the blonde didn’t understand what her daughter meant by that. “How’s my semblance a weakness?”

Leone sighed and looked up at the sky. “Back in my world, Akame and me used to spar time to time. Whenever we did, she would evaluate me whenever we finished. During one of our sparring sessions, Akame told me I leave too many openings. I just laughed and told her ‘why do I care? I can just heal right back up and still kick the enemy's ass.' Then she told me that if I continue to rely on my trump card or my semblance as it is now, it will fail on me one day." She looked back at Yang. "And she's right. That's why I'm always on my guard even if I do have a quick healing factor. The same can said about Akame not always relying on Murasame. With you, Yang, you have two weaknesses. How much your body can take in damage before reaching its limit and the opponent being stronger than you to the point where your semblance won't cut it. Two examples of the second one are how our fight ended and…" She looked towards Yang's robotic arm and then back to her mother. “It’s true that you’re strong but if you keep relying on your semblance, it will lead to your downfall.”

After hearing all of that, Yang hated to admit it but her daughter had a point and sighed. “You knew about my weaknesses all along, didn’t you?”

Leone wasn’t going to deny that. “Ever since our fight. I know what it’s like to have something that seems overpowered but it’s not always what we think it is. Sure, my healing factor has bailed me out of some pretty nasty situations before but it doesn’t change the fact it still has a limit to what it can do.”

It was surprising to Yang for her to hear such a thing from Leone. She always thought the Faunus blonde was invincible because of her semblance but it turns out, that wasn’t the case. Yang had one more question for her daughter. “So if you knew, why didn’t you tell me before?”

In all honesty, Leone didn’t have an answer for that. “I guess I never got the opportunity to tell you. I know you’re strong. A lot of people can back that up but what good is that strength if you’re going to end up dead in the end. I know I shouldn’t say this but you’re lucky you only lost your arm.”

Yang held her robotic arm with her hand. “I already know that but I still stand by what I said. I don't care if I lose my arm again or any other limb because I would do the same thing over if it means protecting Blake.”

Leone chuckled at her mother’s words. “I’ll hold you up to that. Both me and Blake. Just promise that you’ll make it back to us and everyone else alive. And remember what I told you.”

Yang grinned confidently at her daughter. “Then it’s a good thing I don’t break my promises and I won’t forget but only if you promise the same thing.”

The Faunus blonde didn’t see a problem with that. “It’s a promise from me then.” They laughed together again before Leone stretched her arms out before setting them down. “What do you say we try on that outfit of yours now?”

Her mother nodded at the question. “Sure thing.” Both girls left the balcony and Yang led Leone to Blake’s room. Behind them was that same mysterious being from before standing on top of one of the trees smiled at Leone. The Faunus suddenly sensed something and turned around but there was nothing there. “Something up Leone?”

Leone shook her head and turned back around. “Nothing. It…must’ve been my imagination or something.” She resumed walking with Yang.

On top of the house was the being and she chuckled a little _“It seems sending her here worked out well. The pieces are falling into the place. The assassin who seeks redemption. The lion who protects those who are closest to her. And the soldier who searches for closure. It’s only a matter of time before all three gather.”_ She vanished without a trace.

As the day passed, Blake was walking around the house in search of the two blondes but haven’t seen them anywhere. Probably because she was a little busy staring at the White Fang’s old flag in her father’s office. She knew they were around somewhere. There weren't that many places they could be. The Faunus girl walked into the living room for the umpteenth time and saw her mother sitting down on her pillow enjoying her tea. "Mother…"

Kali turned to her daughter and smiled. “Oh, hello Blake. What are you doing?”

Blake scanned the room before looking back at her mother. “I’m looking for Yang and Blake. Do you know where they went?”

Her mother pondered the question a little before coming up with her answer. “I think I saw them headed to your room.”

Blake groaned as she should’ve known that. “Thank you mother.” She turned away from her mother to head to her room.

“Blake, wait.” The Faunus girl stopped and turned back to her mother who was smiling at her. “I just wanted to say…I’m happy for you. To see you again and being happy with someone you can be with. You’re very lucky to have Yang. I know your father would say the same thing.”

Her daughter smiled back. “Sometimes I think I’m the lucky one to have her.” She stared at her mother for a few more seconds before leaving the room.

Blake made her way to her room and couldn’t believe she didn’t think of looking there. But the question now is why they were in her room? The Faunus girl approached the door to her room which was thankfully fixed. She was about to reach the handle when she heard Yang’s and Leone’s voices from the other side. “So, what do you think?”

"You look a lot better than what you wore before, I'll say that."

Now Blake wondered what they were talking about and slid open the door. “What are you two do…ing?”

She saw Yang wear a completely different outfit. It seemed…more like her then what she previous wore. Blake did see a cover sleeve over her robotic arm. The two blondes were surprised to see Blake in front of them and Yang groaned at her arrival. “Aw man. I was going to surprise you with my outfit but now it’s spoiled.” She sighed and smiled at her girlfriend. “Well, since you’re here, what do you think?”

Blake checked out Yang a little longer before speaking out her thoughts. “You look great. Like your usual self.”

Yang chuckled a little and liked the compliment. “Thanks although…” She brought up her robotic arm. “This still needs some attention. I was thinking of painting this the same colors as Ember Celica.” She set her arm down.

Blake laughed a little at that. “We’ll make sure that happens shortly.” She sighed at the next subject she was about to discuss. “So I take it you’re going to Mistral then?”

Yang crossed her arms. “I have to. Ruby’s there and Leone was already planning to head over because she needs to regroup with Akame. Plus, you’re going there too, right?”

 That was right. Blake needed to stop Adam and the White Fang from causing another Fall of Beacon. She looked over at Leone. “Leone, I know how much you hate the White Fang but-”

“I got no problems with you trying to take it back.” Blake and Yang were certainly not expecting her to say that. “To me, it’s kinda like taking back the Capital and I don’t see a problem with that. If you can make the White Fang go back to what it was before and make it better, I’ll support you all the way.” Blake was grateful that Leone would support her in her decision. However, Leone had her own thoughts about what Adam was planning to do. _“Something tells me Seryu wouldn’t be happy with Adam overthrowing the leader.”_

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Leone turned Yang who seemed a little worried. “I mean…we’re going to head into something pretty serious and you don’t have Lionel.”

Leone understood her mother’s worry but gave Yang a confident grin. “Hey, don’t worry about me. I’m still plenty dangerous with or without Lionel. Remember I did kill a lot of Grimm with my bare hands before I got Lionel.” That much was true. She was still a force to be reckoned with. “So, while we’re still here…” She placed her hand forward in front of her parents. “To me regrouping with Akame.”

Blake nodded and placed her hand on top of Leone’s. “To me taking back the White Fang.”

Yang was the last one and placed her robotic hand on top of Blake’s. “And to me finding Ruby.” She did have something else in mind. _“And for something else I have to do.”_

Leone laughed at their goals. “Let’s go raise some hell in Mistral!” All three girls cheered as they raised their hands in the air.

**B**

Akame and the rest of the members of Night Raid took in what Qrow had just explained to them and to be honest, it was quite heavy for them. Chelsea groaned as she placed a hand on her face. “So…does anyone else miss how simple our lives were before learning all of this?”

Esdeath whined with everything she had heard. “I think my favorite fairy tale is now forever ruined.” Wave couldn’t get over how Esdeath was acting. It was so unlike her it kinda creeped him out a little. There was one part Esdeath didn’t like. _“To think that Ruby would be targeted because of her having silver eyes. I didn’t think she would be that important to the enemy.”_ She could only imagine how Weiss would react if she heard the same thing. 

Kurome laughed a little uneasily. “Among other things.” She thought back to what Qrow said about the headmasters guarding the relics. _“Did she know all of this from the beginning?”_

Taeko looked over at Akame who had her head lowered and was in deep thinking about what she had learned. "Well, Akame? What do you do now? Even if you manage to kill Cinder, she'll transfer that power to someone else and I don't think we'll like who she'll choose." 

Qrow continued to observe Akame. “What are you going to do next now that you know all of this Akame?”

Akame remained silent for several seconds before answering his question. “I know what I’m going to do. If I can’t kill Cinder…” She raised her head to look at everyone. “Then I’ll kill Salem.”

You can’t be serious.”

Akame narrowed her eyes at the huntsman. “Salem is the root of all this. If I kill her, everything else will fall apart.”

Qrow couldn’t believe this girl. “You seriously think you can kill Salem? We don’t know what she’s capable of. Much less where she is.”

Akame could care less of that. “It doesn’t matter. She’s responsible for everything that’s happened and I will make her pay for what she’s done. To Pyrrha, to us, to Beacon, to my life here in Remnant.”

Wave caught that and it made him curious. _“Her life in Remnant?”_

Qrow could only shake his head about what he heard. _“She reminds so much of Raven and that’s not a good thing.”_

“It’s just not your fight.” Everyone turned to Ruby. “You’re not the only one who feels that way. I want to stop Salam and Cinder for what they’re planning to do at Haven the same way they did at Beacon. I don’t want anyone else to go through what we had to go through. We can work together. All of us.”

Esdeath smiled sweetly at the younger girl. _“Ruby…”_

Akame smiled confidently at Ruby’s proposal. “You’re right. We share a common enemy. If we prevent the attack on Haven, maybe we can learn about Salem’s whereabouts. And when we do, I won’t make the same mistake twice like I did with Cinder. I’ll target the vitals with Murasame.” She turned to Wave. “Wave, I know we have our differences but I ask of you to put them aside for now. When this is all over, then we can finally settle things between us.”

Kurome was already against that. “But Akame-”

“Fine by me.” Wave interrupted. “I do agree I don’t want civilians getting hurt with whatever this Salem has planned. So, you have yourself a truce.” Akame was glad to hear that. Wave would be a great asset for them to have. Especially since he can wield two Imperial Arms at once. “Although, I do have a question to ask you Akame. During our fight, you never used Murasame. Why?”

 Akame crossed her arms and closed her eyes. “Because I only use Murasame to those I see as my enemies.”

Wave’s eyes widened in surprise. _“That’s her reason? I tried to kill her and she never saw me as an enemy?”_ He was curious as to why she thought that way.

“The reason why I didn’t see you as an enemy is because I didn’t have a reason to kill you even though you have a reason to kill me. I don’t blame you but I couldn’t let you kill me because I had something to fight for.”

Wave looked at Akame carefully as he wanted to know her reason. “And what would that be?”

“To return to them safely.” She gestured at her team. “And because I have unfinished business in Mistral. I can’t let you kill me before that’s resolved. You can try to kill me but I will fight back for them and for myself. Do you understand Wave?” After hearing all of that, Wave couldn’t help but laugh a little which Akame didn’t understand why he was laughing. “What so funny?”

Wave laughed a little more before calming down. “You’ve become a much different person than the last time I saw you.” Akame was surprised to hear that from Wave of all people. It was the first time she had heard of that from someone else. Now that she thought about it, just how has Akame had changed since her arrival in Remnant.

As heartwarming this scene is, Qrow cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention. “I’m going to guess we’re done exploring feelings now so I’ll wrap this up. If we’re going to stop the attack on Haven, our first step is reaching the headmaster, Lionheart before the enemy makes their move. We’ll rest up for the time being because I know all of you went through a lot.” He stood while groaning and walked over to the door.

Everyone saw him doing so. “Where are you going?” Akame asked.

Qrow stopped in front of the door and looked back at everyone in the room. "The bar. I need a drink." He turned the knob and opened the door. Qrow quickly left the room without closing the door behind.

As long as the journey was, it was only the first step for everyone in the room. Now comes the second step which is to stop an incoming attack of Haven and maybe, hopefully, learn something about their enemy lurking in the shadows, Salem. Ruby looked over at Akame and smiled. “Akame…” The older leader looked back at her. “I’m glad you’re here with us.”

Akame smiled back at Ruby. “So are we.”

**Insert Puella Magi Madoka Magica Ending Magia as ending song**

From on top of the peak of the mountain before Mistral was the mysterious figure once again gazing upon the city. _“Yes, all the pieces are falling into place.”_

In an airship heading for Mistral, Weiss was sitting in the cargo area with her suitcase. As far as she was concerned, the house she had to grow up in was no longer her home due to what both her father Jacque and her younger brother Whitley did. She is a little worried about Klein but that was all she could do. Her reason for leaving was to meet up with her sister in Mistral. It was also because the heiress couldn’t stand being that cold prison of a house for one more day with what her “family” pulled off. Weiss pulled out her scroll and looked at the picture she and Ruby were in together in a longing way. _“Ruby, I hope we’re able to see each again someday.”_

While everything was falling into place, the figure also had worries. Salem was looking out a window in one of the rooms to gaze upon her realm. She was pleased that Cinder’s training was going smoothly but there was one topic that kept her puzzled. “Imperial Arms…beings from another world. Beings from other worlds.” It was then she realized something. “I see now. Is this your doing Armadia?”

Slowly but surely, the pieces were beginning to gather. However, it was up to them how the events upcoming will play out. She could only hope for best lest something horrible befell upon one of them. _"Such is the case with her."_ The figure held her palm up and a ball of light formed. Within it, a woman was shown to be in complete agony and full of remorse. A dark red light enveloped her and her back sprouted large black feathered wings. _“I wonder what will happen to you in this world…Raven Branwen. I hope you’ll fare far better than your alternate self. Though, she will have to face hardships of her own in the world she was cast in."_ She snapped her fingers and the ball of light vanished. _“I suppose what’s done is done in that timeline. Aside from the three I had sent here; I have one more card to play. However, I fear it may have to break that very rule in order to do so. It’ll be some time before that happens so I can prepare for it. Until then, I will continue to witness the upcoming events and pray for your success. All of you.”_ Before she could vanish, she sensed something far away and looked to where it was coming from. It was a train headed toward Mistral. _“It seems this one has an important role to play. I wonder how he’ll impact on what’s to come?”_ The figure took one last look at Mistral before vanishing completely.

**Vol Three End**

**A/N: And I’m finally done with this! Fina-f*cking-ly! Right, so, with this done (for now) I can focus on my other stories that really need my attention. I think kept the readers waiting long enough. As if that wasn’t enough, I have one hell of a devil of a tale brewing inside my head. Damn this imagination of mine but what can I do? And yes, I know I gave Weiss the shaft in this Vol but I didn’t have anything to tie her in. I doubt anyone would want to read what they already watched. What would be the point? That aside, as usual, I’ll mark this as complete until Vol 5 shows up. As always, until then, I’ll see all of you in the next story and in Vol 4.**

 


	53. Mending Feelings

**A/N: SURPRISE CHAPTER! My reason for this update is that it marks as a one year celebration when A New Beginning was created and look how far it’s come in that year. Sit back, relax, and see the heartwarming bonding this chapter has to offer.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol 3.5

Kill Fifty Three: Mending Feelings

The sounds of eating could be heard in one of the booths at a restaurant the hotel both Night Raid and most of team RNJR were at. The ones who were eating were the members of Night Raid and they were enjoying the food a little too much for Jaune’s sake. “Are you even tasting the food?”

Chelsea took a quick sip of her soda to down the fried rice she ate earlier and leered at him. “Hey, we went over six months without tasting a proper meal. You tell us. Besides, you guys were the ones who lost the bet.” She continued eating her food.

Cornelia was enjoying her food as well but then realized something or someone was missing from their group. “Does anyone know where Esdeath went?”

Ren also noticed Ruby wasn’t with them either so that gave him a clear idea. “Most likely with Ruby. I’m assuming Esdeath wanted to catch up with her.”

Chelsea chuckled a little at that small fact. “I don’t blame her. It’s been over six months since the last time they saw each other. That and Esdeath still has a thing for her.” She took another bite and squealed with delight. "Man I love Mistral's food." She turned her attention to Kurome. "What do you think Kurome?" She quickly saw something very unusual coming from Kurome. She was slowly eating her food. It was strange considering how much she loved to eat delicious food. Akame was making a clear example of that by eating the barbecue chicken. Kurome, however, was eating a grain of her fried rice one at a time while having a somber look on her face. "Is there something wrong with the food?"

Kurome took in one more grain of fried rice before setting her fork down. “I’m not feeling hungry. Please excuse me.” She pushed back from the table and stood up from her chair. Kurome started to walk away from the group.

As they saw Kurome walk away, a question came to Nora. “Does she have indigestion or something? Does she have to go to the bathroom?”

“She’s troubled.” Everyone turned to Taeko who was calmly eating her orange chicken. “It’s true Kurome loves to eat but when something is bothering her, her appetite decreases at an incredible rate. For what reason this time, I don’t know.” Hearing that made everyone curious about what bothered Kurome. Almost everyone.

From another booth not too far away from Night Raid and RNJR, Wave was enjoying his own food and saw Kurome walking away. He could tell something was bothering her and began to stand up. “I’ll go talk to her.” Wave saw Akame set down her utensils and leave her chair to catch up with her sister. Wave sat back down to his seat and saw the two sisters leave with Kurome first and Akame following close behind. He wanted to be there for Kurome like before but it seemed Akame beat him to it. Wave wondered when he’ll have a chance to talk to Kurome again after so long. It was still unbelievable that Kurome was alive in this world. What surprised him the most was the choice of clothing she wore as it was similar to his. “Can I sit here?” Wave turned to where he heard the voice and saw Rienna smiling at him while carrying her tray.

The others saw her sit down across from Wave and Cornelia wondered a little about the soldier. “It looks like Rienna decided to sit down with him. What do you think she decided to do that?”

Chelsea scoffed and ate more of her fried rice. “Who cares just as long he stays away from Kurome.”

Even Jaune thought what Chelsea said was a little harsh. “What’s up with you?”

Taeko had the explanation for them. “Chelsea becomes incredibly jealous when someone else gets close to her. More with the opposite sex. I remember Chelsea beating some guy back at our school into submission all because he laid a hand on Kurome’s shoulder.”

Nora snickered at the detail. “Wow. Possessive much.”

Takeo would have to agree with the other girl. “Indeed and it turned out he just wanted to ask Kurome to see if she had a pencil he could borrow.”

Chelsea had about enough of her childhood friend talking badly about her. “Alright, you made your point already!” She huffed and calmed down a little. “I know I can be a little possessive when it comes to Kurome but this time…I felt something a little different coming from that guy.”

Cornelia raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Different how? You mean how he hugged Kurome?”

She was close with her answer and Chelsea grabbed her arm. “Something about that guy is bugging and I’m not liking it.”

Taeko could understand what Chelsea was feeling about this and to her, it seemed a little childish but that was to be expected from her childhood friend. “If you’re that bothered, then you should confront him and sort out your feelings. As always, you pry about these sorts of issues instead of trying to resolve them.”

As harsh as her words were, Chelsea knew Taeko was right and sighed again. “Alright, fine. As soon as he’s finished talking with Rienna. I want it to be just the two of us when he leaves.”

The rest of the Night Raid members looked over to where Rienna and Wave were sitting at. Seeing the sight made Cornelia a little curious. “I wonder what they’re talking about.”

Over to said pair, Wave couldn’t stop looking at Rienna. The resemblance was very uncanny but there was no doubt of who she was. “Is it that distracting?”

Rienna suddenly speaking broke Wave’s train of thought and snapped out of it. “I’m sorry, what?”

The blonde giggled softly and smiled at the soldier. "My burn scar. Is it distracting you? I don’t blame you since it does get a lot of attention.”

Wave will admit that partially true but that’s not the reason why he kept staring at her. “It’s not that. It’s just that…” He didn’t know how to continue the conversation.

“You know who I am.” Her words brought Wave’s attention. “Akame has mentioned you before and the team you were on. The same team my dad was on. So I’m assuming you’ve met me before, right?”

Wave sighed as he lowered his head. “You’re Bols’ daughter.” That was exactly what Rienna wanted to hear ever since she heard him say her father’s name. He had met her before in his world. Wave lifted his head to look at the girl before him. “It’s so strange seeing you grown up. The last time I saw you, you were just a kid with your mom.” Saying made Wave realize something. “Wait, what about your mom? Is she…” He was afraid Bols’ wife might not be alive in this world too.

“She’s fine. Although, I can imagine her being worried about me.” Wave breathed a sigh of relief. Not only Bols’ daughter was alive and grown up, his wife was alive and well. Knowing that brought him great comfort. “I do want to ask you a question.” Rienna looked at Wave straight in the eye. “What was my dad like when you worked with him? Akame told me, told my team back in Vacuo about the Jaegers and everything else. Including how Chelsea was the one responsible for…”

Wave knew what Rienna was trying to say at the end. He looked over at Chelsea and studied her a little. _“She’s the one who tried to kill Kurome back at Romari Pass. I never imagined that she, Kurome, and Bols’ daughter would be on the same team as Akame. I guess I can say the same about General Esdeath.”_ That specific detail was still weirding him out. He turned his attention back to Rienna and smiled at her. "Your dad, Bols was…well, I admit he did kinda scare me a little at first when I met him but I was surprised how good of a guy he was. I didn't even expect him to have a wife and child."

So far, Rienna liked what she was hearing what Wave was telling about her late father. There was still one detail that bothered the most. “Is it true what he did? Back in your world? About how he…burned people to their death?”

Wave could see the worry on Rienna's face and sought to comfort her. "Yeah, it's true but he was only following orders. Despite what Bols did, he was still a good person. Although, he didn't see himself as that at times. Bols knew that what he did will come back to haunt him. I told him is wasn't his fault because he was following the Empire's orders but to Bols, it didn't matter. To quote what he said to me, ‘karma is still karma'. What kept him going through all of that was his love for his wife and his daughter."

Rienna was glad her father was still the same even if he was in a different world. Still, she knew how it ended with both her and her mother. "But in the end, my mother and I…we were killed in your world." Wave never thought he would hear those kinds of words coming from Bols' daughter. What made this even more ominous what Rienna herself saying that she and her mother were killed. “Akame told me and…” Rienna could still remember how she felt when Akame told the truth about what happened to her and mother back in Akame’s world. She exhaled to calm down. “Let’s just say I really wanted to call my mom and tell her how much she meant to me.”

Wave couldn’t blame the younger girl for reacting that way. No one would want to hear how their previous life ended in another world. Still, he smiled at Rienna as he was happy to her again and grown up. “I understand. If you don’t mind me asking, where is your dad now?”

His answer came in the form of Rienna lowering her head and looking a little somber. “He…passed away when I was young.”

Wave was afraid that would be the answer. _“Even in this world, Bols is still…”_ It didn’t seem fair to him that someone like Bols had to die. He could only imagine how his daughter and wife took it. There was also another question he wanted to ask. “Do you know how he died?”

Rienna lifted her head to look at Wave directly. “He died while on a hunting mission. He was a hunter and I really looked up to him. I wanted to be like him, a huntress myself. I even use the flamethrowers he left. Every time I use them, I feel like he’s right there with me.” She displayed a small smile at that last thought.

To Wave, it appeared some things didn’t change. Bols still used a flamethrower as his main choice of weapon. It was also a little endearing Rienna looked up him. It made Wave feel a little happy knowing that. “It’s good to know you looked up to Bols and I’m sure he’s still with you in spirit.” He had one last question to ask her. “How did…uh…”

Rienna giggled a little as she knew what Wave wanted to ask. “How did I get this burn scar? Well…I kinda messed with the fire dust my dad used when I was young and it wasn’t the best experience. It did leave me this though and I don’t mind the attention it brings.” At least she wasn’t bothered by it. Talking to Bols daughter as she is now was comforting to Wave. Rienna thought the same way. “You know, it’s quite nice talking to someone who knew my dad even if he was a different person from another world.”

Wave chuckled a little at that. “I’m sure Bols was the same in the world.” He looked toward the door and stood up. “I’m going to go find Kurome.” He looked back at Rienna and smiled at her. “It was great seeing you again and grown up. I’m sure your dad would be proud of you. I’ll see you later.” He took his leave and exit out of the restaurant.

Rienna saw Wave leave and was feeling a little happy she was able to talk to Wave. She did notice he left some of his food behind. “Sweet. More food for me.” She wasn’t the only one who saw Wave leave.

Chelsea kept a close eye on the two and also saw Wave leave. She guessed he was off to look for Kurome. She pushed her chair out and stood up. “I’m going. See you later.” She took her leave a little hastily and followed Wave.

**B**

At the outside of the hotel, Esdeath hadn’t felt any happier as she did now while hugging Ruby with her eyes closed while the two girls were sitting together on a bench. She kept the younger girl in a tight hug as if she didn’t want to let her go. Ruby, on the hand, could say something differently about this while her face was snuggled gently in between Esdeath's breasts. “Uh…Esdeath?”

The older girl just hummed contently. “Yes?”

Ruby struggled to a little to break free from the hug. “Do you think you can let me go? I mean, I’m happy to see you too but…” Esdeath could grant that and opened her eyes while removing her arms around the young leader. Ruby was glad she was free, though she did like the hug Esdeath gave her but even she had her limits. “Thank you Esdeath.” She gave the other girl her trademark smile.

Esdeath smiled back as she missed seeing that smile of Ruby’s. “You’re welcome. It’s just I’m so happy to see you again after…” Bringing up what happened at Beacon was still a sensitive topic for her and for Ruby as well. She shook her head and continued to smile at the younger girl. “Anyway, it’s just great to see you. It’s actually quite surprising we bumped into each other. The last time I heard about you, you were still back at Patch with your sister.”

Ruby slightly looked away from the older girl. “That’s…a little on the long story side but I do have my reasons.”

Esdeath can pretty much guess what Ruby’s reason was. “Is it the same as Akame’s? Trying to stop Cinder?”

The younger girl giggled awkwardly and looked back at Esdeath. “I guess that’s one way to sum up this crazy journey of mine.” She suddenly thought of a different topic they could talk about. “Hey, how did you like Vacuo? Did you like being at Shade Academy?”

Esdeath thought back to her experiences at Shade. “It was nice. We saw some familiar teams and the teachers were…interesting.” She suddenly thought of something Ruby would really like. "Oh, and our dorm room actually has bunk beds."

She saw Ruby's eyes widen and had a sparkle in them. "Seriously!" She groaned at the fact she just heard. "I'm so jealous now." Esdeath giggled happily as she could see the irony in this. Back when she first arrived at Shade, she made a comment where she was jealous Ruby's dorm had bunk beds, even if they were makeshift. Unfortunately, she still had some questions to ask. “Ruby…” Hearing her name brought the young leader’s attention toward Esdeath. “What did your uncle mean by that the enemy wanted you because you have silver eyes. I mean they’re pretty but I don’t see the reason why.”

Once again, Ruby looked away and looked up at the sky. "From what Uncle Qrow told me, apparently, I'm part of something called the Silver-Eyed Warriors. He said that Grimm feared them." She looked back at Esdeath. "You remember that giant Grimm dragon that attacked Beacon? I was the one responsible for freezing it because of what I did with my eyes."

Esdeath was shocked to learn that. She wondered what happened to the dragon since it was completely frozen in place. “That’s…incredible. I had no idea.” To hear that Ruby was part of something that grand was unexpected to her.

“I can say the same.” She looked in front away from Esdeath. “While we were traveling to Mistral, we ran into one of Salem’s people. A Faunus called Tyrian who was a scorpion. He was sent to capture me. Jaune, Ren, Nora, and I, we fought him best we could but we were outmatched.” Esdeath was frightened at this point. She couldn’t imagine what Ruby felt during that time. Then, she saw Ruby smile. “But that’s when Wave came in.”

“Wave?” Esdeath was surprised to hear the name of the person who tried to kill her leader earlier.

Ruby nodded slightly. "Yep. He just suddenly showed up out of nowhere and saved me. When Wave fought against Tyrian, I was blown away by how powerful he was. He even pulled Tyrian's tail apart with his bare hands. Wave did get a little scary at the end but then this wolf Faunus girl ran to him and then he stopped. Tyrian fled after that. Since then, Wave's been with us, though he did have to leave his friend but she was okay with his decision." Esdeath and the others did wonder how Ruby's group ran into Wave and now Esdeath knew with having to learn that he saved her to boot. She was now split apart in her opinion with him. Ruby turned to the older once again. "I know what Wave did before was bad but he's really a good guy. I can tell he is." 

Esdeath sighed as she had to look at things from her side. “I’m sure you can vouch for him Ruby but he did try to kill Akame and would’ve if Kurome hadn’t stopped him. What he was trying to do was something most of the team can’t forgive. At most, he’ll have to earn our trust. That’s the most I can say about this.” Ruby knew it wouldn’t be that easy. She would admit what Wave tried to do before was horrible. Akame was her friend too but she didn’t want either of them to fight to the death. The last thing she needed was to lose more friends. “However, I will thank him when I can for saving you.”

Hearing that made Ruby feel happy again and hugged the older girl. “Thank you Esdeath.” At this point, Esdeath felt like her heart could just suddenly stop since it was beating like mad. Thankfully, Ruby let go so Esdeath’s heart returned to its normal beating pattern. The young leader smiled at the other girl one more time. “So, is there anything else you want to know? I can tell you all the fun things Jaune and the others did while we were traveling.”

While that may be fun, Esdeath needed to know one more detail. “Actually, there is one thing. Back at Shade, Leone mentioned something about you receiving a letter from Weiss.”

Her mention of Weiss and the letter made Ruby a little sad as she lowered her head a little. “Y-Yeah. She did.” She put her hand in her pocket and picked out the folded letter she kept. The young leader presented the letter to Esdeath. “This is the letter she left me.”

Esdeath took a closer look at the letter. It was obvious she kept it for some time now. “Can I read it or…” She wasn’t sure she was allowed to.

“I don’t mind. In fact, you’re the first person I’m allowing to read this and see what you think.”

With Ruby’s permission, Esdeath gently took the letter out of Ruby’s hand and unfolded it. She carefully read the contents of the letter. It was a little heartbreaking to her as she continued to read on. It’s as if Esdeath could feel what Weiss wrote into this letter. She sighed as folded the letter back up and handed it back to Ruby. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”

Ruby took the paper and put it back in her pocket. “It’s alright.”

Now that the truth was out, Esdeath had to know one more thing. “What do you think of it? About what Weiss wrote.”

Ruby had all the time she needed to think about that question for over the last six months. “Honestly, I don’t know. I guess I’m still trying to sort it out.”

That was understandable to Esdeath. “Take as much time as you need. There’s no rush. At least for the moment.” She knew this was the perfect moment to have Ruby all to herself but it didn’t feel right. Mostly because it felt like Esdeath would be taking advantage of Ruby while Weiss wasn’t present with them. She still wanted this to be fair. Besides, what they were doing was far more important than a competition. Esdeath suddenly came up with an idea. “How about we go back the others and have a bite to eat. Does that sound good?”

Now that she mentioned it, Ruby did feel a little peckish as she rubbed her stomach. She nodded at the other girl. “Yeah, let’s get something to eat.” Both girls stood up and made their way to the where the rest of their teams were.

**B**

“Damn it!” Kurome punched the wall near the door to her room. She gritted her teeth in frustration and grunted just the same. “What the hell Najenda?”

“Kurome.” Kurome heard her sisters voice and turned to see Akame who seemed a little worried. “Is everything alright? You seem troubled.”

The younger girl scoffed and looked away from the other girl. “Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be after hearing that Qrow guy said to us.”

Akame immediately understood what was bothering her sister. "It's what he said about the headmasters of each school, isn't it?"

Kurome shook her head. “That’s not the reason. It’s about Najenda. She knew. She knew this entire time. About these relic things, about this Salem person, was she just…using me all this time? Training me to be one of her warriors?” It seemed this topic was a little deeper than Akame had originally thought. She let her sister continue to let out her feelings. “Najenda was the one who took me in after I had to go through god knows how many foster families. I admit she wasn’t the perfect mother but she did help me find a purpose to do with my life. I was…grateful for her but now…did she actually see me as her adoptive daughter or was she just training another soldier for her own gain? I know it’s seriously important to guard these relic things but I feel lied to and used. Just what I am to her?”

After hearing all of that, Akame thought she might have the answer to give. “I may not know Najenda well in this world but what I can tell you about the Najenda I know. She never saw or thought those close to her or fought by her side as mere soldiers. She saw them as allies and people she could rely on. Najenda cared for them. I can say the same about her in this world about you.”

Kurome knew her sister was trying to convince her but it still wasn’t enough. She turned around to face Akame and tried her best to smile. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up and all but…” Her smile quickly faded away and had a worried look on her face. “Until I hear it from herself, there’s not much you can do to persuade me.”

Akame fully understood. She knew her sister too well that when she made up her mind, there was little to no chance to change it. “Fine then.” Suddenly, both girls heard a loud growling sound coming from Kurome and Akame chuckled a little. “How about we head back to the others.”

The younger sister held her stomach and giggled awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I feel like I can eat all your shares worth. I might even give some of mine to you.”

Akame liked the sound of the offer. “That’s extremely generous coming from you.”

**B**

Wave was walking through one of the hallways trying to find where Kurome and Akame went. He knew something was wrong with Kurome and chances are it’s not drugs this time as Akame had explained to him before. He thought he could still talk to her about what kind of problem was bothering her. Even if she was a different Kurome, that didn’t change the fact Wave still saw her as a comrade and as a comrade, he would do everything he can to help Kurome out. Wave suddenly stopped walking and slightly turned his head. “Any reason why you’re following me?”

Out of the corner from the end of the hallway, Chelsea stepped out and stared at the soldier. _“I guess he can sense my aura the same Akame and Leone can. Figures since he’s from their world.”_ This wasn’t the ideal scene for her confrontation but it arrived nonetheless.

Wave recognized Chelsea from earlier. She was part of Akame’s team and chances are she didn’t like what Wave did before when he was trying to kill their leader. He easily recognized the look she was giving him and fully turned around to face her. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

This was Chelsea’s chance now and she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind about this issue she was having about the soldier in front of her. “As a matter of fact, yeah. I don’t know what kind of relationship you had with Kurome back in your world but the way you hugged her spoke volumes to me. I’ll just get to the point for the sake of both of us. I won’t stop you from interacting with her and trust me pal that’s a huge given coming from me but…you should as well know that Kurome is with me so don’t get any funny ideas while you’re around her.”

Wave’s response to that was having a dumbfounded look on his face when he heard what Chelsea had told him. “Wait…when you say Kurome is with you…do you actually mean…”

“Kurome is my girlfriend and I’ve known her a lot longer in this world than you.”

At that moment, it felt like the world suddenly went still for Wave. He was still in the middle of processing of what he heard. _“Kurome is…she’s…”_

Chelsea tilted her head to the side in confusion as she noticed the look on the soldier’s face. “Uh…hello? Anyone home in there?” Wave snapped out of it and narrowed his eyes at Chelsea. He started to walk over to where Chelsea is and stopped when he was in front of her. She was suddenly feeling a little intimated with the way he was looking at her. _“He’s a lot more scarier up close.”_ She didn’t know what he was planning but was prepared for anything in case he was going to do something. Wave put his hands on Chelsea’s shoulders and she felt how strong his grip is. _“Damn, that hurts!”_

She was ready to use one of her semblances on him. “Protect her.”

His words caught her off guard and now she was the one who didn’t know what to say. “Huh?”

Wave’s grip grew tighter much to Chelsea’s dismay and narrowed his eyes at her. “If you care for Kurome that much, then protect her. Be there for her at all times. I couldn’t do that and that’s why Kurome was…” He didn’t want to finish that sentence but Chelsea kind of knew of he meant. “Be there for Kurome and don’t you ever let her down.” Wave let go of Chelsea and took a few steps back.

Whatever happened sure wasn’t anything Chelsea had expected. She saw the serious look in Wave’s eyes. _“He really does mean what he said.”_ Chelsea stared back and narrowed her eyes while crossing her arms. “Of course, I’ll protect her. She’s my partner. Both in the relationship part and the fighting part. And it’s just not me. Everyone in our team looks out for each other so you have nothing to worry about.” She put her hands behind her head. “And I guess that goes for you as all. Like I said, I won’t stop you from interacting with her so you can watch out for her too. Just do a better job and make sure to remember who’s she’s with. Got that?”

That was the one part Wave won’t repeat again. “Fine then.”

 And Chelsea suddenly felt a little better after this confrontation and smiled. “Good, just as long we’re on the same level. But don’t let this make you think I’ve forgiven you for trying to kill my leader.”

Again, Wave hadn’t forgotten about that. “I know.”

Chelsea nodded at him and turned around away from Wave. “Alright then. See back at the restaurant or anywhere else for that matter.” She walked away from him and made that turn in the corner. Just like that, she was gone from Wave’s views.

After she left, Wave sighed dejectedly from what he learned about the Kurome in this world. “So Kurome is that kind of person. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” He tried to look at the brighter side of things about this. “At least she’s alive in this world and I won’t make the same mistakes again.”

“Why are you talking to yourself?”

Wave was surprised and turned around to see Ruby and Esdeath approaching them. _“I was so busy thinking about the Kurome girlfriend thing and I didn’t sense their auras.”_  He straightened himself out and cleared this throat. “Uh…nothing. I was just…thinking out loud to myself.” Wave looked at Ruby for a few seconds and then turned his attention to Esdeath. Seeing her again and looking younger still weirded him out.

Esdeath looked back at him and thought this was a good opportunity. “Ruby, can you go on ahead? I would like to talk to him alone.”

_“Again!?”_

Ruby had a feeling what Esdeath wanted to talk to Wave about and nodded at her. “Sure thing Esdeath. I’ll save some cookies for you!” She walked ahead of Esdeath and turned to wave goodbye to her.

Esdeath smiled at the younger girl and waved back to her. The way she was looking at Ruby was very familiar to Wave. _“Wait…is she…?”_

Once Ruby left the two of them alone, Esdeath could finally speak to him. “There’s something I’d wish to say to you.”

Wave could already tell what she was about to say. “Let me guess. You still haven’t forgiven me for trying to kill Akame.”

To his surprise, Esdeath shook his head. "No, but that is true." She smiled at the soldier. "I would like to say thank you for saving Ruby."

That was a lot more simpler than Wave thought and rubbed the back of his head. “Oh…well, you’re welcome Genera-” He stopped himself from saying the entire word.

Esdeath expected as much since he did recognize her. “Is it strange talking to me again? I mean, you have met me before in your world.”

Wave sighed as he knew she was right. “Honestly, yeah. I mean from a first glance; I can tell you’re a different Esdeath. Your stance, the way you talk, you even have a softer look on her face. And you’re surprisingly younger than me.”

Hearing that she was different from the Esdeath he knew made Esdeath feel a little happy. “Well, that’s good because I have no intention of being the Esdeath you knew.”

Wave could tell that much but he did see some similarity between the two. “I suppose that’s what Akame told you. I’m not surprised by that but there are a few things you share with the Esdeath I knew. Ruby told me herself about you while we were traveling together. The Esdeath I knew did care for those who fought by her side and she was generous to them. That’s side we saw that the enemy couldn’t see. I think that’s where you’re the same as her.” That was a surprising detail for Esdeath to know. However, what Esdeath had heard about what her previous self had done outweighs what Wave had told her. Wave did have a question of his own about the Esdeath in front of him. “Oh yeah, speaking of Ruby…you’re in love with her, right?”

His question made Esdeath’s face flare up with red. “W-Wait what? H-How…?”

Wave chuckled at her reaction, something he wouldn’t have done with his previous superior. “I saw the way you looked at her. It reminded me how the Esdeath I knew would look at Tatsumi. Let me guess, you fell for her because she had a bright smile.”

Esdeath looked down at the floor while pressing her index fingers together. “I wouldn’t say I fell for her right away but it did begin with her smile. Ruby was also one of the first people who accepted me and wasn’t frightened by my power.”

Wave can pretty much guess what her power was. “I see. Well, as long as you haven’t gotten a bit extreme with her…”

Esdeath lifted her head and glared at her. “I certainly have not! I’m taking things nice and easy with her. She still hasn’t answered about my proposal for a date yet.”

Now that was surprising to Wave. “At least you’re taking things slower this time. That’s good.” He remembered all the times Esdeath did to Tatsumi back in his world. _“At least she didn’t tie Ruby up in a chair or put a chain and collar on her.”_ He glanced at the corner at the end of the hallway and looked back at Esdeath. “Let’s head back to the others if that’s alright with you.”

Esdeath nodded at him. “That’s fine.” They started to walk together back to the restaurant where the others were. Wave had to admit he enjoyed talking to Esdeath again even though he still had to get used to seeing her face again.

**B**

Wave was looking dumbfounded by the sight before him. He saw multiple plates in front of Kurome as she was close to what it seemed to be devouring the food. He wondered if Kurome was even tasting what she was eating. _"I think Kurome's appetite is worse than what is was back in the Empire."_

The other members of Night Raid and RNJR were standing nearby Kurome. Chelsea was grinning at her girlfriend eating. “This is more like the Kurome we know. Glad she’s eating normally again.”

 Jaune could disagree with that and really didn’t like what he was seeing. “You call this eating normally? If she keeps it up at this rate, she’ll make us go broke.”

“We’ll help pay for it. It’s not the first time she’s done this.” Taeko reassured.

Nora had a mischievous look on her face while watching Kurome eat. “She’d be pretty fun to have an eating contest with.”

Cornelia giggled nervously at the idea. “I don’t know. I think she’d beat you.”

The other girl thought otherwise. “Not if it’s a pancake eating contest. I’m the queen at that.”

Close to where Kurome was eating at, Ruby was sharing a meal with Esdeath who reunited with her at another booth to which both seemed to be enjoying together. The young leader did look at Kurome a few times while eating. “Just how much can she eat. I mean I can eat a lot of cookies but even I think this is too much.”

Esdeath looked at the same direction. “While we were traveling, Kurome made sure to stock on something called power bars. They seemed to fill her enough while we were traveling.”

While Wave was busy staring at Kurome who was still eating her food, Akame walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder to gain his attention. He turned to her and was surprised she came up to him. “Can you sit with me? There are some things I need to ask you.”

It was an odd request from Akame but it seemed okay to him. “Fine by me.” The two walked to a booth furthest away from everyone else so they can have a private conversation. Apparently, Akame had chosen this one earlier since there are several plates of food and drinks on the table. They sat down across from each other and Akame stared at Wave. It seemed rather strange for him to be sitting across from Akame considering they almost fought to the death. “So what is it that you wanted to ask me about?”

One question was obvious to Akame. “I’m wondering how did you arrive in this world. Part of me is thinking that you may have wandered into a certain forest.”

Wave admitted she was right on the clock about that. “That’s right. I camped out in a forest for the night and when I woke up, I was in a different forest founded by a wolf Faunus girl called Armasu. It was…strange. I don’t even know how I got here in the first place.”

Akame had an idea. “Did you make some sort of wish?”

Wave became a little confused when he heard the question. “A wish?” He thought back to the night before he mysteriously arrived in Remnant. It was then he remembered something. “Come to think of it, I did kinda think of wanting to see Kurome again before I fell asleep. Next thing I knew, I ended up in this world.”

Akame thought as much. He was in the same forest she and Leone were in and must've accidentally made a wish and that's how he was able to come over this world. “I see. You must not have heard what the forest was known for."

Wave became slightly interested in what Akame was saying. “And what do you mean by that?”

Akame was glad to explain. “Leone once told me that the forest you were in houses a deity of some sort who comes to the aid of those who cry out for help or make a wish. It’s possible it was that same deity who heard you and transported you to this world.”

After hearing all of that, it sounded surreal enough but Wave couldn't argue with it since he was in this world now. What also made sense to him of what happened lately. He looked over at Kurome and he did wish to see her again even though he seriously didn't mean but lo and behold, that wish did happen. Akame's explanation raised a question of Wave's own and looked back at her. “And since you’re here, I’m guessing you made a wish as well. What was it exactly?”

Akame looked down at her food while having a soft look in her eyes. "I wished that I could start over. After everything that happened while fighting against the Empire, I felt like my life was empty. I was wandering around the land without a purpose until I reached that forest. It was then I reunited with Leone and made that wish. Both of us fell asleep and when we woke up, we were in a different place. Not only that but the scars I had on my body before when I used Murasame's trump card vanished. It wasn't long after we met Ruby and the others. After that, Leone and I were made students at Beacon Academy. We did tell the headmaster everything about us before he made us students.”

Wave actually found that interesting about Akame. “You were seriously a student?”

Akame closed her eyes and smiled. “Yes and while attending Beacon…I finally felt like what is was like to be normal.”

Wave raised an eyebrow. “Normal?”

“Yes. The classes, the teachers, even the homework, I enjoyed them all. I finally had a purpose and I can help those in need just like I did in the past. I felt…happy.” She opened her eyes and they still had that somber look in them but her smile faded away. “That is until what Cinder did. In just one night, she took that all away and more.”

Now it made sense to Wave what Akame was talking about before. “So that’s what you meant by her taking your life in Remnant. This is more than making this Cinder woman pay for her crimes. It’s something personal to you, isn’t it?”

Akame lifted her head to look back at Wave. “Yes. I have three reasons for doing this. Two of which you already know. To make Cinder and this Salem character pay for what they’ve done to Beacon, for what they’ve done taking the only normal life I ever knew, and because who I am. An assassin who won’t allow their target to live.”

Wave fully understood her reasons and didn’t blame her. She was living a life free of being a murderer and here she was back again. He did see an upside to this. “Well, if it’s any consolation, both of us are here with our Imperial Arms and chances are the enemy doesn’t know much about them. We have that going for us. And since we’re on the same the same side, we can win this fight. Us…” He looked over to the others as did Akame. “And them.” They looked back at each other. “We’ll fight them and we’ll win. Some weird maiden power or not.”

Akame chuckled a little at Wave’s words. “I suppose you’re right but there are some things we don’t know about the enemy. Especially with Salem.”

She was right about that part but Wave didn’t seem too worried. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Akame nodded at that. “I guess we will.” She looked back at her food and picked up her utensils. “We should probably eat. We can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

Wave looked at the food as well and did remember he barely ate all. “That’s something we can both agree on.” He took up his utensils and they both started to dine together. While eating, Wave recalled something Ruby told him before. “By the way, Ruby said something about you being in a place called Vacuo. What was that place like?”

Oh, the details Akame could tell him. “It’s nice I suppose. Would you believe me it’s somewhat similar to the Empire?”

Wave choked on his food a little and downed it with a drink to make it easier to swallow. "Seriously?"

Akame continued to eat calmly. “Yes but not in the way you think. It’s a little switched with the people not obeying the government. Only Shade Academy is the absolute law.” That was surprising to hear at least for Wave. “Speaking of Shade, you would be surprised who are teachers are there.”

Wave scoffed at that. “Really? And who would that be?” He continued to eat.

“Dr. Stylish for one.”

And Wave choked again on his food and this time drank most of his drink to down it. He gasped while looking at Akame in disbelief. “Dr. Stylish? Really?”

Akame took another bite out of her food. “Yes and so is Budo.”

Wave had his jaw drop when he heard that. “You gotta be kidding me?!”

Akame didn’t show it but she was enjoying Wave’s reactions. “And Dorothea as well.”

Wave gasped at the mention of the name. “Even Wild Hunt is there? And they were your teachers?”

Akame momentarily stopped eating to look at Wave. “I was just as surprised as you, although not as much as you are. They act more or less the same but Stylish doesn’t perform human experiments and Dorothea doesn’t murder for pleasure’s sake. Budo acts the same as he does but on a lesser extent. I guess I should also tell you that Najenda is the headmaster.”

“NO WAY!” Wave clapped his hand to his mouth to silence himself. He slowly removed his hand and leaned in a little towards Akame. “Is that actually true?”

Akame nodded at him. “It is. We met her ourselves. She doesn’t have the mechanical arm or the eyepatch.”

Wave leaned back in his seat trying to comprehend what he had heard. “Jeez. What’s next? The Prime Minster working as a chore man?”

“Actually, he’s the janitor of the school.” Akame clarified. At this point, Wave gave up. It became a little too much for him. “I can’t believe it.” Just when he thought seeing Esdeath and Kurome was unbelievable enough.

Akame couldn’t blame him for reacting the way he did since she had the same thoughts as him. She did have a question of her own relating to their world. “How is Najenda? Is she well?”

Wave recollected himself and sat up straight. “She looked fine the last time I saw her.”

Hearing that brought comfort to Akame. She was worried Najenda would be feeling worse after using Susanoo’s trump card three times even though the third time wasn’t fully completed. “That’s good to know.” Now that she thought about it, how was the Capital doing after they won the war? She and Leone did leave shortly after so they don't know how everyone is doing. What she did know was the Capital was certainly doing much better than before. Akame wished she could see it but that was a far-fetched dream. Then again, she can just ask the person who's seen how the Empire was who was in front of her. "And how is the Capital?"

Wave tried to remember the state the Capital was in before he left. “It’s become a lot more peaceful I’ll tell you that. Criminals are apprehended and the people feel safe with the new order around.”

Akame was satisfied enough upon hearing how well the Capital was doing now. Everything she and the previous members of Night Raid had worked for finally became a reality. However, now she had to fight to avoid further disaster and the fights that’ll come up ahead in the future will all take place in Mistral. _“Salem, I may not know who you are but I will make you pay for the pain and suffering you’ve caused and when I finally come face to face with you, I will…bury you.”_ With those words deep in her thoughts, she resumed

 


	54. Past Reflection

**A/N: Okay, I have received guest reviews (most of which I deleted in all honesty because I couldn’t reply to them as per my warning on my profile) of me writing a chapter for Blake character trailer for Vol. 5. At first, I wasn’t going to due to it being five minutes which doesn’t give me much to work with but then my brain took this into a different direction. So, I guess those who have asked will get what they asked. Also, I’m totally guessing Kali can fight so don’t blame me what she does in the series is different.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol 3.5-Part Two

Kill Fifty Four: Past Reflection

Leone sighed as she leaned forward on a rail up on the balcony as she stared into the distance of Menagerie. Everything around her was peaceful and quiet. Or at least that’s what she would like to believe. It had already been a few hours since Blake and Yang left to follow up on a lead that was in the scroll Ilia dropped from their previous encounter. Leone wanted to go but she remembered what her parents said earlier.

_F_

“You sure you two don’t want me to come along? It’d be a lot easier.”

All three girls were in Blake’s room where the Bumblebee pair were gearing up for their search. Blake putting Gambol Shroud on her back and Yang fashioning the other half of Ember Celica. “It’ll be fine. Its just catching this one Faunus guy and see what he knows. I’m sure Blake and I can handle it on our own.” Yang assured her daughter. “Plus, if you stay here, maybe you’ll get to spend some quality time with Blake’s parents.”

In truth, Leone really wanted to go with her parents or be part of anything that was related to the White Fang but on the other hand, she really doesn't know much about her newly discovered grandparents. It was tough but Leone ultimately came to her decision. "Oh, alright but you better give this guy an extra thwack for me if you're chasing the guy."

The two girls smiled and nodded at the daughter and headed toward the door. “With any luck, we’ll find him quickly and hear what he knows. We’ll see you later Leone.” Blake slid the door open and left.

Yang waved her robotic hand at the other Faunus blonde. “Try not to get bored.” She promptly left as well.

_F_

Leone blew out air from boredom. There wasn't much to do around the Chief's place other than reading some books which she didn't feel like doing. "I wonder if they found the guy yet?" Leone did feel lonely without her parents around and something else was bothering her. Something that would come to her mind time to time. She looked up at the sky and envisioned the rest of her team and most importantly, Akame. Leone dearly missed Akame and couldn’t help but worry and wonder about what she was doing. “I hope you and the others made it Mistral, Akame. If you’re there, then maybe you can do something about what Adam and the White Fang are planning to do there.” Leone had to travel to Mistral quickly as possible. She had to tell the others what was going to happen and soon. Most importantly, Leone wanted another crack at two certain Faunus to finally settle the score. Before she could go deeper in thought about them in how to kick their asses, her lion ear picked up a sound approaching from behind and caught a familiar scent. Leone quickly turned around and sure enough, it was her. “Oh, Kali.”

Kali had a bit of a surprised expression on her face when Leone turned around just in time to see her. She didn't expect to see the other Faunus girl react that quickly. She gave her…granddaughter a gentle smile. "Hello there, Leone. What are you doing standing here by yourself?" She approached Leone and stood next to her while Kali placed her hands on the railing.

“Just a little thinking is all.”

Kali could guess that much and could guess what was on Leone’s mind. “Thinking about your friends?”

To Leone, she supposed that would be a little obvious. “Yeah. I just want to get to Mistral and meet up with the rest of my team. The faster, the better.”

The older Faunus woman understood Leone’s concern for wanting to reunite with her team. “And you’ll be reunited soon enough. I would say be patient but telling from a glance, you’re not much of the patient type, are you.”

Leone chuckled at that. “Damn straight. This whole waiting around thing isn’t for me. I need to be there. To be with them.” Her eyes softened a little at the thought of Akame.

Kali saw this look and giggled. “Are with someone on your team?”

The question caught Leone off guard for a second. “Well, I uh…”

The way Leone was acting made her reaction all the more adorable. “It’s quite alright. You don’t have to answer me but I do recognize the look in your eye. You must care about this person very much.” 

Leone recollected herself and smiled at her grandmother. “Yeah, I really do.” She looked up at the sky once again. “This person and I, we lost a lot of people important to us in the past and the last thing needed now is me not being there.”

Kali felt a little sad in knowing part of her granddaughter’s past. She wondered what happened but didn’t want to impose on such a sensitive topic. “I see.” Kali glanced over at Leone’s arms and had a little curiosity in her. “Leone, how well are you in a fight?”

The question appeared to be a little strange for the younger Faunus girl but didn't mind answering her. "I can hold my own pretty well. You should see what I could do with Lionel.”

Kali became more interested and curious. “Lionel?”

Leone realized what she said and chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah, Lionel. They were claw gauntlets that I used and they were taken away when I lost to that cheating Faunus bitch Seryu. Can’t believe she got the drop on me with some freaking catnip. That’s gotta be illegal or something.”

That’ll be another question Kali will be asking later on. As of now, she wanted to test something out. “Leone, dear…would you like to follow me somewhere a little more open?” The older Faunus woman quickly made her leave to walk to somewhere else.

Leone turned around seeing Kali leaving and had a confused look. “Go where exactly?”

**B**

Apparently, that “where” Kali lead Leone was a large rectangular flat open area in the backyard of the house. Leone was still confused about what the older Faunus woman was planning. “Okay, so we’re out here now. What is it that you brought me out for?”

Kali gave a pleasant smile to the other Faunus girl. “Oh, nothing. I just want to see how capable you are in a fight.”

That was something Leone didn’t expect to hear. Especially from Kali. “Uh…okay then. You have thought this through, right? I mean, you’re Blake’s mom, the wife of the chief, technically, my grandm-”

“I’ll have you know I’m very capable of handling myself in a fight.”

There was one more issue Leone had with this. "Also…I'm kinda strong. The last thing I need to do is put you in a hospital or worse, explain to Blake of how I put her mom in a hospital."

Kali just giggled at Leone’s worriment. “I can assure you, I’ll be quite fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” She took up a stance as her right foot forward and her arms out and forward. “I’m sure I can teach you a few things.” Kali gave a confident smile at the other Faunus girl.

Leone still had some doubts about this whole thing but would comply with this weird request. "If you say so but just on the safe side, I'll hold back a little.” She took up her own stance.

Kali thought up one more idea to make this a little more fun. “How’s this? If I tap you on the forehead, you lose. Now, you can make the first move”

Leone decided to roll with it. “Fine then. Let’s just get this over with. Don’t blame me if I knock you out into next week!” She dashed straight at Kali with her right arm extended forward first. Kali smirked at Leone’s incoming attack as she came in close. As the younger Faunus girl was in range, Kali sidestepped outside to avoid Leone's attack and smacked her arm causing Leone to move forward more than she intended. Kali lowered herself and performed a sweeping kick right at Leone’s legs while she was going. The attack struck and Leone yelled as she fell down backward to the ground. The Faunus blonde groaned as she looked up to see Kali standing over her with her leg raised up. That was Leone’s cue to roll over to the side to avoid the older Faunus woman’s kick as it struck the ground instead. Leone quickly stood up and stared down at her grandmother who took up the same stance as before. Leone gritted her teeth and charged at Kali once again. She pulled her right arm back and sent it forward once Leone was close enough. However, Kali quickly deflected Leone's arm upward with her hand and leaned into a palm strike Leone's stomach away from her. The blonde Faunus girl grunted in pain as she slid back before stopping.

That was twice Kali was able to do something like that to her now. Leone didn't know what was going on with the way the older Faunus woman was countering her attacks but she didn't like the way it was making her into a fool. "Come now, dear. You can be a little rougher with me."

_“I can take that out of context, you know.”_ Jokes aside, Leone still wasn’t comfortable being a little more serious on her grandmother but since she was asking for it… “Remember, you asked for this!” Leone roared at Kali as she rushed at the older Faunus woman again. Only this time, slightly faster. She came in close once again and tried to deliver a right uppercut but Kali stepped back to avoid the attack. Before she could make her next move, Leone sent her other arm forward for her next attack but Kali was able to deflect to the side with using both of her hands. Leone took this as an opportunity and spun her body around to deliver a kick but Kali ducked when the attack approached her. When Leone completed her spin, Kali leaned in and thrust both of her palms at Leone’s midsection. Leone let out a surprised cry as she was pushed back a little. She held her stomach while panting and glared at Kali. The fight was beginning to infuriate her. Leone knew Kali had no chance in defeating due to her sembalance and superior strength. What was getting to her the most was the way the older Faunus woman was countering her attacks. Not once was she able to hit her. _“She can’t keep it up forever.”_

Leone charged at Kali again and this time delivered a flurry of attacks right at the older Faunus woman. However, that plan quickly backfired as Kali was perfectly deflecting Leone’s attacks away from her with calculated precision. After deflecting an attack, Kali would counterattack Leone and strike her. What Leone noticed the most was how perfectly Kali countered her attacks. It was like Kali could see where her attacks could from next. It weirded out Leone. _"The hell? Can she see the future or something?"_ She threw another punch at Kali but her grandmother decided to avoid the side and then changed the direction of Leone’s attack downward. Kali’s next move was that she struck Leone’s arm with her knee and elbow striking at the same time. Leone screamed out in pain as she pulled her arm back and held it while sucking air through her teeth. While Leone was preoccupied, Kali took the chance and close the gap between them and held her hand out with her index finger pulled back. Kali gave Leone a quick flick to the forehead and the blonde Faunus yelped. With that, the fight was over.

The pain in Leone’s arm subsided just seconds after Kali flicked her forehead and now held her forehead while Kali was smiling at her while putting her hands together. “Well, would do you say we have some tea after that small sparing session?” She promptly left and headed to the house while Leone was trying to figure out what the older Faunus woman was planning.

Nevertheless, she decided to follow her back to the house. “Sure, why not?”

**B**

Both Faunus women were in the living room sitting on the pillows across from each other at the table. The tea was already brewed and Kali was drinking hers while Leone was just staring at her cup. Kali lowered her cup and sighed out of enjoyment. She placed it on the table and looked at Leone. “Go ahead, dear. Drink up and you’ll feel better.”

The Faunus stared at the cup for a few more seconds before grabbing it and held the bottom with her other hand. “If you insist.” She brought the cup up to her mouth and blew on it to cool the drink down before drinking it.

While watching Leone drink, Kali decided it was time to ask. “Leone, tell me, who taught you how to fight?”

Leone finished drinking her cup and set it down while pondering the meaning of Kali’s question. “I guess you can say I was self-taught. I’ve been on my own for a long time before I found others I could call my friends. One of them being Akame.”

Kali continued to study Leone. “I see and if possible, have you encountered others who were stronger than you?”

Leone could answer that easily. “I have and only two. One of them…” She remembered the first time she tried to fight Esdeath back at the Path of Peace headquarters but also remembered what Esdeath had done to her. “Let’s just say I was helpless. For the second person, I was surprised she could surpass my strength.”

“And what did you do to counter this person?” Kali asked.

Leone remembered her fight against Dorothea clearly as it was one of her favorite victories. "Easy. If I kept moving around, she couldn't grab me and I was obviously faster. Still, I barely won that fight." Now Leone had questions of her own. "Why are you asking me this anyway and why did you want to fight me?"

Kali could only stare at Leone and sighed. “There are several reasons. One of them goes back to what Blake told me about the White Fang being involved with the Fall of Beacon. Especially with Adam Taurus.” Leone growled when she heard the name and Kali noticed it. “Did you, by any chance, encountered Adam?”

Leone narrowed her eyes and closed her hands tightly. “Oh, yeah. I met the bastard right after he cut Yang’s arm. I was pissed and seething with rage.” Her description was mild compared to what Leone really felt when she first saw that scene.

Kali couldn’t imagine what Leone felt back then. “With the kind of strength you possess, why didn’t you kill Adam from the beginning?”

The Faunus blonde had a very good reason and still regretted that. “Because I wanted to make that bastard suffer for what he did. I wanted to him feel the pain he caused to Yang and Blake and make realize he was dealing with the wrong Faunus. You’re right about me having the strength to kill him on the spot but I wanted him to pay first. But because of that, he got away from me and now he’s plotting to take over the White Fang. If I just killed him back at Beacon-”

Kali raised her hand and Leone stopped talking. Kali placed her hand back on the table. “That’s all I needed to know. Thank you, Leone. Now, what of your fight against this Seryu?”

Leone was still salty about how that fight ended. “I told you, she used catnip to drug me.”

Kali closed her eyes as she shook her head and stopped before opening them. “No, I mean how was Seryu able to match you even with your measure of strength?”

Leone thought back to what Seryu said about her semblance during their fight. _“My semblance can reinforce my weapons, making them stronger beyond their limit.”_

“She mentioned something about her semblance strengthening her weapons that were able to match up to my strength. Still, I would’ve beaten her if she hadn’t pulled out that frigging catnip.”

After hearing all of that, now was the time for Kali to reach the main point of her conversation. “I see. Well then, Leone, I’m sure you’ve noticed the way I fought during our little session. Can you tell me what was it?”

The other Faunus could easily reply to the question. “Yeah, you kept deflecting my attacks instead of blocking them. By the way, that second to last attack hurt like a bitch. If you don’t mind my language.”

Kali chuckled at that. “It’s fine and you’re correct. I’m aware you’re stronger than I am and while it is true your strength is considered to be your greatest asset, it can also be easily manipulated depending on the opponent you face against, such as me and can be used against you.”

Leone thought back to the fight and it made more sense to her the more she thought about their fight. However, Leone had a gut feeling there was something else Kali needed to tell her. “Where are you going with this?”

Kali thought now would be the time to give Leone the cold, hard truth. “Well, to be perfectly honest, and no other way of telling you this, the way you fight is completely amateurish.”

And Leone felt her anger flare up and quickly stood up. “That’s bullshit! I kicked more than my fair share of ass in my life! Every opponent I’ve gone up against proves that!”

Kali wasn’t intimated by Leone’s outburst and had a counter for what the other Faunus girl declared. “But what you said about the first person who bested you says otherwise.”

“Tch.” Leone sat back down and crossed her arms under her breasts. “That person was different on a whole other level. The point is, I’m strong enough to one-shot anything, If I had been serious from the start against you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation sipping tea.”

Kali was well aware of that fact. "As I've said before, I know you're stronger than I am but it's that same strength that'll lead you to your downfall." Leone felt like she had heard this conversation before. "Please think about this. Were there times where your strength wasn't enough to pull through a fight or worse, put you in more danger than getting out?"

Funny enough, Leone can recall such situations. From Esdeath carving her body piece by piece and to Doretha almost sucking the life out of her. Those two situations were the only ones Leone could think where her strength wasn’t enough. “What point are you making?”

It seemed the older Faunus woman had to make it clear for her. “What I’m trying to say is using raw strength won’t be enough sometimes. You have to channel it into something more focused. The way you attacked me was predictable and that’s how I was able to handle your attacks easily despite the difference in strength between us. The purpose of that session was to teach you two important lessons. One was for you to realize your flawed fighting style and two, you can put your kind of strength to better use. Higher feats, even.” Kali smiled at her granddaughter. “And I’m willing to teach you that.”

Leone wasn’t expecting to hear that out of Kali. “You teach me?”

Kali nodded at her question. “Yes. Imagine the fighting style I used combined with your power. Controlled, focused, fluid yet explosive, effective, and devastating in some cases.”

For a few seconds, Leone imagined herself using Kali’s way of fighting against other opponents. She unfolded her arms and smiled at the opportunity given. “I guess I can try out a new thing every now and then.”

That was the kind of answer Kali was hoping to hear. “Good. I’ll start teaching you then. But first, let’s finish our tea.”

**B**

As the sun was setting on Menagerie, the front door opened and Yang and Blake walked through with having a defeated look on their faces after experiencing the failure that was their mission. Yang shut the door behind them and sighed. “I guess we should’ve brought Leone along after all. If we had, we would’ve had that guy now. If Leone hasn’t beaten up the guy to a bloody pulp by the time she caught him. I'm sorry we lost our target, Blake."

Blake had that same melancholy look on the way back. “It’s alright. We tried our best Yang. We’ll just try something else.”

Yang recognized the tone in Blake’s voice. She’d been using it ever since Blake lost their target. The blonde could tell something was bothering her and it had to do something with what happened in that ally Blake chased their target into. She wondered what could’ve happened in that ally but didn’t ask about it.

“Ah, you two are back.”

They saw Ghira approach them. Yang immediately straightened up as soon as she saw him. “Oh, hi there Mr. Belladonna! I mean Chief Belladonna! I mean-” Yang still had no idea how to relax when she was around Blake’s dad since…. he was obviously was Blake’s dad. And the chief of Menagerie.

Thankfully, Blake managed to rescue her girlfriend before Yang continued to ramble on. "Hello, dad."

Yang chuckled sheepishly and waved at the older Belladonna while giving him an uneasy smile. “Hi.”

Ghira smiled at the two girls and judging how they’re without a third party member. “So I take it you two were unsuccessful in capturing your target then?”

The Bumblebee pair looked away from out of regret. “It was my fault he got away. I’m sorry.” Blake apologized.

Yang thought to explain her side of what happened. “Yeah, we almost had him and chased him down but then he cut the rope for this carriage and it was rolling downhill. I had to catch it to stop it while Blake went on ahead to chase the guy. When I set the carriage somewhere safe, I ran to catch up to Blake. When I did, we’d already lost him.”

Ghira fully understood the girls’ explanation and didn’t blame them. “It’s quite alright. You did what you two could do. We’ll find another chance to take.”

That was something Yang and Blake could agree. After that was cleared up, they had questions on their own. Primarily about two other Faunus. “So, where’s mom?” Blake asked

“And Leone?” Yang added.

Ghira chuckled at their questions which confused them. “Follow me.” He turned around and began to walk away. Yang and Blake looked at each other in confusion before looking back at the chief and walked closely behind him. They followed him all the way to the backyard and stopped in front of the railings. What the Bumblebee pair saw was surprising. Ghira expected to see their reaction and saw continued to see what was happening before them. “I think they’ve bonded quite well while you two were away.”

Across from the three, Leone was mimicking Kali’s every move. “That’s it. You’re doing well dear.” Kali performed a high kick into the air.

Leone copied the attack and was enjoying this. However, what she loved more was the surprise she’ll be able to show off to Akame and the others once they’re reunited once again. _“Akame, when we see each other again, I’ll be better than ever and then we’ll make Cinder and her cronies pay for what they did. Just you wait.”_

 


	55. New Meetings and Old Faces

**A/N: AND HELLO VOL. FOUR! Sorry for the wait everyone but you know how college is. I do have little time to work on the chapters for the time being but as you can see, it was worth it. However, expect the chapters to be at least an episode behind of the premiere of a new one shown every week since I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep this story up to pace with the actual volume but I’ll try anyway. Judging from what I’ve seen so far, again, I hope I can put in some ideas of my own into this. With all of that said and down, Kiba opening 2 as the fourth opening.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Fifty Five: New Meetings and Old Faces

The sun was rising over the mountains to start the day anew. It’s light coming in touch with the land and beyond. Amidst the beginning dawn, a single air shuttle was flying over the land and was, strangely enough, sounding a number of alarms while slowly nosediving straight to the ground. _“AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION! AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION! AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION!”_

“SHUT UP! I KNOW DAMN WELL YOU’RE HAVING A FUCKING MALFUNCTION!”

The shuttle fast approached the ground and crashed. It skidded through the ground before tearing into it until the shuttle came to a complete stop. The automated voice inside the shuttle continued to repeat itself. _"AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION! AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION! AUTOPILOT MALFUNC-"_

A smashing noise could be heard as well as a frustrated yell and the automated voice ceased. There was silence in the woods until the door was forced open and out came none other than esteemed White Fang member, Seryu Koro who appeared to be slightly injured that wasn’t from the crash and her hair was let down for some reason. She groaned as she stepped out of the shuttle while leaning on the outside with one hand. “Freaking stupid autopilot program. Whoever programmed it should burn.” She let out a sigh. “Now, where did I ended crashing to?” Seryu scanned the area as far as she could see. Seryu gasped when she saw some familiar territory just off the side of her. She was immediately filled with dread. “No. No, no, no, no, no! This is the last place I want to be right now!” Seryu gritted her teeth out of anger and her hand on the hull of the shuttle closed tightly. “DAMN IT!” Her fist left a sizable dent in the hull Seryu breathed out heavily. "Since when the hell did things go so far downhill for me?" She steadied herself and calmed down while assessing the situation Seryu was in. She had two choices. Either get away as far as she can from where she was while being injured and risking encountering some Grimm that'll probably end her or head toward the destination she can see where her inevitable doom will be.

Seryu lowered her head and closed her eyes as she made her impossible decision. "At least there, I'll find some way to deal with these injuries. The first-aid inside the shuttle did its job. If I'm heading there, I might as well change into a different set of clothes. I’ll stick out with the ones I’m wearing.” Seryu removed her fist from the hull and went back inside the shuttle. Thankfully, the shuttle had compartments where regular clothes were stored. Seryu began to remove her clothes when she took off the top part of her uniform, there were wrappings around her waist where there was a bloody spot on her left side. After a quick change, Seryu was now wearing a short-sleeved white T-shirt while wearing a long-sleeved grey windbreaker jacket and black jeans. She decided to let her hair be undone. Seryu looked at herself and sighed at her current appearance. “Normally, I wouldn’t wear such casual clothing but I can’t take any risks.” She grabbed her two kanabo weapons in their metal bar form that were haphazardly on the floor and set them in their usual place. “One more thing to do before I leave.”

Seryu exited out of the shuttle and walked to the front of the vehicle. She took out one of her metal bars and it transformed into its kanabo form. Seryu raised her weapon above her. **“Reinforce.”** Her weapon flashed for a second and yelled as she swung her kanabo at the air shuttle’s engine. A loud smashing sound appeared and Seryu continued to destroy the front of the shuttle until sparks were flying out of the engine. That told her it was time to move away. calmly walked away from the shuttle. Once she was at a far enough distance, Seryu turned around as pointed her kanabo at the shuttle and the front end opened. She fired a missile at the shuttle and once it struck the vehicle, an explosion occurred. Seryu saw the shuttle go up in flames and stared at it as the fire roared. This fire to her meant more than destroying any evidence she had been here. This fire also meant the bridge burning between her and the White Fang. _“After everything I’ve done for them, sacrificed for them, they turned on me. Or rather, they turned on the White Fang.”_ She closed her hands tightly. _“Adam, I swear you will pay for this. You will not get away with what you’re planning. My only regret is that I couldn’t warn Sienna in time.”_ Seryu turned around and retracted her kanabo back into its bar form before setting it back into place. She started to walk away and began her journey to the only place she’ll find shelter, regrettable as that place was.

_“You’ll find those who’ll stand beside you one day, Seryu.”_

Seryu had no idea why those words came into her mind but scoffed at them. “Looks like you were wrong once again, father.”

**B**

Another airship was flying over a large lake and it was carrying some very precious cargo. A former heiress, to be exact. Weiss leaning against the wall at the entrance to the cockpit while watching the pilot navigating. This trip seemed to be a longer than she anticipated. “So…how much farther?”

The pilot had to some good news share about the question. “We’re in the homestretch now. No more stops from here to Mistral. Sorry for the long trip. Keeping us off the radar’s been harder than I thought. Lots of air traffic around Northern Anima.”

Weiss didn’t mind that at but she was bothered by something else. “It’s fine. I…hope I haven’t been a burden.”

The pilot just laughed as he didn’t mind her company one bit. “You and your money are more than welcome on this ship, kid.” He and the former heiress began to hear strange radio static and that caught the pilot’s curiosity. “What the?”

Weiss saw him fiddle with the radio slider a little. “Is…everything okay?”

The pilot wasn’t sure. “I don’t know. We’re still over Lake Matsu. Shouldn’t be picking up broadcast this far from Mistral. Someone must be close.”

After adjusting the radio a little more, they were able to listen in to who was contacting them from the other line. _“Mayday, mayday! We are small passengers and our huntress is down! We aren’t equipped to deal with her!”_

Already the pilot and Weiss could tell these people were in trouble. “Oh, man.”

 _“The Grimm are four hundred klicks north of the southern shoreline! Get them off her! If anyone can hear this-”_ They heard an explosion before the transmission cut them off.

Weiss saw the pilot turn off the radio and continue to steer the ship. She walked up to him while looking a little concerned. “We’re going to help them, right?”

Unfortunately, the pilot had no plans to do so. “What? No! I’m trying to avoid them.”

Weiss was in disbelief at what she heard from him. “But…they’ll die!”

The pilot thought otherwise. "Look, if we picked up the transmission, I'm sure someone else did too. Besides, this is a cargo ship. She's not much good in a fight. I just want to finish this job and get home. Sorry kid. My ship, my rules." Weiss had no choice to accept that fact. All she could do now at the moment was hope that someone else did pick up that transmission and are on their way to help out that woman and the other passengers in need.

**B**

Ghira and Kali were standing behind the railing of the area Leone fought Kali yesterday and were smiling at what they were seeing. Kali leaned nearer to her husband. "I think this is a wonderful idea of them bonding, don't you think?"

Ghira chuckled a little at that. “I believe you’re right.”

What the Faunus married couple were discussing and witnessing before them was Yang and Blake double teaming Leone. Yang leaped toward her daughter and pulled her robotic arm back. Leone just stood in her position and grinned at her mother’s incoming attack. Sure, she could avoid the attack easily but Leone wanted to see how having a robotic arm would make a difference in Yang’s strength. Once Yang was close enough, she threw her arm forward and Leone did the same at the exact same time. Their fists collided with each other and small boom occurred that reverberated the entire area. Leone could definitely feel that Yang’s new arm added some extra “punch” in her attacking power. But, it wasn’t enough to overpower her. Leone roared as she took a step forward pushed through to send her mother away from her. However, as Yang went away, Blake charged directly at the other Faunus girl.

Blake prepped both her sword and her sheath to attack Leone. She pulled back Gambol Shroud and swung forward. Leone hopped back to avoid the attack but barely. Blake wasn’t going to give up as she swung both her sword and sheath at her daughter. It didn’t matter, however, as Leone kept backing up to avoid the attack and after Blake swung Gambol Shroud, Leone grabbed Blake’s arm with her hand and pulled the other Faunus girl toward her. At the same time, Leone spun her body around while sidestepping and thrust her palm right at Blake’s back once she was fully behind her. Blake let out a surprised yelp and landed on the ground. She quickly kneeled up on one knee and transformed Gambol Shroud in its gun form and threw her weapon at her daughter. Leone chuckled and leaned her back as the weapon bypassed her. “Ha! Where’re you aiming at!?”

Blake gave the other Faunus girl a smirk of her own and that was when Leone realized Blake was up to something. She looked over to where Yang was who caught Gambol Shroud with her left hand. As soon as the blonde did, Blake wrapped the ribbon attached to her weapon around her arm and pulled with everything she had. Yang was dragged along with Gambol’s ribbon and was heading straight forward Leone once again. Leone was going to grab the ribbon but then she saw Yang close her eyes and open them to reveal her eyes had turned red. Leone was generally surprised by this since Yang’s eyes only turned red when she was pissed off but that wasn’t the case here. Yang pulled her robotic arm once again and as soon she came in close to Leone, she completely socked her daughter right in the jaw. Another boom occurred but this one was larger and much stronger. It was at that moment Yang activated her semblance and her attack became more devastating while yelling. Yang pushed through with her attack and sent Leone flying while leaving a whoosh of wind behind. Blake saw Leone coming at her and immediately ducked. Leone kept going until she crashed through one of the walls and left a silhouette hole of her.

Yang’s eyes went back to normal and walked up to Blake looking a little worried. “Think I overdid it?”

Blake doubted that but Yang did deliver a very powerful attack. “I guess we’ll see.”

They waited for a few seconds before hearing a groan coming out of the hole. “Okay, I’m definitely going to feel that in the morning.” The Bumblebee pair and Blake’s parents saw Leone emerging from the hole and holding the side of the jaw Yang punched her at. Leone gave her jaw a few rubs before taking her hand off and moved it around a little. Sure enough, it hurt a little. "Whaddaya say we call that?!" The Belladonna family and Yang couldn’t help but smile and chuckle amongst themselves.

**B**

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kali asked as she put down a tea set. She and everyone else were in the living room sitting around the table.

Leone took her cup and blew on it to cool down. “Yeah. As damaging the attack was, I can bounce back no problem. The problem is if I take multiple hits like that, it might take me a little longer to recover.” She took a quick sip before looking over at Yang. “Have to say, you really improved since the last time we fought.”

Yang chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head with her robotic arm. “It’s been over more than six months. Of course, I would improve and I had Blake to thank for that too. Then again, you’re still tough to beat even with the two of us and you holding back.”

Leone wasn’t going to deny that. She had no problem fighting against two against one but, again, she was fighting against her parents. Still, she meant what she said. If Yang ever did more attacks like the one she did, Leone may have to be a little more serious. An idea instantly came to her. “Hey, how about next time, you, Blake, Akame and I do a tag team battle when we have the time.”

Yang had no problem with that. It would actually be a lot of fun but the fun had to come much later. "I'll drink to that but first we still have some stuff to do here. After that's done, we'll make our way to Mistral." She grabbed her teacup and blew on it before drinking her tea while her eyes were closed. However, while she was drinking her tea, Blake had a somber look on her face. Yang opened her eyes and set her teacup down. "So, what are we doing next?"

Blake sighed as she knew there was no other easy way of telling her girlfriend. “About that, Yang…” The blonde looked over at Blake. “I think…you should leave Menagerie.”

Everyone looked over at Blake while Yang just stared in disbelief at her girlfriend. “What?”

Kali already knew where this was going and took a quick sip of her tea while not minding the slight burn on her tongue. “Uh, dear? Why don’t we leave them alone for the time being?”

Ghira cleared his throat while glancing away. “I believe you’re right, Kali.”

Leone had the same idea. “Yeah…think I’ll join her both.” Both of Blake’s parents and Leone stood up and made their way out of the room. The door closed and only Blake and Yang were alone.

There was silence between the three girls until Yang finally spoke. “Blake, what do you mean I should leave?”

As much as Blake wanted to look away, she couldn’t and needed to Yang. “I don’t want you to misunderstand. You’ve done a lot for me and I’m thankful for that but don’t you think you should be thinking about yourself?”

Yang didn’t quite understand what Blake was telling her. “What do you mean?”

Blake just closed her eyes. “Don’t you want to search for your mother?”

The blonde wasn’t expecting her girlfriend to say that to her. “How did you-”

“I overheard you and your father speaking about it in the shed.” Blake replied. “You have a general idea about where she is, right?”

Yang looked away from Blake as there were signs of uncertainty present on her face. “I do but-”

“Then you should go.” Yang looked back at her girlfriend who was now smiling at her. “It’ll be okay and I’ll be fine. All of us have something to pursue. Me taking back the White Fang and you looking for your mother. I know you’re willing to sacrifice it but you won’t get another chance. So, please.”

Yang lowered her head as she took in everything Blake had told her. There was truth in what Blake said about her mother as this was the closest lead Yang had in a long time and she knew the risk in going to Menagerie with Blake. As of now, she had to make a choice. Either stay in Menagerie with Blake against what she was asking her or go in search of her mother. Family or love?  Yang felt torn apart by this decision as she closed her hands tightly out of frustration. “I’ll be okay.” The blonde raised her head to see Blake giving her a soft smile. “I won’t be alone in this. I’ll have my parents behind me and soon all of Menagerie at our side. You don’t have to worry.”

After seeing the strong resolve and determination in Blake’s eyes, Yang was the one to sigh this time and leaned back with her arms supporting her. “You think your dad has a boat I can borrow?” Blake was glad to hear those words and jumped over to Yang to give her a hug. Outside the door, Ghira, Kali, and Leone heard the whole conversation and they were all smiling.

**B**

“There we go!” Leone set down Yang’s motorcycle on the deck of the boat. A little too roughly, to be in fact.

Yang, as usual, was overprotective of her motorcycle. “Hey, careful with her!”

Leone just dusted her hands and chuckled. “Relax, I know how much this bike means to you. By the way, how did you get your bike all the way to Blake’s parent’s house if you two came here by boat?”

Yang chuckled sheepishly. “I had to move Bumblebee while it was on neutral. Can’t drive a motorcycle on crowded roads.” Leone could see that. After setting the straps on Bumblebee, the two blondes approached the walkway and walked down to see Blake and her family standing on the pier. They stopped in front of them. “Thanks again for the boat Chief. I’m really glad you were able to pull it off.”

The chief chuckled heartily at the blonde. “You’re welcome.” He looked at the boat he provided to Yang. It wasn’t as large as the one Yang and Blake came into Menagerie but that only made it agiler. The sails were also on there in case the engine broke down. “Although it was on short notice, this boat can take you where you want to head quickly. I only hope you can reach where you’re going just as fast when it docks to the other side.”

Yang had confidence in that last part. “Don’t worry. My baby is fast enough to take me anyway I want to go.”

Kali gave Yang one last warm smile before she departed. “It was nice to meet you and thank you for looking after Blake back at Beacon.”

Yang gave Blake’s mother a bright grin while rubbing the back her head with her robotic arm. “It’s no problem. Now then…” She turned to Leone. “Ready to go Leone?”

Leone and everyone else was caught off guard by Yang’s question. It took a few seconds for the Faunus blonde to process what Yang had asked her. “Wait, what?”

Yang turned to the sea beyond the boat and stared at it. “You want to go to Mistral, right? Don’t you want to regroup with Akame and the others and you don’t want to worry them anymore, right?”

Leone turned to the same direction Yang was looking at. This was the chance she was waiting for. To finally go and reunite with Akame. And yet… “If it’s alright with you, I think I’ll stay with Blake.” This time, it was Yang who was surprised by Leone’s answer. They turned to each other and Leone smiled at her mother. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to go but I still have some unfinished business to settle with the White Fang. We all have our own part to play, right? I’ll meet up with Akame and the others later. Right now, I think Blake could use the extra muscle and let’s not forgot they have it out for me.” She brought her arm up in front of her. “If it’s a fight they want…” Leone closed her hand tightly. “Then it’s a fight they’ll get.”

Yang couldn’t help but feel proud at hearing her daughter’s words. “Make sure you’ll get a few good punches for me then.”

Leone nodded at her mother and set her arm down. Then an idea came to her. “Oh yeah, if you do ever run into Akame or the others wherever you’re going, I want you to pass along a message.”

The Faunus blonde leaned in close next to Yang’s ear and whispered something to her. Yang couldn’t help but laugh as Leone pulled away. “Of course, you would say something like that.”

Leone grinned at her mother and walked over to Blake's family as she stood next to Kali. It was almost time but there was one last thing Blake wanted to do. "Yang…" Yang saw Blake walk up to her and stopped in front only to immediately pull the blonde in for a kiss with her eyes closed. Yang smiled into the kiss and happily returned it with her eyes closed as well. Kali moved at the sight that was happening before her while Leone kept grinning. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Blake pulled away but those few seconds they'll remember for a long time. "I love you."

Yang would never get tired of hearing those three words coming from Blake. "I love you too and I know we'll meet up again somewhere down the line. Until then, Blake." They did another quick kiss before Yang walked up the rampway and onto the boat. Once she did, the rampway withdrew into the boat and the engine roared up. The boat started to sail away and Yang walked up the railings while waving goodbye. Blake and everyone else waved back at her and the boat was quickly picking up speed. Yang continued to wave until Blake and the others were gone from her sight. She sighed and turned around while leaning on the railing. She was on her own now but the blonde had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the case soon. Right now, she had one goal in mind and looked up at the sky. _“You’re going to be in so much trouble when I find you.”_

As the boat sailed away, Blake was already beginning to miss Yang. With Yang gone to do her own business, Blake was determined to see through the end with hers. “So, what’s next on the list?” Leone asked.

Blake narrowed her eyes as they had a determined look in them. “We go after Corsic and Fennick and take them to court on what we found on the scroll.” Court. It was a word Leone would laugh all the time back in the Capital since it was basically useless. But this wasn’t the Capital and who knows, maybe it’ll actually work for once.

**B**

Later that night, all was quiet in the Belladonna household until Ghira angrily slammed the doors open. “Unbelievable!”

Leone was right behind just as angry. “This is total bullshit!”

They turned toward each other. “We can’t let them get away with this/They can’t get away with this!”

Kali, who was just standing in front of the doors, had her hands folded. “Glad to see you two bonding as well.” The two Faunus took a second look at each other.

“Guys…” All of them saw Blake approach the house while still having a determined look in her eyes. everything’s going to be okay.”

Leone quietly scoffed at that and looked away. _“I should’ve known better the court wasn’t going to work. If I had my way, those two wouldn’t even be breathing right now but as long as I’m here, I have to play by their rules.”_ Everyone needed some time to themselves and scattered into the house.

“Good evening miss. Can I get you anything?”

Blake just had a simple request. “Just a…little time to myself, if that’s alright.”

Guard nodded at the other Faunus. “Sure thing. Just call if you need me.” She promptly left and closed the door. Blake was now alone with some thoughts about what happened earlier.

“You need better security.” Blake recognized the voice and turned to see none other than Ilia land on the railing. Blake was about to reach for the door before Ilia held her hand out. “Please! I just need to talk.”

Blake decided to grant Ilia’s request. Before she was about to say something, she saw Ilia being tackled the ground by Leone and forcefully held her down with one arm while her hand was covering the other Faunus girl’s mouth. Ilia tried to struggle but it was in vain. “Hi, remember me? The girl who you stabbed with your freaky whip sword the other night? Don’t think I’m going to forgive for that little stunt and the one you pulled earlier today. And by the way, I’m the better security. I could sense your aura coming here a lot farther than you think.”

“Leone!” The Faunus blonde looked up at Blake who had a serious look on her face. “Please, let her go. I want to hear what she has to say.”

As much as Leone didn’t want to, she had to in wish of her father. “You’re lucky she’s here or I would’ve twisted your head around like that one guy wearing the hockey mask did in the movies.” She removed herself from Ilia and stepped back. Ilia was more than happy that she was off of her and stood up.

Blake wanted some answers out of her former friend. “How could you take the fall for them, Ilia?”

“Blake…”

Blake didn’t give her a chance to fully respond. “Corsic and Fennick blamed you. We confronted them tonight, and they deny knowing anything and everything we found on your scroll. They…talked about how…disappointed they were to hear that you’ve sided with Adam. But you, Leone, and I know they’re guilty.”

Ilia remained silent for a few seconds. “You can’t prove anything.”

Blake doubted about that as she still had one more plan. “That scroll might not have been enough to lock them up, but it’s enough to sway the Faunus here. When we go public tomorrow, they’re not going to stand for any of it. And neither should you.”

Ilia sighed as she slowly took off her mask and revealed her face to the two Faunus girls. “Your plan isn’t going to work, Blake. Please…just leave Menagerie before it’s too late and take her too.” She looked over at Leone.

Blake just narrowed her eyes at Ilia. “You’re going to have to make us.”

Ilia’s eyes softened as she expected Blake to say that. “I know.” She put her mask on and turned around.

Leone growled at her before Blake stopped her. “Let her go, Leone.” The Faunus blonde still bared her fangs at Ilia before she jumped on the railing and then off.

 Leone really didn’t like how all of this went down. “Damn her. Whose side is she on anyway?”

That was a question Blake wanted to know as well and walked up to Leone. “We have more important things to focus on right now. Just let it go.”

Leone huffed and crossed her arms under her breasts. “Fine but it won’t be easy. I just hope this plan really does work tomorrow.”

Blake sighed as the two Faunus girls looked up at the night sky. “So do I.”

**B**

In a dimly lit tunnel, multiple footsteps echoed throughout and bounced off the walls. “The city of Mistrial.”

“Ugh, It’s about time!”

After having some time recovering from their recent encounter with the Nuckelavee Grimm and Akame’s death match with Wave, Qrow, Team RNJR, Night Raid, and  Wave himself were making their way to one of the entrances to Mistral. The walk was a little longer than Jaune thought it would be. “Whose idea was it to walk again?”

Ren thought this was easy compared to what they had to deal with along the way of reaching Mistral. “Well, we did face many obstacles. Broken airships, destroyed settlements…”

Jaune remembered more…certain details. “All, like, you know…all those people and monsters that tried to murder us!”

Cornelia had something extra to add to that. “And let’s not forgot a certain someone had it out for Akame and almost killed her if it weren’t for Kurome.”

Wave sighed at that. “How long are you going have that hang over my head?”

“It’s fine.” Akame interjected. “What’s happened in the past stays in the past. It’s better to put our focus on what’s ahead of us.”

Qrow liked the sound of that. “A good way of putting it.”

Jaune wondered when they'll arrive at their destination. “So how much father to Haven Academy?”

Qrow quickly glanced back at the group. “Almost there. Tried to figure I’d take you kids on the scenic route.”

So far, Chelsea wasn’t impressed. “I really hope this isn’t the scenic route you’re talking about.”

The group reached the end of the tunnel and Qrow pushed a pair of doors wide open only for them to be briefly blinded by bright light. When the light faded, Ruby was the first to exit out of the tunnel and ran up to a railing. She and everyone else saw one of the most incredible views they ever saw. What they saw was the city of Mistral. “Whoaaaa! This…is…AWESOME!!”

Esdeath shared the young leader’s excitement. “It’s…so beautiful.”

Kurome had to agree. “Yeah, it’s like the opposite compared to what we had to look back at Shade.”

Qrow expected these kinds of comments coming from them. “It’s certainly something.”

Ruby could see all kinds of things happening below them and was gushing about one particular topic. “Oh, my gosh look at all the weapons!”

Her uncle thought to explain about Mistral a little more. “Vendors here will sell you just about anything. Whether they should or not.”

Jaune was impressed with the layout of the city. “They really made most out of these mountains.”

Qrow fully agreed to that but he still had to give one warning. “Every inch. And stay away from the lower levels but the higher up you go, the nicer it gets.”

“And we’re going up!” Everyone turned to Nora who was pointing all the way to the top.

**B**

With a little more walking, the group arrived at Haven Academy and Kurome was already making comparisons between it and Shade. They walked to the center courtyard and Ruby stopped momentarily to wipe her eye as she was finally within her goal. Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder and the young leader sighed. “We made it." They continued walking but something wasn't quite right to Qrow and Akame and the others could see that as well. They entered the main building of the academy and yet, strangely enough, they haven’t seen a single person. Ruby decided to call them out. “Hello? Hellooo?!”

Nora thought she wasn’t trying hard enough. “Maybe try…louder?”

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone here.” Ren stated.

Rienna thought the same. “Yeah…where is everyone?”

“Not here, that’s for sure.” Chelsea spoke. “Otherwise, we already would’ve sensed someone else’s aura in the vicinity by now.”

“Well…I guess school isn’t really in session right now. Maybe that’s it.” That was Jaune's best guess as for why no one was here. 

To Wave, that seemed to be the most plausible answer but still had doubts. “Is it normal for schools to be out at this time?”

Qrow didn’t think that was the case at all. “No, this isn’t right. Come on!”

Ruby and the others quickly followed him. “Wait for us!”

They reached the doors where the headmaster’s office was and stopped before it. Takeo narrowed her eyes. “There’s someone on the other side of the door.”

Qrow drew out his weapon. “Get ready! It could be trouble.” Everyone else followed his lead and became prepared for whoever was on the other side. Qrow raised his leg and busted the door open…only to frighteningly surprise an older man from the other side. The group was equally surprised and Qrow lost his balance and fell down as did the older man in front of them.  

Ruby took her best guess at the person laying in front of them. “Uh…Profess Lionheart?”

Qrow groaned as he sat up as did Lionheart. The headmaster didn’t take kindly to the huntsman’s antics. “Qrow! For crying out loud! Nearly scared me half to death!”

Qrow could say the same as he stood up. “Me? Why weren’t you waiting for us at the entrance?”

Lionheart had a confused look on his face and fished out his pocket watch to check the time. “Huh? Oh, right. Apologies. I guess…time slipped away from me.” He put his watch away and began to stand up.

Qrow really couldn’t believe what he heard from Lionheart. “You’re joking.”

With the headmaster in front of them, Nora decided to ask the question everyone was asking and wondering about earlier as they put away their weapons. “Where is everyone?”

Lionheart didn’t seem to catch the question as he was surprised to see RNJR and Night Raid behind Qrow. “Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned.”

Ruby nodded and did a salute similar to what Penny would do. “Yes, sir! Ruby Rose.”

Everyone else decided to introduce themselves as well. “Jaune Arc.”

“Nora Valkyrie”

“Lie Ren.”

“Rienna Ember”

“Taeko Oarburgh”

“Cornelia King”

“Chelsea Gaia”

“Esdeath Partas”

“I’m-”

“Akame Night. Yes, I recognize you from seeing your match against Kurome Chariot next to you in the Vytal Festival. You two made quite the impression.” At least Kurome didn’t have to introduce herself. Lionheart to Wave and to him, he didn’t seem like a student. And you…are…” He looked between Wave and Kurome and saw how similar they dressed. “Miss Chariot’s elder sibling?” He guessed.

His guess made Nora and some of the other members of the group giggle a little while Kurome just groaned and rolled her eyes. _“Seriously?”_

Wave laughed awkwardly and thought to clear up the misunderstanding. “No, sir. My name is Wave and I’m…an acquaintance with Akame and her team.”

Lionheart nodded at them and smiled at the group. “Pleasure to meet you all. Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. I’m afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but-”

“What?!” Qrow knew what he heard wasn’t good. “Leo, you can’t be serious. Who’s guarding the relic?”

Lionheart was surprised Qrow would blatantly say something so secretive in front of a third party. “Qrow, the children-”

“Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?”

Lionheart really didn’t expect Qrow to tell them everything about the relics. “You…filled them in?!” He looked to be a little worried.

Nora could already tell where this was going and leaned in towards Ruby. “Soooo…is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?”

Chelsea scoffed at that. “To be honest, I was kinda expecting this.” Everyone entered Lionheart’s office.

Nora and Ren sat on the couch while everyone else decided to stand around. Lionheart sat down in his seat behind his desk. He had his hands folded and tried to make sense of Qrow’s decision of telling a third party about one of their most private secrets. “I have to say, Qrow…this all seems very reckless. Even for you.”

Qrow saw that as the pot calling the kettle black. “No. Reckless is leaving one of the relics completely unguarded. It’s not checking in with Oz for ages.”

Lionheart had a reason for doing so about that and it was a very good one. “There was nothing to check in about, before the Fall of Beacon. But since that day, Mistral has been in chaos.” He stood up from his chair and put his hands behind his back. “Vale wasn’t the only kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house, in every kingdom, saw…that girl’s arm torn apart from her, saw monsters crawling over the city. Atlesian Knights attacking citizens. And then, nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us.” Lionheart turned around and walked up to one of the windows in his office. “Mistral’s controlled territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know and that makes it infinitely harder to protect.” He stopped in front of the window and had a melancholic look on his face. “We lost so many great huntsmen. Teachers from this very institution and it’s only gotten worse.”

Ruby was almost afraid to ask but she had to anyway. “W-What do you mean by that?”

Lionheart placed his hands on the edges of the window sill. "We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council is still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo and now it’s the closing of borders.” He turned around to face the party. “I’m not sure what happened to James in Vale but it seems to have only worsened some of his more…unfortunate tendencies.” He gave out a quick tired sigh. “And on top of everything, we still don’t know where the Spring Maiden is.”

As if that wasn’t obvious enough already for Qrow. “All the more reason we need the huntsmen and huntresses here!”

“Okay, okay!” Ruby walked up to both Lionheart and her uncle to try to calm things down. “Things are bad. They’re bad. But we can figure this out. Why is this Spring Maiden so important?”

Hearing that question quite surprised Lionheart and turned to Qrow. “I thought you filled them in.”

Qrow was getting to that as he reached for his flask in his shirt. “Mostly filled in. There’s a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason.” He started to take a drink from his flask.

Lionheart sat back down on his chair and thought to fully explain about the maidens. “The Four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic and they’re the only ones capable of reaching the Relics.”

Even with that explanation, Jaune was still a little confused. “What?”

Qrow thought to explain that in deeper detail as he briefly stopped drinking. “The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be open by a specific Maiden. Winter is the gift of creation, Summer for destruction, Fall for choice, and Spring of knowledge.”  He took another quick drink. “Spring is the problem.”

Ren decided to ask the important question about the topic. “What happened to her?”

Lionheart and Qrow glanced over at him while Qrow put his flask away. “She was determined at first. When she inherited her powers. But the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She…ran. Abandoned her training. Everyone. That was over a decade ago. There’s no telling where she could be now.”

This time, Esdeath had a question of her own about the Spring Maiden. "If you don't mind me asking, when do the Maidens have their power awakened?"

It was an odd question to ask but Lionheart didn’t see the harm in answering her. “As far as we know, a Maiden’s power awakens at a young age. When that happens, it’s up to us to teach them how to control their powers.”

The answer seemed to be more than enough for her. “I see. Thank you.” Esdeath clenched her hand tightly and it didn’t go unnoticed by Akame.

Wave decided to speak out her own thoughts about the Spring Maiden. “From the sound of it, this Spring Maiden could be anywhere and we have no idea where she is.”

“I know.” Qrow announced. “At least…I have a pretty good idea.”

Lionheart and everyone else was surprised to hear that. Especially Lionheart as he stood up. “Are you serious?”

Qrow didn’t share the professor’s excitement. “It’s not exactly good news.”

Lionheart saw that differently as he walked toward the huntsmen. “What are you talking about?” He grabbed Qrow’s shoulders and shook him a little. “This is incredible news! After all these years! Where?”

Qrow lightly shoved the professor away and turned away from him. “I did some digging around. Looks like after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits. Specifically, the Branwen Tribe.”

Unfortunately, Lionheart knew what that meant. “Raven.”

Everyone except Wave and the former members of Team KRCT was shocked to hear that. Jaune was the only one who spoke. “Yang’s mom?”

Qrow glanced over at him before looking away. “That’s right.” The huntsmen walked toward the desk and brought out his scroll. A hologram map appeared above from the scroll and Wave was actually mystified in seeing such a thing. Lionheart stood next to Qrow as they both looked at the map together. “That’s about where they’ve set up their camp. It’s where they fall back to after raids and scouting mission. Raven’s managed to gain a lot of followers and she returned to the tribe. And I’m sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier.”

Lionheart was impressed with the work Qrow had done. “Well, Qrow, I’ve got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks.”

Already, Qrow didn’t like what the professor said. “A few weeks?”

Lionheart pressed several of the hologram buttons and the map disappeared. “That’s right.” He walked around his desk and headed for his chair.

Qrow could tell what his old friend had said before was already problematic. “Leo, maybe you didn’t hear me. My sister has the Spring Maiden and I know where she is.” The huntsmen placed both his hands on the desk as Lionheart took his seat. “We need to go as soon as possible!” He pushed away some books off of the desk.

Lionheart narrowed his eyes at Qrow. “And perhaps you didn’t hear me! This kingdom is in shambles. As soon as possible does not mean tomorrow. It means as soon as I can convince the rest of the council that I need huntsmen more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren’t very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon!”

Qrow really didn't have time for drawn-out decisions nor the patience “Then damn the council, we’ll do it ourselves! You and I are trained huntsmen and these kids aren’t exactly pushovers. And Wave over there is a hell of a fighter.”

Nora stood up from the couch while Ruby brought her arm up with her hand closed. “Yeah!”

Ren also stood up but wondered if there was another solution. “Perhaps there’s a more peaceful way to approach this?”

Qrow knew the severity of their situation and urged Lionheart. “We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible. Raven isn’t going to give up her most prized possession without a fight.”

As much as Lionheart wanted to help, there was little he could do in terms of help. “Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched and I’m not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students, your new ally, and I…can’t take on an entire bandit tribe and a Maiden that’s no doubt had years to hone her skills. We need to be positive, we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail, Raven and her tribe will scatter and we’ll be lost.” He raised up one finger at Qrow. “We get one shot at this, and it needs to be perfect.”

Qrow could only stare at the professor and sighed at the predicament he was in. “You know Oz wouldn’t be happy with any of this if he were here.”

Lionheart knew that better than anyone in the room. “Perhaps you’re right but he’s not. I’m doing the very best I can.”

Ruby hoped there was another way go around this. “There’s has to be something we can do.”

Jaune had his own idea and for a rare while, it was a good one. “What about Cinder? She came with Emerald and Mercury from Haven. Do you have anything on them?”

Lionheart looked over at him with an apologetic look on his face. “We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries.” That wasn’t the answer Jaune was looking for and clenched his hands out of frustration.

Qrow felt like they all overstayed their welcome. “Well, I can’t say this has been a warm reunion, Leo.”

Lionheart shared the mutual feeling. “I’m sorry. I know all of you have traveled a long way but I will do everything I can to help.”

Qrow hoped so or else everything they worked for would’ve been for naught. “Sure. We’ll stay in the city for the time being.” He pulled out his scroll briefly to Lionheart. “Local comms are still up. Keep in touch.” He put it away and turned around to walk to the doors. “Come on kids. You too, Wave.” With their meeting done, everyone followed him.

Ruby stopped momentarily and turned to Lionheart. “It was nice meeting you, professor.”

Lionheart only waved at the young leader. “Likewise” With that said, Ruby was the last to leave and closed the door.

The professor placed a hand on his forehead and lowered his head. Then, a small “W” hologram appeared out from his desk and he looked at it. _“Oh, Leo. We have to work on your improvisational skills.”_

Everyone in the group was making their way out of the school and most of them didn't have much of good feeling of how their meeting with Lionheart went. "Well…" Chelsea spoke. "That could've gone better." She summed up how everyone felt at the moment.

“So, what do we do now?” Nora asked.

Qrow stopped and turned around to face the group and pointed his finger at them. “All of you head to the house. I’m going to get a drink.” As if that wasn’t obvious to some of the members and they saw him walk away. As he did, everyone looked at each other and wondered what to do next.

**B**

In one of the higher streets of Mistral, the people were passing each other by and mind their own business while conducting some. In the middle of one of the busy streets were Akame and the rest of Night Raid standing around in front of a wall while Wave was talking to one of the merchants. Cornelia wasn't sure they were allowed to do this. “You sure it’s alright for us to be sightseeing at a time like this?”

Kurome put her hands behind her head nonchalantly. “We got nothing else better to do except if you want to lie around doing nothing like the others. Besides, we’re just killing time before we can figure out our next move.”

The other members had to agree with what Kurome pointed out. Right now, they had no direction of what to do next. They couldn’t do what they wanted like before or else they would face some consequences for their actions. Meanwhile, Esdeath was looking at the palm of her hand while being in thought about something. _“The Winter Maiden signifying creation. Their powers awaken at a young age…”_

“Is everything alright, Esdeath?”

Esdeath snapped out of her train of thought and turned to Rienna. She just giggled awkwardly at the blonde. "I'm fine. I was just thinking is all.”

Rienna was going to ask what Esdeath was thinking about until the group heard Wave calling out to them. “Hey, I’m back!” The group saw Wave carrying several small serving trays with various food items on it as approached the group with a smile. “Okay, I have everyone’s order. Go ahead and enjoy them.”

Each of the girls happily took their order of food away from the soldier. However, Rienna noticed Wave was carrying an extra tray with one he was holding for himself. “Why do you have another one?”

Wave chuckled nervously as he had an uncomfortable look in his eye. “Oh, um…the vendor gave me one extra to give to Kurome.”

Chelsea narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. “And why’s that?”

Wave glanced away slightly from the group. “He…thinks Kurome is my younger sister since we kinda dressed the same.”

Everyone became quite when they heard that. Almost everyone as Rienna, Cornelia, and Esdeath were trying to hold back some giggling. Kurome just became annoyed as soon as she heard that detail. “Okay, that’s it.” She promptly grabbed the second tray from Wave and started to walk away from the group.

Esdeath didn’t understand why Kurome was leaving them so suddenly. “Where are you going?”

Kurome continued to walk while not looking back. “To find the nearest clothing store!”

The answer was obvious enough to the group that Kurome was going shopping to change outfits. Chelsea left the group as well to catch up with her girlfriend. She looked back at her team briefly. “I’ll go ahead with Kurome. Someone has to pick out an outfit for her! Catch ya later back at the house!” She looked in front once again and both girls disappeared into the crowd. With two of their members gone now, there was only one thing they could do now. “Let’s keep moving.” Akame suggested. Everyone else nodded in agreement and walked in the streets. All of them took the time to observe their surroundings and admire the sights of Mistral since this wasn’t a place they would often visit while enjoying their food. Cornelia and Rienna were enjoying what Mistral had to offer while Esdeath resumed her thinking. Taeko and Akame were making a mental map of the surrounding areas. While scanning the area, Akame was also making note of the people in the crowds hoping of running into Leone if she was Mistral already.

They arrived a street crossroads and there were many people walking around. Akame looked ahead immediately stopped and gasped at who she saw. In amongst the crowds, she saw a woman was walking past her. A woman with long black hair, a birthmark under her left eye, and her outfit was a free-flowing lilane dress with a black and white plaid belt wrapped around her waist. She was also carrying a closed purple umbrella on her shoulder. Akame’s breathing deepened and her heart raced madly out of fear. She saw the woman stop and turned to her direction. As their eyes met, everything else went silent and the people walking about became still. Akame then saw the woman give her a playful smile and her eyes widened. “Akame?” Akame broke out of her trance and blinked. Everything was back in motion and turned to Cornelia who seemed worried. “Are you alright? You just stood still.” The blonde looked at the direction her leader was looking at but could only see the people walking. “What were you looking at?”

Akame looked as well and that woman she saw was gone. She sighed and tried to steady her heartbeat. “It was nothing.”

“I doubt that.” The two girls turned around to see Esdeath and the others. “I’ve seen you act like this before. Back at the Vytal Festival when you and Leone first saw Kurome’s team. You saw someone you recognized, didn’t you?”

Akame looked back at the crosswords and truly wondered that. “Maybe or maybe it was someone who I thought I saw.” She truly wanted to believe her own words. _“It couldn’t have been her. There’s no way but then again, I’ve been proven wrong before.”_ She had to put what she saw in the back of her head and focus on what was at hand. “Let’s keep going.” She quickly moved ahead of the group and the rest of them followed.

While walking, Wave decided to ask a question about what he heard in the meeting with Lionheart earlier. “So…who’s this Raven person and who’s Yang?”

Cornelia didn’t expect him to ask a question like that. “Really? Didn’t you travel with Ruby’s group?”

While that was true, Wave didn’t know everything about Ruby and the others. “Only for a short time until I ran into all of you back at that village.”

Akame thought to answer his question. “Yang is Ruby’s older sister and Raven is Yang’s mother who left her at a young age.”

That certainly cleared things up a little for Wave. “Really? She’s their mom and left both of them?”

It wasn’t that quite simple to him. “Raven isn’t Ruby’s real mother but she is Yang’s.”

Now Wave just seemed more confused. “Wait, so if this Raven isn’t Ruby’s real mom and is her sister’s…then who’s Ruby’s mom and are they sisters…” He groaned as this was hurting his head just a little.

This time, Esdeath would be the one to explain since it did involve Ruby. “Ruby and Yang had different mothers but the same father. Raven is Yang’s real mother while Summer is Ruby’s real mother. Like Akame said, Raven left Yang and her father when Yang was young and Ruby’s mom…” She braced herself for what she was about to say next. “Ruby’s mother passed away when she was young too.”

Now Wave felt a little sorry for Ruby. He couldn’t imagine what she had to go through in losing her mother. “Poor kid.” He moved on to his next question. “Hey, since Qrow is Ruby’s uncle and this Raven is Yang’s mother, I’m guessing they’re related?”

For once, he wasn’t too far off with that. “From what Leone told me, Qrow and Raven are actually twins.”

Wave didn’t expect to know that about the huntsmen. “Seriously? Wow.” And he just realized something about them. “Now that I think about it, Raven and Qrow. I just got that. Anyway, judging from what I heard about her earlier, it sounds like this Raven woman is strong and respected. I do have to disagree with what that Lionheart professor said before. About how we can’t take on a bandit tribe. I’m sure I can handle them and so can Akame.”

While Wave was right about that, he was also wrong. “This is different than the bandits we had to fight back at the Capital. These bandits have the Spring Maiden so that counts as a wild factor.” Akame pointed out. “It’s as Professor Lionheart said: we only get one chance and we better make it count.” Wave had to admit she was right. This was much more than dealing with a simple band of bandits. “Until then, we’re on standby.” That was another point Wave had to admit.

Speaking of enemies, Taeko was wondering about something else. Specifically, about Wave. “That reminds me…” She glanced over at Wave and he caught it. “Why are you walking with us?”

Rienna never questioned about that until now. “Hey, yeah. Don’t you think people will find it weird one guy is walking along with a bunch of teenage girls?”

Wave chuckled awkwardly as he knew this question was bound to come up sooner or later. “Oh, that? Well…I figured I would use this chance to get to know some you girls more. I mean, there’s already Akame, Kurome, Rienna, and Esdeath but the rest of you…” He didn’t know much about Cornelia, Taeko, and Chelsea.

Cornelia didn’t seem to mind, though. “I think that’s kinda good of you and I think you’ll make a better ally than enemy. It’s like my papa always says: the worst of enemies can sometimes become the best of allies.” She looked back at Esdeath. “Don’t you think so, Esdeath?”

Esdeath could already tell what Cornelia was implying. “Yeah, I know.”

Wave also caught on to what Cornelia was talking about as he looked over at Esdeath. It was still a little surreal to him that Esdeath and Akame would be working to together and on the same thing. _“I wonder what else dos her father has said. In fact, who’s her father at all?”_ While looking away, Wave unintentionally bumped into someone and heard a girl yelp. Everyone else stopped and saw what happened. Wave looked down at the girl he accidentally bumped into who had a hood covering her head. “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking.” He offered his hand to her.

However, the girl just slapped his hand away and Wave could’ve sworn he felt that her hand was metallic. “Watch where the hell you’re going you dumbass!”

Wave gasped as heard her voice. It was a voice he easily recognized and thought wouldn’t hear again. He saw the girl raise her head and glared at him. As Wave saw her face, there was no doubt who it was in front of him. “Seryu?”

**A/N: Holy god this was a long intro chapter to the new Volume. Oh yeah, I also made a slight change to chapter forty so things would make a little more sense in the story. With that said, Rosario Vampire ending 2 as fourth ending.**

 

 


	56. Enemy turned Ally?

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Fifty Six: Enemy turned Ally?

_“So, this is Mistral.”_ Seryu was walking amongst the crowds in the streets of Mistral. She was just walking aimlessly while looking around while her hood was up and her hands in her pockets. This was her first time being in Mistral and had to admit, it was quite nice. _“We were going to invade this place? I can see why. With these raised cliffs, trapping the civilians with Grimm would be child’s play. Chaos would quickly spread and that would make this city collapse.”_ She then felt a slight pain coming from the injury on her side and brought her hand to soothe it. Seryu briefly turned her attention to her injury. _“I have to get this bandage replaced soon.”_ While paying attention to her wound, Seryu bumped into some and yelped. She fell to the ground and groaned.

“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking.”

_“Oh, you’re going to be sorry.”_ She saw a hand extended to her and gritted her teeth annoyance and slapped the hand away. “Watch where the hell you’re going you dumbass!” Seryu raised her head and glared at the person who bumped into her. Even more so since the person who did was a human.

“Seryu?” Her expression changed from annoyance to surprise when she heard this human speak out her name. A human she has never met before and yet knew her name. Before Seryu knew it, she turned around and quickly stood up as she ran away from the human. “Seryu, wait!” Wave took a step forward and reached his arm out toward the Faunus girl but ran before he could talk to her. Having one of his former comrades again, Wave needed some answers and began to chase after Seryu while he still had a view of her in front of him.

Cornelia and the others weren't quite sure what had happened before them. "So…does anyone have an idea of what just happened?" She turned to Akame. "What do you think Akame?" The blonde didn't hear leader and she and the others noticed Akame wasn’t with them. “Where’d she go?”

While Wave was chasing Seryu through the streets, Akame was taking an easier path via jumping on top of one stall to the next. When she heard Wave say that name, a myriad of emotions surged within her but one she felt the most was anger. _“Seryu Ubiquitous.”_

Back in the streets, Seryu shoved civilian after civilian which they weren't too happy about while trying to increase the distance between her and Wave. She was still trying to wrap around of how a human she had never met knew her name. _“How?! How did a human know my name and recognize me? I have to get away from him as far as possible or else I might be discovered by someone else.”_

“Seryu, wait!” Seryu glanced back and saw that Wave still pursuing her and to her disliking, he seemed to be catching up. She looked forward again and started to shove every civilian she passed by behind her. Wave saw the civilians and sidestepped to avoid them while apologizing to them. He wasn’t going to let that stop him, much to Seryu’s dismay.

She looked back once again and Wave was still chasing after her. The Faunus girl growled and looked in front again. She noticed the cliff walls and an idea came to her. Seryu made a hard-right turn to the cliffs. She approached the cliffs and started to jump on the ledges one after the other just as Wave arrived. Seryu was already halfway up to the next level and looked down. To her surprise, Wave was doing the same thing. Even better since he’s jumping two at a time. Seryu could hardly believe it. _“Who the hell is this human?!”_ She looked up and hurried to the next level as fast as she could. After jumping off one more ledge, Seryu landed onto the next level which seemed a circular area of medium size with a single tree in the center with a bench in front. She was about to move again when a shadow overcast her and saw Wave land in front of her with his back turned.

Wave turned around and faced Seryu for the second time. They stared each other down without saying a word to each other. The Faunus just growled and removed her hood that revealed her dog ears since what was the point if her pursuer knew her. To Wave, he was surprised about one detail about Seryu and that’s what he saw on top of her head. _“She has dog ears?”_ That meant to him Seryu was a Faunus. At this point, it would be useless to run away since the human before her would keep chasing after her so that only left her one option left. She grabbed her metal bars and pulled them out as they transformed into their kanabo form. As soon as he saw them, Wave put his right hand up to her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! I just want to talk to you! Not to fight you!”

Unfortunately for him, Wave had no choice. “Too bad because you’re going have to unless you want to die!” She jumped over toward Wave. Wave quickly drew out Grand Chariot and raised it with his other hand behind his weapon to block Seryu’s first attack. He felt how strong the attack was through the block and noticed Seryu swinging her other weapon from the side. He quickly pushed the first kanabo off his cutlass and jumped back to avoid the second attack.

Wave was very against fighting someone who was a former comrade of his. “I don’t want to fight you, Seryu!”

Seryu growled at him and became angrier every time he said her name. "Stop saying my name, you damn human!" She came after him again and swung her kanabo in her right hand overhead. Wave jumped to the side to dodge the attack and Seryu’s kanabo struck the ground instead. However, that didn’t stop the Faunus girl as she let go of her weapon and rushed over toward Wave with her second one ready. Wave couldn’t dodge this attack as Seryu pulled her weapon in and swung outward at Wave. Her attack managed to hit the soldier in the torso and he grunted in pain. He slid backward away from Seryu while clutching the bottom of his chest. Upon seeing this, she was surprised. “You’re fighting without aura protecting you? You must be the dumbest human I’ve met.”

Despite the pain he was feeling, Wave laughed at what Seryu said to him. “To be fair, I’ve been called worse. And I’ve taken worse hits” He did what she said was strange. _“How can aura protect?”_ Wave disregarded that thought and removed his hand from his chest and pointed his weapon at Seryu. “Don’t make do this, Seryu.”

Seryu narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, please. What can you do? I already fought against that traitor lion Faunus.” She grinned wickedly at Wave. “Compared to you, you’re nothing!” Sure enough, it was Seryu who would smile like that. He really didn’t want to harm her out of respect but it reached the point where he had no choice. Wave still wasn’t going to activate Grand Chariot, though since it would cause an alarm to anyone nearby. Wave was about to come at Seryu but then he sensed someone approaching fast and to Seryu, she something very dangerous approaching them. They both turned to the same direction where they sensed their new arrival approaching. They saw the figure jump over from the cliff and landed in front of them. Wave knew it would only be a matter of time before Akame arrived. Seryu also recognized her and didn’t expect to see her again. _“She’s the human girl that traitor hangs around with.”_ She soon figured out that the danger she sensed from before was coming from Akame.

Upon her landing, Akame had her head lowered upon her landing while on one knee. She didn’t say a word for a few seconds before she finally spoke. “Seryu…Ubiquitous…”

Seryu quietly gasped when she heard her name spoken by Akame. Now, this really didn't make any sense to her. _“She knows my name too? But how? We never even met when I was tailing her and her group.”_

Akame stood up but still kept her head lowered. She reached for the handle of Murasame which to Wave meant bad news to him. “Akame, no-”

“You were the one who killed Sheele.” Wave’s words fell on deaf ears. “You took her away from us.”

Seryu became confused by Akame’s words. _“Who the hell is Sheele?”_

Wave was wondering the same thing. _“Sheele? Was she a teammate of Akame’s before?”_

Akame continued to speak her mind. “For what you’ve done…” She raised her head and both Wave and Seryu saw that Akame’s eyes were black and red. “I will end you just as Mine did before.” Akame drew out Murasame.

As soon as Seryu looked into Akame’s eyes, she felt an incredible sense of dread and fear coursing through her body. Her Faunus senses were kicked into overdrive and told her to immediately flee but her body was paralyzed with fear. Her breathing became more erratic the longer she stared into Akame’s demon eyes and in those eyes, she momentary saw would happen to her in the future. Akame severing her head. This was without a doubt, the most terrified she had ever felt. _“This human…no, she is more of a monster than that traitor. She’s…She’s…”_ Seryu then saw a demonic-looking grim reaper appear behind Akame. Seryu wanted to scream but nothing came out of her mouth. Just a feeble attempt to get any kind of sound out. The fear proved to be too much for Seryu and blacked out as she just dropped to the ground.

“Seryu!” Wave instantly went over to her to see if she was okay. He kneeled next to her and pressed two fingers on her neck. Wave was relieved she was still alive as she just passed out. However, that was short lived when he turned to Akame with her eyes unchanged. The soldier stood up and went in-between the two girls. “Stop this now, Akame! You don’t need to do this!” Akame didn’t listen and took a step forward. Wave narrowed his eyes at her. “Look, I know you’re mad but I won’t let you kill her. I may be new to this different world thing but I’m telling you can’t kill the Seryu in this world for what the one I know did back in the Capital. If you do that, then you’ll be no different than the people you killed. Do you understand that!?”

It seemed what Wave’s words reached her as Akame stopped. She just glared at Wave for a few seconds before closing her eyes and opening them again as they returned to normal. “Fine.” She sheathed Murasame walked up to the unconscious Faunus. She stood above her and looked down. “Did she say anything to you before I arrived?”

Wave also looked down at Seryu. “A few things. Like how I wasn’t using aura to protect myself and how she fought against a traitor lion Faunus.” He looked over at Akame. “I wonder what she meant by tha-” His eyes widened in shock as Akame’s returned to their red and black color. They seemed more intense than before and that very much worried Wave. “Akame, what-”

“We’re bringing her with us.” She turned away from Seryu. “Pick her up and let’s bring her back to the house.” Akame began to walk away.

Just when Wave thought he resolved this situation, it came back flaring up again. At least she didn’t kill Seryu on the spot but that didn’t make him feel any better. “Can you explain why?”

Akame continued to walk as her eyes returned to normal but still retained their serious gaze. “She has the answers to my questions.”

**B**

At the house, the members of RNJR (except for Ruby since she was in her room reading comics) and Night Raid were in the living room. Nora, Jaune, and Ren were sitting on one of the couches while Taeko, Cornelia, Rienna were sitting in the other one. Esdeath, Chelsea, and Kurome were the only ones standing and for a good reason. At least for Kurome. “So, what do you think?” She gave a small twirl to show off the new outfit she bought at the clothing store. Kurome was wearing a black mid-thigh short skirt kimono with red outlines on the edges and the skirt. The skirt was also ruffled and a red obi wrapped around her waist. She also wore black fingerless gloves and stockings of the same color. The only thing that didn't change was the shoes since Kurome couldn't see herself fighting in sandals.

Chelsea obviously loved her girlfriend’s new look. “I definitely like it. You look so adorable. Adorable and deadly.”

Jaune didn’t know about that last part but he did agree with the first one. “Yeah, you look…good.”

And Chelsea threw a nasty glare at him which very unnerved him. “You’re lucky I’m allowing you to say that.” Jaune giggled sheepishly.

Nora grinned at Kurome’s new look. “Now when someone sees you with us, people will think you’re Akame’s sister.” She giggled at the joke where people mistook Kurome as Wave’s sister since they dressed so similarly.

Speaking of Akame, Cornelia took out her scroll and checked the message Akame sent her and the other members of the group again. _“Head back to the house, now.”_

Cornelia could feel just how serious the text Akame sent was. It made her worry a little actually. _“What could’ve happened to her when she and Wave chased after that girl? Maybe it was someone they knew. I wouldn’t past that about them. I mean, all of us are definite proof about that.”_ She and everyone else then heard a click from the door and looked over at it. They saw it open and Akame finally arrived. Cornelia was the first to stand up followed by everyone else who was sitting on a couch. "Akame, there you are. What happened?"

Chelsea would like to know the answer to that question as well. “Yeah, what was going on while Kurome and I were-” She stopped speaking as everyone saw Wave come in while carrying Seryu in his arms bridal style.

Rienna ran up to the door and closed it. She then turned to her leader and Wave. “Is that girl from before?”

Jaune took a closer look and saw Seryu’s dog ears. “Hey, and she’s a Faunus too.” He also noticed something else about her. “Wait, does she have metal arms?” Indeed, she did but that really wasn’t on everyone’s mind at the moment.

Kurome was mystified by what was going on. “Okay, what happened while Chelsea and I were away? Who’s this girl and why did you bring her here? In fact, did you actually carry her here through the streets? What did people even say?”

The answer was a little awkward for Wave to answer. “We told them she passed out from eating too much food and had to take her back to her room to sleep it off.” He then noticed the new outfit Kurome was wearing and was very impressed by the look of it. “I like your new look, Kurome.” Kurome would let that one slide considering the circumstances.

“Wave, set her on the couch, now.” Wave did what he was told and set Seryu down on the couch in an upright position. He then took a few steps back. “Esdeath, apply your ice on the back of her neck. I need her awake.”

Esdeath was unsure about the order but if it was this important to her, she had to do it. “Okay then.” She walked up to Seryu and since she gotten a closer look at the Faunus girl, the dog ears she had did make her seem a little cute but she had orders to follow. Esdeath placed her hand behind on Seryu’s neck and applied her ice to it.

It only took a few seconds for Seryu’s eyes to open wide and scream. “SHIT, THAT’S COLD!” Esdeath stepped back while Seryu immediately stood up and rubbed the back of her next to warm it up while looking mildly discomfortable. “What the hell did you do-” It took a few seconds but Seryu realized she was in a different place with humans surrounding her. Some of them she recognized that Leone traveled with while tailing them. One, in particular, caught her attention and it was Akame. The fear Seryu felt from before came back rushing to her and screamed as stepped back only to bump into the foot of the couch and landed back on it. “S-Stay away from me!” Everyone in Night Raid could wager a guess about what happened for her to be so afraid of Akame.

Unfortunately, for Seryu, Akame had no intention of doing so. She walked up to Seryu and pulled out Murasame, much to every surprise and worry. “Whoa, take it easy! I don’t think you need to resort to that!” Jaune cautioned.

Akame ignored him and pointed Murasame in front of Seryu’s face. Seryu felt frightened and for a good reason and it didn’t help she couldn’t look away from Akame’s unrelenting gaze at her. “I’ll get straight to the point. What have you done with Leone?”

Everyone gasped when they heard Akame ask that question. All of them turned to Seryu with disbelief in their eyes. Taeko had to ask the question Akame’s group’s mind. “What makes you think she has to do with anything about Leone?”

Akame narrowed her eyes at Seryu and tightened her grip on Murasame. “During her little scuffle with Wave earlier, you told him you fought against a traitor lion Faunus. There’s only one group who would call Leone that. You’re with the White Fang.”

The room became silent as they all had to process what Akame had just declared. All but one, apparently. “What’s a White Fang? It kinda sounds like a book.”

Much of the group was surprised by Wave’s question. Ren thought to explain it to him. “The White Fang is an organization comprised of Faunus. They’re mostly known as terrorists.” This time, Wave was shocked to hear that Seryu would be part of such a group.

Kurome thought of another question regarding Seryu. “So, what’s an operative of the White Fang doing here in Mistral? You planning on attacking Haven too? Wouldn’t pass it with you considering you did the same thing back at Beacon.”

To Akame, everything else was secondary. She desperately needed to know what happened to Leone. “Enough. Tell me what did you do with Leone!”

This was the second worst position Seryu could've landed in. Death was literally in front of her of her face and somehow, it didn't matter if she did tell them the truth. Perhaps now it was as good a time as any to come clean since this was the end of the line for you. "Fine." She spoke quietly. "I don't think you're in the mood to listen to the whole story so I'll just get to the point. After I drugged her with some catnip, I had her boarded in a separate air shuttle while I took mine to return to base. However, something went wrong. We received a brief emergency transmission from the shuttle about her being loose before being cut off and the signal was lost. Their last known location was in the ocean between Anima and Sanus. Our best guess was that the shuttle crashed into the ocean and there were no survivors. Including her.” Seryu wouldn’t dare say “traitor Faunus” since that would seem to piss off Akame.

Murasame began to shake a little and Akame’s breathing was the same. She didn’t want to believe what Seryu said was true. “You’re lying…”

Seryu glared back at the leader. “I’m staring death in the face. What good is lying at this point?”

Akame was about to retort when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to Taeko who had a sorrowful expression on her face. "It pains me to say this but…she is telling the truth. Her eyes never wavered while explaining to us. I’m sure of it.”

Akame’s eyes widened in terror as that small spark of hope she had was dwindling. _"Yes, you're right. Leone would make absolutely sure to reunite with us no matter what the obstacle lies before her. As long as Haven is our destination, the mission is still the same. I know she'll be there."_ She had hoped to run into Leone in Mistral but now that hope was gone and so was the spark within her. All that was left was darkness and emptiness. Anger flared up inside of her and yelled. Her markings appeared on her body and her eyes became black and red. A small pulse erupted out of her body that knocked everyone within range away from her. Even the furniture was pushed back a little. She turned to Seryu with resentment and anger in her eyes.

If the fear Seryu experienced from before was terrifying, it felt massively overpowering to her now. Akame approached the Faunus girl and stopped just in front of her as she raised Murasame above her. Seryu was terrified to the point where she couldn’t even move, even breath. The only thing she could hear now was the maddening thumping of her heart as it anticipated the end. Everyone groaned as they sat up and Wave opened his eyes to see Akame ready to strike down Seryu. “Akame, no!” He quickly stood up and rushed over to her in hopes of stopping this before it was too late.

However, it was. Everything else around Akame became irrelevant. She didn’t hear anything else, feel anything else except for the bitter hatred she had for the Faunus in front of her responsible for taking Leone away. Taking away the only person who helped her get through all the pain, the anguish, the sadness, she had to endure and that person is gone. Akame wanted nothing more than to make Seryu pay for what she had done. To see her lying on the floor dead by her blade. Akame wanted to kill Seryu desperately. But then again, what would be the point? Killing Seryu wouldn't bring Leone back and it would only leave her empty inside after. She lowered Murasame but that didn’t mean Seryu would go unpunished. Akame clenched her left fist tightly as a dark red energy swirled around it and yelled as she socked Seryu square in the jaw. A small shockwave occurred and Seryu’s head hit the arm of the couch. Wave stopped and everybody in the room saw what happened. There was nothing but silence in the room. Akame’s markings faded away and she sheathed Murasame. She turned around and didn’t say a word as Akame headed toward the door. “I’m going out.” Those were the only words she’d spoken before opening the door and left while shutting the door afterward.

Everybody sighed as that was probably one of the more intense moments they’ve had. Chelsea sighed as she rubbed the back of her head. “Anyone else feeling alright?” She heard multiple mumbles from everyone else about them being okay.

Everyone stood up while recovering from Akame’s outburst. Wave walked over to Seryu to see if she was okay. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her a little. “Seryu, Seryu, are you alright?”

To his delight, Wave heard Seryu groan as her eyes opened up. He moved away so the Faunus girl could sit upright again. She rubbed the spot of her jaw where Akame punched her. “Damn, that hurt. I thought she was going to kill me.”

“And she was too but I guess being punched is better.” Nora bluntly stated.

Seryu ignored her and tried to recover. There was one thing about Akame’s punch she felt that seemed…off. _“Just what did she do? What I felt from that punch, it was so…eerie and…I don’t know what else to describe it.”_

While everybody was still recovering, Cornelia couldn’t help but feel worried about her leader. Now that Leone was gone, it was up to her to be there for Akame and she really needed it. “I’m going after Akame. I’ll be back soon and hopefully, with her. I’ll see all of you later.” She quickly approached the door and opened it and then closed it upon her leaving.

Akame. Now that they knew the truth about what happened to Leone, the members of Night Raid were now worried about what would happen to her now. They were betting on that Leone was out there and making her way to Mistral but it seemed they lost that bet. Kurome had a bad feeling about what her sister would do. "Akame was already bad enough when she received Leone's scarf back then. She was hoping to meet her again but now…god, I just hope she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Chelsea hoped for the same thing. “At least she still had some control over her emotions. Otherwise, there’d be a hole in the ceiling right now. That and the attraction of Grimm which this city really doesn’t need.”

That much is true but how long could Akame keep those negative emotions inside of her? That was a question that worried Kurome the most. “We’ll just have to trust Cora in talking to some sense with Akame. In the meantime…” She and the other members of Night Raid turned to Seryu. In the next second, they all pulled out their weapons and pointed them at the Faunus girl. Esdeath held her hands out and so did Rienna. Seryu wasn’t quite out of trouble just yet. “We’re just as pissed as Akame for you taking Leone away from us. So, got any last words before we beat you within an inch of your life?”

Wave was opposed to this but then heard Seryu scoff. To Seryu, these girls were nothing compared to Akame. If they wanted to beat to her a pulp, she'll gladly accept that and beyond. "Go ahead. Beat me until I'm a motionless bloody pulp. You can even end me if you wanted to. Wouldn't be the worst thing that happened to me." She lowered her head and just…accepted what would happen to her.

Normally, Kurome would give the go-ahead and let her enemy have it but for some reason, it wouldn’t feel right. Like kicking a dog down on its luck and that dog just so happens to be Seryu. Another thing is that Seryu didn’t even beg which was strange because a person would normally do so to get out of a dangerous situation. “Seryu…” Seryu and the others looked over at Wave who had a concerned look on his face. “What exactly happened to you? You’re not usually like this. When you are, it means something is bothering you. Can you tell you tell us what happened to you?”

This was a first for Seryu. A human expressing concern for her. To her, it appeared hell finally froze over. Chelsea groaned rolled her eyes. “Really? You’re asking that? Did you already forget the part where she took one of our own away from us and caused the pain she did to Akame?”

Wave stood up from the couch and narrowed his eyes at the group of girls. “Of course, I haven’t. I am sorry for your loss but ganging up on her now wouldn’t solve anything. The Seryu I know wouldn’t accept defeat this easily. She’d rather give her own life fighting for what she believed in instead of just surrendering. For Seryu to act like this, something must be wrong.” He turned to her. “Am I wrong?”

All Seryu could do was stare in shock at what she heard. This human had described her to a T even though they had never met and he was actually defending her. It was strange and irritating at the same time as she growled at him. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, human.” Her expression softened a little. “But you are right about one thing. I certainly wouldn’t be like this.” She looked up to see everyone in the room. “Since I’m with all of you, I guess it wouldn’t matter anyway. Your human leader, the one that stormed off, she said I was with the White Fang. She’s wrong. I was with the White Fang but then I was chased out by them. Betrayed. I’m no longer with them.”

That was a bomb all of them didn’t expect to hear. A White Fang operative chased out by their own and is now on the run? So, now they may be interested in how that happened. Before they could, they heard a loud voice coming from the other room. “What is going on out there!” Ruby stormed into the room and looking a little mad. “Can’t a girl read her comics in peace!” It took the young leader a few seconds to recognize that the furniture was all pushed back and there was someone new among them. Everyone was looking at her now. Apparently, she missed out on something. “What exactly happened here?”

**B**

Cornelia was moving as fast as she could in the streets in hopes of catching up to Akame. With her leader as she is now, it was all the more important to be there for her. _“She couldn’t have gotten far. Come on, Akame. I know you’re around. It’s kinda hard to sense your aura when there’s a lot of other people around.”_ Cornelia could only hope she could find Akame and fast. She looked hard and closely to see her leader in the crowd. It seemed to pay off as the blonde may have spotted Akame stumbling through the crowd aimlessly. Cornelia walked past the people in the crowd while apologizing to them. She finally reached Akame and grabbed her arm. “Akame!” Her leader stopped walking as soon as Cornelia grabbed her. “Akame, please. I know things are bad for you but we came too far. We can’t give up.”

She’d hope her words would come through her leader but all she heard as a reply was silence. At least for the first few seconds. "Things are bad? You think things are bad? I was told by the very person who took Leone away that she'll never return. I wanted to believe I would reunite with her but now, I know it'll never happen. Perhaps I was a fool thinking it would be different this time around.  Just one…one that wouldn't leave me."

Cornelia could tell how vulnerable Akame was by the way she was speaking. She had to snap Akame out of it. “I know what it’s like to lose people close to you, Akame. Remember, I lost my parents. There are times where I wish I can meet them again and tell them how much their daughter has grown up but I know that’ll never happen.”

Akame knew that much but it wasn’t the same. “At least it was just your parents. Me, I never knew my parents. The earliest I can remember was being sold as a slave with Kurome and after that, all I ever saw was those I cherished, I fought with, leave me one after the other. And now, Leone is gone, just like everyone else.”

“But you still have us. You have me again, Chelsea, your sister. You have your entire team plus Ruby’s.” Cornelia pointed out. “We’re all just as upset as you. You’re not the only one who lost Leone. We all did. Please, just come back with me to the house. We’ll sort it out, somehow.”

Akame wished it were that easy but it never was. It has never been. "I’m sorry, Cora, but I would like to have some time for myself.” She broke Cornelia’s hold on her arm and trudged away from her.

Cornelia saw Akame walk away from her. She wished there was something more she could do to help but she did all she could. Forcing Akame back wouldn’t be the right decision and it wouldn’t help her at all. All Cornelia could now was hope that her leader would get through this. She brought out her scroll. “Akame! Remember to keep in touch!” That was the last thing she would say to Akame before the blonde saw Akame disappear into the crowd. All that was left to do was go back to the house and see how things are. Cornelia turned around and headed back while still having a touch of worry hanging over her head. What worried her the most was that Akame didn’t even look back at Cornelia while speaking to her.

Deeper in the crowd, Akame kept walking without a destination in mind. All that was on her mind was that she would never see Leone again. Tears were already forming out of her eyes and soon her vision became watery and blurry. She stopped and leaned her back against a wall and started to sob while her eyes were closed. Akame brought up the only item she could remember Leone by in an attempt to dry her tears away but the tears kept coming. "Oh, my. What seems to be the matter, dear?” Akame gasped as her eyes opened wide and turned to the person who approached her and whose voice she recognized. Akame saw a familiar playful smile that was aimed at her.

**B**

Back at the house, the furniture was placed to back where it was and Ruby was filled in on what she had missed. She was…trying to understand the situation. “So…Akame almost killed this girl…” She turned to Seryu briefly who was remained sitting on the couch before turning to everyone else who was standing. “Because she was the one who took Leone away and Akame stormed off while Cornelia chased after her. Finally, she told all of you she isn’t part of the White Fang anymore?”

Nora nodded at the young leader and smiled at her. “Yep, you got it.”

At least Ruby was in the loop now but there was still something she was still wondering. She turned to Seryu. “So, if you’re not in the White Fang anymore, what happened to you for that to happen?” That was a question everyone wanted to know. Especially Wave.

Seryu sighed as she leaned back into the couch. “Well, first thing all of you should know that not everything in the White Fang is not all peachy keen. No, it all started with Adam’s blunder with all of you know as the Fall of Beacon. Sienna wasn’t happy with what he did back there.”

The name Seryu mentioned was unknown to Jaune and the others. “Who’s Sienna?”

Seryu already knew they wouldn’t know about her. “Sienna Khan is the leader of the White Fang and the only one I’ll ever follow. Now, because what Adam did, it had the opposite effect.” She turned to Ren. “I heard you say that the White Fang is known as a terrorist group and I would usually beat you to a pulp for such a thing.” Nora gave a nasty glare at the Faunus girl. “But what exactly happened back at Beacon, I would have to agree on that. To Sienna and II didn’t know what I hated more. Adam’s attack on Beacon, or your teammate’s murder of our own.”

Taeko narrowed her eyes at Seryu as she had a question for her. “And was hunting Leone down the wish of the White Fang?”

To their surprise, Seryu closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, that was of my own volition.” She stopped and opened her eyes. “The White Fang had nothing to do with it. I just couldn’t let that go. I thought what I did was for the better but Sienna instead scolded me for it and that it was my fault that several of our own lost their lives in that crash. She was right and I had no one but to blame but myself for that.”

Chelsea could care less about that. “Yeah, a real tragedy. Let’s just forget Leone was on that ship too and it was your fault you took her in the first place!”

“Chelsea!” Chelsea turned to Kurome who looked a little annoyed. The other girl looked away while mumbling about something. Kurome turned back to Seryu. “Okay, but how does this relate to you being chased out of the White Fang?”

Seryu was just getting to that. “After the Fall of Beacon, Sienna began to have second thoughts. About how we were going to attack Haven next.”

 And saying that dropped a bomb on top of everyone. “The White Fang is going to attack Haven!?” Ruby exclaimed.

Chelsea felt the same way. “Great, it’s Beacon all over again.”

Seryu expected their reactions to be like this. "If all of you would shut up, that'd be great so I can continue. First off, yes, we were planning on attacking Haven but it's not the same reason Adam attacked Beacon. We were promised, Haven.”

Ren raised an eyebrow at that. “Promised?”

The ex-White Fang member nodded at him. “Yes, by this group we’re working with. I don’t much about them but they must be influential to have Sienna on board.”

Ruby had a sneaking suspicion of who this group Seryu was talking about. _“She must be talking about Salem’s group. I thought the White Fang working with Cinder was bad enough but with Salam…”_ This whole situation became worse for them.

Seryu continued to explain. “The plan was to attack Haven at the start of the semester but Sienna began having doubts. Doubts that Adam didn’t like. In fact, he’s planning to overthrow Sienna and take control of the White Fang for himself.”

And there was the second bomb dropped. Chelsea whistled at that. “Damn, a coup d’état in the White Fang. Didn’t think that’d happen.”

Neither did Seryu. In fact, she didn’t think it would happen at all. “Adam already has most of the White Fang following him now instead of Sienna.” She intertwined her fingers and lowered her head. “I had no idea things would become this bad in the White Fang.”

Jaune then thought of up of something for Seryu. “If you knew Adam was going to overthrow the leader, why didn’t you tell her?”

He asked if I would join him in overthrowing Sienna and follow him. My answer was that he could go shove his sword up his ass. The rest, well…” She separated her fingers and hooked the bottom of her shirt. Seryu lifted it up just slightly for everyone to see the bandages wrapped around her waist. “This is what he did me when I refused. If you ask me, I was lucky.” Everybody in the room was surprised Adam would attack one of their own. Seryu pulled her shirt down.

Rienna had a question, albeit, the answer was a little obvious to her. “Why didn’t you join?”

Wave already knew the answer to that. “Because Seryu doesn’t think that way.” Everybody in the room turned to him. “Seryu only follows those of who she has loyalty to and high respect. From what I heard about this Adam guy from you, it sounds like you don’t like the guy much.”

Again, he was right on the mark, much to Seryu’s annoyance. “Damn right I don’t. Him and that lizard bastard. There’s something about Adam that I don’t like. Maybe it was because he didn’t have a sense of loyalty to Sienna. To the White Fang yes but to Sienna, that’s different and him trying to overthrow her proves it.” She stared at Wave. “And seriously, who the hell are you and how the hell do you know so much about me? I wouldn’t put it past you if you knew my favorite color.”

“It’s red since to you it signifies justice.”

Now he crossed the borders to just being creepy. “Okay, really?! What, do you know my three sizes too?”

Wave didn’t quite understand what Seryu meant by that but felt a little flustered. “I don’t even know what that means!”

Every girl in the room immediately turned to him. There was an awkward silence between all of them. Jaune just sighed. “Wave, when this is over, we’ll have a talk. Man to man.”

Chelsea had to force back a laugh. “Since when do you qualify as a man chicken legs?”

“Uh…” Everybody then turned to Ruby who had her arm raised up and looking equally embarrassed. “I…don’t know what that means either.”

This one they’ll let pass since Ruby was younger than all of them. “I’ll tell you about it later, Ruby.” Esdeath advised. Ruby nodded at her and put her arm down.

“We’re getting off topic here.” Ren spoke. One of them had to get the conversation back on track. “What else can you tell us about Adam’s betrayal?”

Betrayal. It was a word Seryu hated the most. She clenched both of her hands tightly. “It wasn’t just Adam who betrayed Sienna. Everyone who Adam influenced betrayed her. Including the ones in my group. All of them practically betrayed the White Fang itself.” Old bitter feelings began to bubble back up within her and gritted her teeth. “Why does this always happen to me? Why? Just why? Why do I always end up being betrayed?” images came to her mind. One, in particular, was a young scorpion Faunus girl. “I just wanted to belong.” Her breathing began to deepen. “Where I can fit in without being discriminated.” There were images of two humans standing over her with hammers and a knife and a young Seryu being frightened. “Is that too much to ask for!?” She had a certain crazed yet desperate look in her eyes. Everybody in the room looked at each other and wondered if Seryu really was okay. For Esdeath, she could understand a bit of what Seryu was saying. The Faunus girl calmed down and let out a defeated sigh. “What else is there for me now? I'm no longer part of the White Fang, I'm worried what Adam will do to Sienna, and to top it off, I'm surrounded by a bunch of humans. Some in particular who that traitor Faunus was with.” Her face softened as it seemed she was finally defeated. “I think I’ve reached the end. There’s nothing else for me now.”

This was a side of Seryu Wave had never seen before. Sure, he’s seen her down after Dr. Stylish was killed but this was different. Seryu truly believed this was it for her. Wave may know a lot about Seryu back at the Capital but one thing is for sure, he doesn’t know how this Seryu lived her life in this world. If there’s one thing the two had in common, it was that they were proud to serve the side they were on. He could tell how much the White Fang, this Sienna meant to her, only to have it ripped it apart from her. Even if what they did was morally wrong. No, Wave wasn’t going let Seryu fall into despair. “You’re wrong.”

Seryu and the others turned to him again. Seryu was having trouble in understanding what Wave meant by that. “What did you say?”

This was Wave’s chance to reignite the fire within Seryu. That, and finally make up for the chance of cheering her up back at the Capital. “This isn’t the end of the road for you. If the members of the White Fang did betray you and your leader, then make them pay for it. Make them regret for ever doing so. As something you would say, in the name of absolute justice, they will pay for their crime with the utmost extreme punishment." He extended his hand to her. "Seryu, would you fight beside us?" Now everybody had a dumbfounded expression on their faces when they heard Wave ask that. "If they are truly not your allies anymore, then they are your enemies and if they are, make them regret for ever betraying you, betraying the White Fang, and betraying your leader. Help us and you can be sure they’ll get what’s coming to them.”

Seryu was speechless at Wave just asked her. She was having trouble processing with everything he had said to her. This was something that had never happened in her life. While she was deciphering Wave’s words, Chelsea already knew what she had to say. “Are you out of your fucking mind!?”

Wave and the rest of group turned to Chelsea this time around and she wasn't the least bit happy with what Wave offered. "You want this chick on our side?! Did you forget she's the one responsible for taking Leone away and causing Akame pain?!"

Of course, Wave didn’t forget but this was an opportunity he couldn’t go to waste. “That may be true but we need all the help we can get. Remember what Cornelia said about her dad saying something? About how the worst of enemies can be the best of allies. I think this situation suits that saying perfectly. And thanks to Seryu, we now know the White Fang is planning to attack Haven at the start of the semester. We already have one advantage over them.”

While Kurome would agree to that, there was still one detail Wave was forgetting. "That may be true but it's not your call to make. You just can't have someone like her join us. The only reason we let you tag along was that you and Akame made a truce. I don't think she'll allow her the same thing."

What Kurome said was true but she was wrong one part. “Maybe but I’m also not part of your group. I’m with Ruby’s and it’ll be up to that side to decide if she should join or not.”

The four members of RNJR looked at each other with concerned expressions before looking back at Wave. “We’ll have to see what Uncle Qrow has to say.” Ruby pointed out.

Wave nodded at her as that would be good enough then turned to Seryu. “Well, Seryu?”

Seryu was still in the middle of making her decision and thinking about it deeply. _“Fight against the very Faunus I’ve fought with? If I do that, then I’m no better than that traitor Faunus. Then again, they’re following Adam now, not Sienna. I won’t deny what that human said before. If they’re not my allies anymore, then they are my enemies.”_ Her defeated looked turned to one of determination. _“And as enemies as those who betrayed Sienna Khan, I will make sure to deliver the punishment they deserve, in the name of absolute justice!”_ She immediately stood up and smiled deviously at the human group. "Fine then. I could do worse joining up with a bunch humans. What's the worst that could happen me now?" Seryu pumped up her left arm and raised her right into the air. "Those who would commit acts of evil, to harm the innocent, and ensure chaos, I swear I will make sure I'll bring down the hammer of absolute justice upon them all!"

That’s what Wave just wanted to hear and smiled at her. Some of the other members thought the speech was corny and her pose was a little childish, Rienna couldn’t help but feel like she’d seen it before. _“Why does that pose looks familiar to me?”_

A knock on the door broke the atmosphere and was brought to everyone’s attention. They all turned to the door and Seryu let her arms down. “Maybe that’s Qrow right now?” Jaune asked.

“Or maybe Cora back with Akame.” Taeko hoped.

Jaune walked over to the door and opened it. Who he saw was neither Qrow nor Cora. It was a young boy who looked to be around Ruby’s age who seemed to look uncertain. No one knew who he was. “Can I…help you?”

The boy found it hard to speak to him at first. “Uh…yeah. Is there a…Ruby Rose here?”

His question already raised alarms in everyone except for Seryu. Ruby took a few steps forward to him. “What do you want kid?” They all had to be prepared since Ruby was a target of interest.

The boy just fiddled with his hands. “I found him along with someone else.”

Not soon after he said that they heard drunk laughter and saw Qrow being carried over the shoulder by none other than Cornelia. She gave an awkward giggle at her team. "Hi, guys!" The blonde walked into the room while struggling to carry the huntsmen. "Ruby, I think your uncle needs help. Seriously."

Cornelia set Qrow on the couch nearest to her. Qrow continued to laugh for some reason which seemed a little weird for most of the members. “I found him.”

To Ruby, this was a sight she was used to. “Uncle Qrow, did you get drunk again?”

Qrow just raised his arm at her. “Maybe…”

The boy then recognized something interesting about Ruby. “Oh…” He took several steps into the house. “You…have silver eyes.”

Now the alarms were blaring at this point. To Ruby, there was only one other person who said that to her. “Who…are you?”

The boy put his arms behind his back while still having trouble looking at the group in the eye. “Well…my name is Oscar Pine.”

“Wait for it…” Qrow spoke in the background.

“But you probably know me as…Professor Ozpin.”

Mostly everyone found it unbelievable of what they just heard from Oscar as silence was their only response. Except for Qrow who laughed drunkenly again. “Ha ha ha! I did it!” He groaned and fell to the floor.

**B**

In a grand hall, the Faunus known as Adam was found kneeling down in front of a woman sitting on her throne with two guards situated on each side. The woman had a rather displeased expression on her face towards him. “Adam…I’m not going to repeat myself so I want you to listen when I tell you that the White Fang will not attack Haven Academy.”

**White Fang Leader: Sienna Khan**

“High leader Khan, I am begging you-”

“You should bed for forgiveness and nothing else!” Sienna interrupted. Adam remained quiet and lowered his head while his leader continued. “The assault you led on Beacon was not the great victory you clearly think it was and you should be grateful your punishment wasn’t more severe. You are a symbol for many in our organization. But that doesn’t make you infallible.”

“I was merely trying to follow your example, high leader.” Adam pointed out.

Sienna wondered what he meant by that. “And what example might that be?”

Adam’s answer was simple. “Strength.” He raised his head and clenched his fist tightly. Strength and unwavering conviction. The human have seen that strength now.”

Sienna just sighed at his answer. “I was one of the first to suggest violence where violence was necessary. Peace bred complacency and acceptance of our place in the world. I will not allow humanity to push us down without pushing them back. But the destruction of the Huntsmen Academies crosses a line! The loss of the CCT has brought global communication to a crawl and the White Fang is more of a target now than ever before! You have justified humanity’s campaign against us, and for what? Empty promises from a group of humans? Humans we still know nothing about and come and go as they please. These are not examples of strength, Adam. They are examples of your talents being diminished by shortsightedness. The only example of that is when this ‘traitor Faunus’ you spoke of back at Beacon put you in critical condition.”

Adam was still bitter about that fight but he wouldn’t let it get to him. He had a counter for what his leader said about the humans. “If you want to know more about the humans, then why not talk to one of them yourself?” He stood up and turned to the door. “Hazel!”

The door opened and revealed a human. Not just any human, but a human affiliated with Salem. “Took you long enough.” He walked into the grand hall.

Upon seeing Hazel’s appearance, Sienna was outraged as she stood up from her throne. “What is this!?” Her guards also took up their positions and pointed their spears at Hazel.

Hazel could already feel the warm welcome coming from his hosts as he approached Sienna and her guards. “Apologies.” He stopped walking in front of them. “I don’t aim to cause any trouble.”

Sienna could care less about him and more about how Adam broke one of their laws. “You’ve brought a human to this location?”

As usual, Adam’s leader was jumping the gun. “You should hear what he was to say.”

Sienna didn’t want to hear anything from a human and was furious at Adam. “This is grounds for execution!”

“Ma’am, please.” Hazel interjected. “Nobody needs to die today. I’m just asking for a moment of your time.” He kneeled before the White Fang leader.

Sienna had little patience for the human before her but would, reluctantly, grant him his request. “The longer you stay here, the less of a chance you have of leaving alive.”

That was good enough for Hazel. "I'll take those chances if you don't mind." Sienna sat back on her throne and her guards were back at ease. Hazel stood up. "You don't like me. You have no reason to like me. But you don’t have to like me to get the results you want.”

Sienna scoffed at that. “I’m starting to doubt either of you fully comprehend what it is that I want. I want humanity to fear the Faunus, to know that we demand respect! I do not want to start a war with the humans that we cannot win!”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Adam declared. He slowly made his way to his leader. “We can win a war against the humans. Not only because we have the support of Hazel’s master, but because the Faunus are the dominant species of this planet. We’re better than humans. We have everything humans have and more. Humans shouldn’t just fear the Faunus, they should serve the Faunus.”

At this point, Sienna had heard enough coming from Adam. “I’ve had enough of this conversation for tonight. Guards, take them away.” Her guards didn’t follow her orders as they stood still. “I said, take them away!” She didn’t understand why her guards wouldn’t obey her orders.

“I will admit, Sienna…” The leader looked at Adam. “You were right about my popularity. My followers in Vale already see me as the true high leader. And many here in Mistral feel the same.” Sienna scowled at Adam as the doors opened again to reveal more of White Fang members pointing their guns and weapons at her. She stood up and couldn’t believe she was being overthrown, by her own group no less.

Hazel didn’t like where this was going. “What are you doing?”

“What’s right for the Faunus.” Adam turned to his former leader. “From this day forward, I will be the one to lead the White Fang.” More of the members appeared from the curtains and the guards around Sienna pointed their spears at her. “If it makes you feel any better Sienna, Seryu was the only one who remained loyal to you.”

Sienna gritted her teeth when she heard Seryu’s name. “Were you the one responsible for Seryu leaving the White Fang?”

Adam smiled coyly at the question. “A stubborn woman, Seryu was. It’s too bad she isn’t here to see this but Seryu was a thorn in my side for quite some time.”

Sienna could tell Adam was going to kill her but…she still had a trick up her sleeve. _“It seems what I was told before was true after all. I just hope this person can deliver her promise.”_ She put up a brave front. “You said many in the White Fang see you as the true leader of the White Fang, did you not? Once again, you’re shortsighted. There is someone else besides Seryu who doesn’t see you as their leader.”

Adam was going to ask what she meant by that when one of the guards pulled out a grenade and threw it up in the air. Everyone except for Sienna looked up and then the grenade exploded in a banging loud flash of light that blinded everyone in the hall. “What!?”

“Sienna, run!” There were sounds of punches being thrown. The light faded away and Adam saw that Sienna was no longer in front of him. He turned around to see some of the other members groaning in pain on the floor.

Adam growled as somehow, someone in the White Fang was still loyal to Sienna. He put his arm out in front while the remaining members stood up still recovering from the flashbang. “Chase after them now! Don’t let them escape! If they somehow do, then spread word throughout the White Fang that Sienna Khan has betrayed us and our cause along with the Faunus who aided in her escape!” The members nodded at their new leader and rushed out of the door to pursue Sienna and the one who aided her escape.

Even if Sienna did escape, there was no hope of asylum to go anywhere. To Adam, it would’ve been better if he had just killed her. He sat on his new throne and turned to Hazel. “Tell your master Sienna’s willingness to cooperate is no longer of any concern.”

Hazel just huffed at Adam. “At least no one had to die today.” He turned around and made his way to the door.

Adam had different thoughts of the matter. “I…disagree.”

**B**

There was a soft hissing could be heard in a remote part of a forest. The hissing was coming from a crashed airship with the only passenger barely conscious. _“What happened? My head hurts, badly and so does my body. What…happened?”_ Images started to appear. Images of another ship being destroyed, giant black and white hornets attacking, explosions, and a giant ice knight. _“That’s right. I was fighting against Lancers with the pilot’s help and then…the ship was damaged during the fight and we were falling. I used my glyphs to slow the ship down and…”_ Weiss groaned as her eyes opened and looked up to see two people standing over her. “Help…please…”

The two people looking down at her turned to each and grinned. “What do you think?”

“I think…” A new person walked up to Weiss. A woman. “We just hit the jackpot.” Weiss’ eyes widened in shock as the woman she was seeing looked strikingly similar to Yang. The last thing Weiss saw was the woman kicking her and then everything went black.

**A/N: Hello, did I just break canon again? Why, yes, I did. I’ll be honest, I didn’t like how RT just offed Sienna like that. It seemed such a waste. So, in my story, she’s still alive. Now I just need to figure out where to send her and her mysterious helper to. As for who this mysterious helper is, I will give this out. The helper is an OC of mine that some of you may know well in one of my other stories. It just seemed appropriate to add this character in this story.**

 


	57. Planning and Preparation

**A/N: And now this story is now officially longer than The Dragon of Night Raid.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Fifty Seven: Planning and Preparation

As the light of the setting sun shined through Lionheart’s office, Lionheart himself had his hands covering his face as his elbows were situated on the desk. He heard the door open but ignored it. “Are we ready?” Lionheart removed his hands from his face and looked in front to see another affiliated with Salam, Arthur Watts as he closed the door. Watts walked up to the headmaster who seemed rather nervous and frightened. The sight made him grin. A door opened in the room and the two elder men walked into a dimly lit hallway. They continued walking until they reached the circular end of the hall where a strange looking floating orb with tendrils extending out from the bottom. Both of them stopped in front of it and Lionheart felt uneasy. Watts didn’t care about that. “After you.” He pushed the headmaster toward the orb.

Lionheart became nervous and leaned into the orb as he folded his hands together. “Your grace, are…you there?”

The blackness of the orb swirled and two figures formed an image. One of them was Cinder and the other, Salem. _“Hello, Leonardo. Do you have something to report?”_

Lionheart quickly nodded at the question. “Of course, ma’am. I would not waste your time, if not.”

Watts walked up to the orb while being impressed by it. “I’m still just so fascinated by this creature.” He tapped on it a couple of times. “Cinder, dear, are we coming through? Can you see us clearly? Well, as clearly as you can.”

On the other side of the orb, Cinder narrowed her eyes at Watts in annoyance. “Shut…up.”

 It was a mutual feeling for Watts as well. “Oh goody, you’ve recovered.”

Salem had no time to be wasted on such useless banter. _“Your report? What is it?”_

Watts stepped back and let Lionheart take the lead for the rest of the conversation. Lionheart gave a quiet gulp before answering Salem’s question. “I’ve…I’ve found the Spring Maiden.”

Salem was actually astounded by what she heard. _“Is that so? Well done.”_ She turned her attention to Watts. _“Arthur, had I known how useful you’d be in expediting this process, I would’ve sent you long, long ago.”_

Watts would take that as high praise but there was more to Lionheart’s explanation. “As much as I’d love to take credit, ma’am, I can’t say that either of us are to thank for this development.” He raised his right arm up. “You could say….a little birdie told us.”

Salem was more annoyed than intrigued by what Watts told her. _“Explain.”_

She saw Lionheart turn to her from the other side of the orb. _“You see, ma’am, Qrow Branwen arrived at Haven Academy earlier today. He believes Spring has taken residence with his sister’s tribe.”_

Hearing about Qrow sparked a question Cinder wanted to ask. “Is…the girl…with him?”

Arthur knew who she was referring to. “Yes, Miss Rose was in attendance. However, what’s surprising was that red-eyed girl you had a tussle from before was also there.” Cinder was taken aback a little when she heard that. She’d expected Ruby to show up but Akame as well?

Cinder clenched her fist tightly but Salem held up her hand and Fall Maiden’s grip lessened. Salem put her hand down. “And you know of the tribe’s location?”

“Yes, ma’am! But you have to hurry! Qrow is already at odds with my-” One of the tendrils quickly wrapped around Lionheart’s neck tightly.

He was choking as his hands grabbed the tendril. _“Leonardo…do you remember the first time we met?”_ The orb brought Lionheart to his knees. _“I remember. I remember your fear.”_ The headmaster raised up his head to see the orb with a strong look of fear in his eyes. _“But, since that day, you’ve been extraordinarily brave.”_ Another tendril moved toward Lionheart. _“I won’t forget all that you’ve done for me. Do not forget everything I can do for you.”_ The spearhead at the end of the second tendril drew near of the headmaster’s face. Then, the first tendril unwrapped itself around Lionheart’s neck and he dropped to the ground while he coughed. Salem looked over at Cinder. “Cinder, you and your team will meet with Doctor Watts and together, convince Raven Branwen that the survival of her people depends on her cooperation. Once you have Spring under control, escort her to the Relic and contact Hazel. The White Fang was promised the destruction of Haven and they’ll have it once we have what we need.”

Watts perfectly knew what his master expected from him and turned around. “Understood.”

_“Not you, Arthur.”_ Watts stopped and looked back at the orb. _“Tyrian’s in need of a new tail.”_

That was something he didn’t hear every day about his scorpion compatriot. “What happened to his old one?”

_“Guess.”_ Cinder spoke.

Watts had a pretty good idea who could’ve done it. “The silver-eyed girl?”

Unfortunately, he was wrong. _“No, it was another who happened to save her. A being who wore a rather unusual suit of armor. So as Tyrian described”_ Salem explained.

Watts didn’t know who this person was but the fact of the matter now was that Tyrian needed a new tail. He placed his hand on his chest and bowed to his master. “It will be done.” He removed his hand.

That what Salem exactly wanted to hear. _“Good.”_ The image of her was soon blackened out.

Watts turned his attention to the recovering headmaster. “Seems Qrow was right, Lionheart. The students aren’t pushovers.”

**B**

From the other end of the orb, Salem turned her attention to Cinder. “You’re free to speak your mind.”

Cinder had her back turned to her master while looking out at one of the windows. “I don’t understand.” She turned around to face Salem. “Working with Bandits? Keeping Ruby alive? What’s the point? We’re strong enough to take what we want by force!”

Salem could understand the maiden’s frustration. And her naivety. “Never underestimate the usefulness of others. Take Leonardo; he was one of Ozpin’s most trusted, and yet now…” She could almost taste the irony. “You will have the power I promised you when the time is right. But remember that it comes with a cost. If Ruby Rose has learned to harness her gift, then you must take care to protect yours. There’s only so much I can do to aid you.” Cinder took her master’s words to heart and bowed to her quickly before making her leave. “And Cinder…” The maiden stopped briefly and turned to Salem. “Before you go, inform Tyrian that I wish to have a word with him.” Cinder just stared at her master for a few seconds and nodded before leaving the room.  Now Salem was alone and had one other person on her mind. She waved her hand at the orb in front of her and Akame’s image appeared. “As for her, granted she is not one of the Silver-Eyed Warriors, her other abilities cannot be ignored. Especially this Imperial Arms she carries with her. The only question I can come up is what to do with you.” She lightly tapped the spot in-between Akame’s eyes.

**B**

“Did he age backwards?”

“He possessed!”

“Or reincarnated.”

“Oh, isn’t it weird?”

While the members of team RNJR were all about on Oscar sitting on the chair, the members of Night Raid were a little doubtful of Oscar. Chelsea was suspicious about the whole thing. “There’s no way that kid is Ozpin. That’s just isn’t possible.”

In a rare while, Taeko agreed with the other girl. “It is quite hard to believe. Then again, what would he gain by saying he is Professor Ozpin.

Kurome was skeptical about that. “That’s if he is Ozpin but I think that’s highly unlikely.”

While the others were having a hard time believing Oscar’s words, Cornelia seemed to be the only one optimistic about the whole situation. “I don’t know. If he really is Ozpin, then this whole thing may have gotten a whole lot easier for us.”

The other members turned to her and Rienna was the one who spoke the question that was momentarily on everyone’s mind when she came back with Qrow. “By the way, Cora, what happened with Akame? I thought you were going to bring her back.”

Cornelia’s cheerful demeanor was replaced by saddened expression. “I tried to, I really did, but Akame said she needed some time alone.”

As if there wasn’t enough to worry about their leader. Esdeath couldn’t blame her teammate for trying and not bringing Akame back. “You did the best you could, Cora. We’ll just have to hope for the best.” She wanted to believe those words but Esdeath was deeply worried about Akame. The same could be said for everyone else in Night Raid.

With everyone abuzz about Oscar being Ozpin, Wave was the only one who was left out in the loop. He leaned in toward Seryu who was standing beside him. “So, who’s this Ozpin character everyone is talking about?”

Seryu couldn’t believe that the human next to her knew everything about her and yet nothing about Ozpin. “What, did you live under a rock or something? Ozpin was the headmaster of Beacon Academy but no one’s seen or heard of him since the Fall of Beacon. A lot of people assumed he died. For this human to claim he’s Ozpin, it doesn’t seem possible.” Wave did have to admit it's a little out there for someone like Oscar to say he was someone else but that made him all the more curious.

“Okay, Okay.” Everyone turned to Qrow who walked out of the kitchen holding a mug. “Let’s all just take a second and remember that this is very overwhelming for everyone.” Team RNJR took one more look at Oscar before scrambling away from him grinning nervously.

Oscar apricated for what Qrow did for him since he wasn’t used to this kind of attention. “Thanks.” Qrow nodded at him and walked over to the couch next to Oscar’s chair. He sat as did Ruby and Nora on the other couch while Ren and Jaune remained standing. Oscar turned to Ruby who smiled at him and felt slightly embarrassed as he looked away. “Ah, sorry. It’s just I’ve never really met huntsmen and huntresses before.”

Ruby could feel the same way but in a different way. "Well, uh…we've never met a person with souls and that's coming from someone who met people from…a different world so first times all around."

Seryu raised an eyebrow when she heard that. _“What does she mean by people from a different world?”_

Qrow cleared his throat to attracted everyone’s attention as they all turned to him next. “Not to break up the whole ‘getting to know you’ game but we need to have a talk. Before we get to Oscar, I would like to talk about you first.” He set his eyes on Seryu. “From what I’ve been told, you’re a member of the White Fang or at least you used to be. So, tell me why we should think you’ll be on our side of the fight?”

Seryu recognized the look Qrow was giving her all too easily. “For one, all of you have me outnumbered so fighting would be suicide at this point. Two, I don’t give a shit what you think about me but…” She glanced over at Wave before turning her attention back to Qrow. “This human has brought up some good points of why I should fight alongside with the rest of you. Ally or not, I will get the retribution I deserve upon the White Fang.”

Qrow studied Seryu’s answer carefully. Normally, he would be against having a former enemy join the other side due to one suspicious reason or another. Especially if that enemy was a former White Fang member but Wave must’ve said something important for her to go along with them. He sighed tiredly as he came to his decision. “Well, I guess we could do worse and we’ll need all the help we can get. However, he…” Qrow pointed to Wave. "Will be responsible for looking after you."

Wave was glad Qrow was able to accept Seryu but Kurome and the others weren’t exactly as thrilled. To have the one person responsible for taking one of their teammates and causing Akame’s grief to be on their side didn’t sit right with them. _“Akame isn’t going to like this at all.”_

With Seryu’s business done, Qrow could now get to the main part about Oscar. “Now since that’s done…” He turned to young farmhand. “Mind showing us your little parlor trick, kid?”

Oscar sighed at that. “Yeah, okay. Just so you know, I’ll still be here.” Everyone wondered what he was going to do. Oscar lowered his head and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath and then a bright green light flashed from his body. Oscar opened his eyes reveal they were yellow for a brief time before returning to their original color. _“It is so very good to see you again, my students.”_ Everyone could hear Ozpin’s voice mixed with Oscar’s

There were surprised and shocked expressions on their faces. Jaune asked the question on everyone’s mind. “Wait, what just happened?”

Ren wondered the same thing as did everyone else. “Professor…Ozpin?”

Oscar, or rather, Ozpin nodded at his student. _“Correct. And though I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present, mentally. He’s merely handed over the control, so to speak.”_

Chelsea was still having a hard time believing this was actually happening before her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Ozpin looked over at Night Raid and smiled at them. _“I see several of Najenda’s students are here as well. I hope she’s been doing well.”_  He then noticed Wave and smiled at him as well. _“I don’t think we’ve ever met, young man.”_

Wave didn't what to think of someone who appeared younger then him calling him "young man". Still, he decided to be polite and waved at Ozpin. "H-Hello, sir. It's nice to meet you. I'm…Wave."

Ozpin recognized the name. _“I see. I’ve heard of you from Miss Night before. You’re from her world, are you not?”_

Wave nodded at him. “Yes, sir. I was surprised when I saw Akame in this world. Of course, not as surprising as this.”

Seryu became all the more curious about Wave. _“What the hell are they talking about?”_

Ozpin didn’t blame for Wave thinking something like that. The same could be said for everyone else. _“I’m afraid this all must be very perplexing-”_

“And alarming, and bizarre…” Nora interrupted.

“Not to mention totally batshit crazy!” Chelsea added.

“And just really kind of hard to believe overall!” Nora finished.

Ozpin chuckled at their reaction. _“It’s good to see you children still have your sense of humor. I know you’ve all been through tremendous hardship already. I’m sorry.”_

Ruby and the others couldn’t help but feel bad for their headmaster. “I mean, it’s not your fault.”

Ozpin wanted to thank for the young leader’s sincerity but he couldn’t accept it. _“It’s all my fault.”_ Qrow stood up and walked back into the kitchen. _“I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, and I wasn’t exaggerating. I’m…cursed. For thousands of years, I’ve walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded soul.”_

Taeko leaned over to Chelsea and whispered. “I told you reincarnation is real.”

Chelsea had an annoyed expression on her face. “Shut up, Taeko.”

Ozpin continued with his story. _“The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form and clearly wasn’t my last. It’s…an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved.”_

From what they heard so far, one question was prevalent above all else. “So, who…what are you?” Jaune asked.

For Ozpin, the answer to that was complicated. _“I am the combination of countless men who’ve spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant.”_ Qrow came back from the kitchen and handed Ozpin his mug. He then sat back down on the couch. _“With every rebirth, my soul eventually merged with another and I am changed but my memories stay with me.”_ He looked at down at his coffee and stared at his reflection. _“This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods because I failed to stop Salem in the past.”_ He looked up from his cup and toward his students. _“But we must stop her now.”_

Of course, everyone knew that but it was easier said than done. “And how do we do that?” Ruby asked.

Thankfully, Ozpin knew where to begin. _“We start by ensuring the safety of the Relic of Knowledge.”_

**B**

Weiss groaned as she started to regain consciousness. The first thing she saw when she slowly opened her eyes was that her hands were bound together by rope. The second thing was that her surroundings were very dark and the last thing she remembered was seeing a woman kicking her. As her focus came back, Weiss sat up and realized she was put into a cage and in front of her were the two men she saw from before sitting on a large wooden box and one of them was drinking from a bottle. One of them noticed Weiss was up. “Well, well, well, look who’s awake.” He slapped the other bandit’s chest and that interrupted his drinking.

Weiss was still fuzzy on the details about what just happened. “Wha…What’s going on? Where am I?”

“You know…” Weiss turned to the direction of the new voice and saw a woman exit out of a tent. “I never thought I’d see a Schnee in this camp.”

Both of the bandits immediately jumped off the box and straightened up. “Vernal!?” One of them hid the bottle behind his back.

Vernal walked up to Weiss while carrying Myrtenaster in her hands. Weiss narrowed her eyes at the woman and stood up. She saw Vernal touching her weapon which the heiress didn’t like one bit. “What do you want?”

Vernal chuckled at the heiress. “Straight to point. I like it. We don’t normally deal in trafficking people. Not really worth our time. But once we realized we had a Schnee…” She pointed Myrtenaster at Weiss. “That changed.”

Weiss already knew what the other woman was getting at. “You’re going to ransom me back to my father, is that it?”

Vernal smiled at her. “It’s a shame you’re a Schnee. You’d probably do quite well around here.”

Weiss highly doubted that. “I would never sink to your level.”

Vernal expected an answer like that from the heiress. “Just keep quiet and cooperate and you’ll be back in your mansion before you know it.” She turned around and took a few steps away from the heiress. Vernal stopped and glanced back at Weiss. “Don’t make this complicated.”

Weiss could say the same thing about this whole situation. “What’s going to make this complicated is when my sister finds out I that didn’t make it to Mistral. You know my sister, don’t you? Winter Schnee? Special operative of the Atlas Military? She’s in Mistral now, and when she hears I’m missing, it won’t take her long to find me. And you.” She was confident that her sister would find her and then everything will be settled easily. Or so she thought when Weiss heard the two bandits laughing for some reason. “What’s so funny?”

Vernal was laughing as well and turned to the heiress. “Oh, I don’t know if it’s more funny or sad. But you’re clearly out of the loop. Your sister isn’t in Mistral anymore.” Weiss’ eyes widened in shock when she heard that. “No Atlas personnel are in Mistral anymore.” She walked back toward Weiss. “General Ironwood closed the borders and recalled all of his little troops and tin cans.” She stopped in front of Weiss. “No one is coming to rescue you.” The bandits continued to laugh and Vernal walked away from the heiress. Weiss could only close her eyes and lower her head as any hope for a rescue was now impossible.

**B**

“This is perfect!” Nora celebrated in her own usual way and enthusiasm. “We were stuck at a dead end, but now, we can just take cute little boy Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight.”

Chelsea snickered at the comment Nora made about Ozpin while Ozpin wasn’t too thrilled by what Nora called him. _“Please don’t call me that.”_

Qrow was doubtful what Nora said was that easy. “We’re not sure that’s the best idea.”

 Nora groaned and walked back to the couch Ruby was sitting on and sat down. Ren was sitting on the arm of the couch for now and had a question for Ozpin. “But I thought the headmasters all took their orders from you.”

He wasn’t wrong about that. _"That was the intention. Four lieutenants, I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation."_ Ozpin turned to Qrow. _“But Qrow told me about your meeting with Leonardo.”_ He stood up from his chair and paced away from it while his hands were placed behind his back. _“He isn’t just behaving irrationally. He’s disobeying specific instructions I had left him. Something’s wrong. I don’t want to jump to conclusions but I don’t want to rule out any other possibilities either.”_ He stopped in front of a painting of Mistral and brought up his left hand to his chin. _“No one outside of this room knows that I’ve paired up with Oscar and I think it may be best to keep it that way.”_

It was a better plan then what Qrow could come up with. “Play things close to the chest until we get a better hand.”

Ozpin agreed with him. _“Precisely.”_ He turned around to face everyone. _“Now, we have two steps ahead of us. The first is enlisting the aid of more huntsmen”_

Ren already saw a problem with that. “But the Mistral Council-”

“Doesn’t own every huntsmen in the kingdom.” Qrow interjected. “And I’ve here enough times to know where we can find some more.”

Ozpin was wary of that factor. “So long as they’re trustworthy.”

Qrow wasn’t too worried about that. “You can trust them to put up a good fight. I’ll throw together a list tonight.” He leaned back on the couch and set his legs up on the table but ended up breaking the table and the mug along with it as it slid to the floor.

“Good luck with that.” Nora commented.

While Qrow went down to clean up the mess he made, Ozpin continued with his plan. _“After that, we can move on to step two.”_ He paced back to the chair.

As he did, Nora stood up with a confused look on her face as did Ruby. “What’s step two?”

Ozpin grabbed his can and turned around while pointing his can at RNJR and Night Raid. _“Getting all of you into fighting shape.”_

The members of RNJR looked at each other and so did Cornelia and Esdeath. They looked back at Ozpin with slightly confused expressions. “But, uh, we already know how to fight.” Ruby stated.

Ozpin pointed his cane at Ruby first. _“You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose but you’re still lacking in hand-to-hand combat.”_

Ruby had to admit he was right about that. “Well, uh, yeah.”

Ozpin then pointed his cane at Jaune. _"Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved but sorry to say, you've yet to unlock your semblance."_ Jaune was still a little embarrassed about that.

“Hey!” Ozpin turned to Kurome and the others. “And what are you going to do about us? In case you forgot, some of us aren’t exactly students of yours.”

While she did bring up a good point, Ozpin didn’t see it as a problem. _“That may be true but you’re students nonetheless and you still have room to grow. And speaking of which…”_ He then pointed his cane at Wave. _"You have to start training too, Mr. Wave. In fact, you have more work to do than Mr. Arc here."_

Both Wave and Jaune were surprised to hear that. As was everybody else. “I do?”

“He does?”

Ozpin nodded at the soldier. _“While it’s true that you’re a soldier and I have heard tales of what you’re capable of back in the world you’re from, you’re in Remnant now which means you still need to unlock your aura and awaken your semblance.”_

Wave wasn’t sure about that considering he was already trained by Esdeath and was praised for having achieved perfect strength. “Uh, are you sure? Is that even possible for me?”

Ozpin had no doubt in his mind about that. _“But of course. You, Miss Night, and Miss Wild are from the same world but those two can use their semblance in our world. I’m confident you can do the same.”_

Wave had never thought he could improve further but from he could tell from his fight against Akame, it may not be far off after all. He chuckled at the thought. “And here and I thought there wasn’t more for me to learn.”

Ozpin could understand that clearly. Wave may not be a huntsman but he was still a properly trained warrior. Speaking about Akame and Leone, it was time he addressed the Goliath in the room. He turned his attention to Kurome and the others. _“That reminds me, where are Miss Night and Wild? I was certain they would be with all of you.”_

They all had concerned and saddened looks on their faces. Esdeath decided she would explain what happened. “Akame is out in Mistral right now working out some…hardships and Leone-”

“Isn’t with us thanks to her over there.” Kurome pointed over towards Seryu while glaring at the Faunus girl.

Ozpin glanced over at Seryu before closing his eyes. _“I see. I’m sorry for what all of you had to go through and my condolences to Miss Night.”_ While he was saddened that Leone wasn’t with them anymore, there wasn’t any time for mourning. He opened his eyes. _“However, the enemy won’t wait for us.”_ He pointed his cane at everyone in a slow sweeping pace. _“All of you still have a ways to go before you're ready to pose any real threat against Salem and her forces. And though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his body and his aura.”_

_(“Wait, what?”)_

_“He’ll inherit my muscle memory in time.”_ He set the end of his cane down to the floor. _“But practice will expedite the process.”_

That was all well and good but Ruby wondered about something. “But if Qrow’s out looking for huntsmen, then who’s going to teach us?”

The answer was quite obvious as Ozpin jumped backwards while spinning his body and landed feet first onto the chair. He spun his cane around while looking confident. _“Well, I believe I was the headmaster of Beacon Academy. We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it would occur prior to the students’ return. It’s not much time but it’s better than nothing. Just don’t expect me to go easy on you. Oh, yes and you’ll be helping as well, Mr. Wave.”_

Again, Wave didn't expect to hear that. In fact, he didn't know what to think of what he heard. "Wait, you want me to teach these kids?" Everyone else had the same thought.

Ozpin chuckled at his question. _“Yes, indeed. I believe your expertise as a soldier would become useful. Perhaps you can even give Ruby a lesson or two of hand-to-hand combat. And you do know more or less about Miss Night’s team so perhaps you can share a few pointers._ Ruby then instantly visualized herself fighting like Wave. Complete with breaking the ground and breaking bones.

Wave rubbed the back of his head while looking uncertain. “I don’t know. Teaching was more of Run’s thing and I don’t think I can-”

_“I wouldn’t ask of you this if I didn’t believe you can do so.”_ Ozpin interrupted. _“I’m positive you’ll do just fine. In this way, you can help in teaching the children and in return, you may awaken your semblance quicker than you think.”_

If someone like Ozpin has confidence in him, then Wave had no choice but to give it a shot. “If you say so, then alright then.”

That’s what Ozpin wanted to hear before that same flash of green light appeared. Upon Oscar’s return, he lost his balance and fell backward along with the chair he was standing on. Everyone checked on him to see if he was okay. He was…unenthusiastic. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

**B**

“Stop them now!”

“Don’t let them get away!”

Sienna and her mysterious rescuer were running toward the shuttle bay where they could make their escape while being chased by other members of the White Fang. Sienna never would’ve imagined she would be running for her life from the Faunus she once called her comrades. And now those same comrades were chasing her down and shooting at her. Her rescuer briefly stopped as did Sienna when she turned around to her. “Keep going! I’ll hold them off!”

Sienna quickly nodded at her rescuer and continued to run. Her Faunus rescuer pulled out four more flashbangs from behind and pulled all the pins. She threw all four at the White Fang members pursuing them and looked away when they all set off. The brief intense light and noise temporarily stopped them as they all yelled and groaned but the rescuer wasn’t done yet. She pulled off her gloves and jumped toward to the ceiling. She delivered several swipes at the ceiling before coming back down and ran off just as the White Fang members shook off the flashbang's effects. As soon as one of them took a step forward, large chunks of the ceiling fell off and block them. What appeared strange to them was the chunks seemed to have been melted all around.

The rescuer finally arrived at the shuttle bay and saw one of the air shuttles open. She figured it was Sienna and she was right when she saw her former leader appear at the open door’s entrance. She wasted no time in reaching the shuttle and entering it. She took the controls immediately and started up the shuttle. The door closed and Sienna sat down in the co-pilot’s seat. The engines roared and the shuttle took off out of the bay. More White Fang members appeared as the shuttle flew off. One of them turned to the rest. “Get several of the shuttles ready!”

"Hold on there, boys." Every member looked at the back and saw a member calmly entering the bay. He had a playful smile and a distinct Faunus feature he had were scales extending from his wrists to his shoulders and the sides of his neck up to his cheeks. “There’s no need to pursue them anymore.”

Some of the White Fang members looked amongst themselves before turning back to the other member. “But sir-”

“There’s nowhere poor Sienna can run to. Even if she did, who would take her in? No, her fate was sealed as soon as Adam took the reins of high leader. At this point, it’s only a matter of time. Now then, get your asses back in gear. We have a lot of prep work to do.” The White Fang members nodded at him and walked past him to the exit of the bay. As the last one past, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. _“Things are about to get a lot more interesting around her. It’s too bad Sienna did escape because if I would’ve been the one the capture her…”_ His chuckling was sinister at the thought of what he would do to Sienna and licked his lips. _“What a wasted opportunity of having a new toy for me to play with. Oh well, there’s always more.”_ He turned around and walked toward the exit.

Back at the shuttle, Sienna’s rescuer looked at the radar and saw nothing. She sighed and could relax a little. “I guess we’re in the clear now. The question is how long will that last.”

Sienna wondered that as well. She’d escaped but now her options from here on out were limited. She was still trying to get over the fact that the White Fang she had once led had now betrayed her. “I can’t believe I let this happen. If I had just paid more attention…” Her hand clenched tightly at the thought.

Her rescuer didn’t blame her former leader for thinking like that. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. They intentionally kept certain information from you to keep you in the dark. That is until I blew the whistle about what Adam was going to do to you.”

That’s right. Sienna had yet to thank her mysterious rescuer for her help. “So, you are the same one who came into my quarters a few nights ago.”

The other Faunus girl chuckled at that. “Yeah, I am. When Seryu fled that night, I knew I had to warn you since you would be next.”

The former high leader was curious about something like that. “If you warned me, why didn’t you warn Seryu of the same thing before?”

Sienna could tell her rescuer was saddened by that. “I wanted to but it’s…a little complicated between her and I. She doesn’t even know I’m in the White Fang.” Sienna was having a hard time grasping of what her rescuer was talking about. “In any case, we need to find a place to lay low for a while. Although, that’s the easier part. The harder part is what to do with Adam now that he was the White Fang working for him.”

Sienna wondered the same thing until an idea came to her. It was risky but there was no other place they could go. “Head toward Menagerie.”

Her rescuer turned to her and even though she was wearing a mask, she seemed to be in a state of disbelief. “Menagerie? Seriously?! Why do you want to go there of all places!?”

Sienna had a good reason for suggesting Menagerie. “There’s one person there I know who can help. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen him. Not since he and his wife left the White Fang and I first became the leader.”

Her rescuer hoped this was a good idea. Then she remembered something. “Yeah, okay. I think there’s only limited communication between the base and Menagerie. Only a few operatives are stationed there. One of them being Ilia. There’s also one more thing you need to know. That Faunus traitor we all know is there as well.”

Sienna was surprised to hear that. “But I thought she went down with the shuttle that crashed into the ocean.”

The other Faunus shook her head. “Unfortunately, that was some of the information that was withheld from you. Seryu doesn’t know that either since Adam thought it wouldn’t matter since she would be taken out of the picture. Now that you know this, do you still want to go to Menagerie?”

The answer was obvious to Sienna. “Yes. It’s worth the risk and if it’s possible, maybe she can be an ally to us.”

Her rescuer obviously doubted that. This was a Faunus that despised the White Fang and had no problems killing them. She thought they’d be lucky to even start a conversation with her. But her leader spoke her mind and had no other choice. She punched in some coordinates for Menagerie and activated the autopilot. “If we’re going to Menagerie…” She stood up from her chair and walked to the back of the shuttle. “Then I need to get rid of this uniform. I’d stand out like a sore thumb.” Sienna looked back and saw her rescuer take off her mask and then her hood. Once she did, the former leader saw that her rescuer had long grey hair down to her waist. “No offense but these uniforms were a pain to wear.” She discarded the mask and then proceeded to undo her pants. Once she did, her pants dropped and a scorpion tail was unwrapped from around her waist. The tail flicked around as if it were stretching. “It feels good to move this tail again.”

After seeing all this, Sienna finally decided to ask her rescuer a question she’s been meaning to ask for quite some time. “I don’t believe I ever caught your name before.”

Her rescuer took off the rest of her uniform so she was now in her bra and underwear. Her skin was fair like porcelain and turned around to face her former leader. Sienna saw that her rescuer had onyx eyes. The other Faunus girl smiled at Sienna. “It’s Syka.”

**B**

At the bandit camp in the middle of the night, the two bandits overlooking Weiss fell asleep and were snoring. To her, this was a perfect opportunity. She turned around and crouched while she opened her hands together. A small glyph appeared and out of it, was a smaller version of her ice knight. The knight picked up its sword and raised it. Seeing this gave Weiss hope again. If nobody was coming to save her, then she’ll just have to save herself.

 


	58. Lost Meaning

**A/N: Now, as some of you may have noticed, I added my OC Syka into this story. For those who don’t know who Syka is, she is an OC that appears in my other Akame Ga Kill crossover, The Dragon of Night Raid where she is one of the last Tartaros demons. I also had her paired up with Seryu which gave her a bit of character development and was even a favorited pairing in the story. Now, will I have Syka pair up with Seryu again in this story? Truth is jury is still out that one and personally, I think it would be kind of redundant since I’ll be writing Syka a little differently. Hell, I changed her appearance from a demon to a Faunus in this story. So how she’ll impact the story this time? Well, she did save Sienna but what would she mean to Seryu? The only answer to that is to read the chapter. Also, why this chapter took longer than usual to put up was because I was busy playing Pokémon Ultra Sun. BTW, it may or may not inspired me to come up with a new crossover story involving Ultra Sun and Moon.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Fifty Eight: Lost Meaning

“Well, it’s been a long since I’ve cooked for a such a large group so I hope all of you can enjoy the food." Wave spread his arms apart as he presented more of a feast than a dinner on the table while smiling.

RNJR, Night Raid, Qrow, and Oscar marveled at the sight of food before them. It almost looked too good to eat. Almost. “You seriously made all of this?” Jaune asked as he was eyeing some creamy mashed potatoes.

Wave chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. “I had some help. You can thank Rienna for some of this.”

Ruby looked over at the Rienna. “You can cook?”

Rienna smiled happily at the young leader while flashing a peace sign. “I used to help with my mom cooking dinner back at my house and my dad was a good cook too.”

Chelsea was impressed by the size of the feast but doubted it would last long. “I hope you made seconds because Kurome can eat a lot.”

Wave wasn’t too worried about that. “I kinda figured so I did make more. Also, I made some favorites for some of you. At least I hope they’re still your favorites.”

He was right about that as Kurome stared at several slabs of large T-bone steaks cooked the way she liked it. Esdeath had no particular favorite but she did like seeing the cheeseburger pasta. Nora licked her lips as she hungrily eyed the food. “Let’s stop talking and start eating already!” That was enough incentive for everyone to start dining.

All of them instantly approved of Wave’s cooking. It was something Oscar had never tasted anything this good. “This is really amazing. How did you learn how to cook like this?”

Wave was glad someone finally asked him that. “Funny enough, it was my mother who taught me and a little self-teaching. Ever since I decided to join the Imperial Navy, I thought it would be best to learn as many skills I could learn. One of them being able to cook since it would be an invaluable asset to my comrades." Qrow could certainly agree with that with what he drank out of his mug earlier to sober up quickly.

While everyone enjoyed eating Wave’s cooking, Cornelia seemed less enthusiastic while eating. Something Taeko noticed right away. "Is everything alright, Cora?"

The blonde just cut a small piece of lasagna with her knife and inserted it to bring it up to her mouth. “It’s just…should we really be eating like this?”

Kurome temporarily stopped stuffing her face and looked over at her teammate. “Oh, come on. The food is fantastic.”

Cornelia closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, it’s not that.” She stopped and opened her eyes. “We’re here eating this while Akame is still out there. If I had just-”

“Don’t worry about ifs.” Cornelia looked back at Kurome. “Like you said, you tried your best to bring Akame back. There isn’t any point in beating yourself up over it. We’re all just as worried as you. When Akame does get back, we’ll make sure to give her all of our portions.” Kurome gave her teammate a reassuring smile.

Cornelia smiled back as she knew Kurome was right. There was no sense of worrying about what had already been done. All she could now was just do what she could for Akame now. Her and the rest of the team. Chelsea snickered at her girlfriend’s idea. “You, sharing? That’s new.”

Kurome had an annoyed expression when she glanced over at the other girl. “Hey, I can share!”

While everyone was still busy eating, it brought a sense of nostalgia to Wave as it reminded him of the Jager Squad was first put together and enjoyed his and Bols’ cooking. And now the same thing has happened again and this time with Bols’ daughter. He did notice a certain someone wasn’t with them. In fact, Wave hadn’t seen Seryu since he started preparing dinner. He had a guess where she could be and left the dinner table while everybody else was busy eating. In a room upstairs, Seryu was laying on a bed blankly watching the ceiling with discarded bloody gauze lying on the floor. After everything she’d heard, Seryu decided to go upstairs and finally change her gauze. She was glad this house had some medical supplies she could use so now she had a clean wrapping around her waist. Now all she had to do was process of what she had gotten herself into. _“How in the hell did this happen to me? How did I go from fleeing the White Fang to being caught up into something like this?”_ It was perplexing indeed and there was something else that was on Seryu’s mind.

She heard several knocks on the door and immediately sat up as she looked over at it. "Seryu? Are you okay?"

Seryu already knew it was Wave from the other side of the door. On one hand, she didn’t want to deal with him but the other was that he had some answers to the questions she had. Seryu moved over the side of the bed and sat there. “Come in.” She saw the knob turn and the door opened to reveal Wave. The soldier walked into the room and closed the door politely. Seryu crossed her arm. “What do you want?”

Wave decided to keep his distance from Seryu since he could tell she didn’t want him near her. “Well, it’s just that dinner is ready and I was wondering if you’d join us.”

Seryu scoffed as a response. “Like I’d dine with a group of humans. I may have agreed to fight alongside you but that’s as far as it’ll go.”

Wave could tell Seryu was very adamant about not getting closer to the rest of the group. He then noticed the discarded gauze. “I see you redressed your wound. How are you feeling?”

Seryu looked at the side where Adam had struck her and lightly placed her hand on it. "It's fine. Nothing to worry about. Although, it could've been worse." Wave was glad to hear that. Whoever this Adam was, he could tell this person really didn't want Seryu in the way. "Hey…" Wave saw Seryu turn her attention to him now. "Earlier while that kid was possessed, he mentioned a few things. Well, him and that red-clad human girl. They both mentioned different worlds several times. So just who exactly the hell are you?"

Wave’s response was a heavy sigh as he rubbed the back of his head while seeming uncertain. “You’re…really going to find this hard to believe.”

Seryu highly doubted that with what she had just seen previously. “I just met Ozpin through the body of a kid. What can you say that can top that?” Meanwhile, the group continued to dine on the food. “YOU’VE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!”

All of them stopped at once when they heard Seryu scream from upstairs. Esdeath and the rest of Night Raid knew what that meant. “I guess he told her then.” While everyone was distracted, Nora saw this as a chance to snake a part of Kurome’s food. However, Kurome noticed and stabbed her knife in front of Nora’s fork while giving the other girl a very frightening death glare. Nora a chill going down her spine and chuckled awkwardly.

Back in the room, Seryu was in a complete state of shock and Wave couldn’t blame her for her reaction. “Like I said, it’s a little hard to believe but it’s true. That’s why I know you and why Akame knows you.”

Seryu groaned as she placed her hand over her face while to process what she had heard. _“What the hell? This can’t be real but he said it with a straight face. Another me in a different world and as a human? That sounds like such a nightmare. Also, about what the traitor Faunus said to me earlier…"_

She remembered what Leone had said to her before their fight had started. _"It's not fear. You just remind me of a bitch I really hate way back then and wanted to punch in the face.”_

After what Wave told her, it made a little more sense to her. _“I guess she must’ve been referring to the human back in her world. So this guy, that red-eyed human girl, and that traitor Faunus are all from the same world. I wonder…”_

At this point, Wave became a little worried if what he explained to Seryu may have been too much for her to handle. “Hey, Seryu, are you feeling alright?”

He heard Seryu sigh as she removed her hand from her face and looked directly at Wave. “Hey, I have a question for you.” Wave just stared back at the Faunus girl not sure of what she was going to ask. “Did you ever meet a lion Faunus girl back in your world? Long wild blonde hair? Had a scarf wrapped around her neck?”

It was an odd question but Wave would try is his best to answer. “A blonde lion Faunus…” He already knew that there are no Faunus back in the Capital so that was out. Wave closed his eyes and tried to remember any of the other details Seryu spoke of. _“Long wild blonde hair, a scarf wrapped around her neck…”_ In the end, he came up with nothing. “Sorry, but I don’t remember meeting anyone like that.” Seryu could say she was disappointed but she also knew it would be a long shot. Just because they were all from the same world didn’t mean they would know each other. “If you don’t mind, can I ask a question about you now?”

Usually, Seryu would like for Wave to piss off now but she would oblige him just this one time. “Fine but you only get to ask one question.” She emphasized what she directed by holding up one finger to Wave.

That was fine with Wave since he only had one question to ask. “Why do you hate humans so much?”

His question struck a deep nerve in Seryu. Her eyes were filled with hatred and snarled at Wave. “You want to know why I hate humans?” She pointed at her ear that had the cut through it. “It was humans that did this me. They wanted to see if I could feel pain from it. And also…” She brought up her arms as a presentation to Wave. “It was humans that did this to me too.” Wave couldn’t help but feel mortified when he learned that. He did learn that the Seryu from his world lost her arms due to one of the members of Night Raid cut her arms off. “Imagine your arms being pounded by sledgehammers on each arm one time after the next. The left and then the right, over and over and the pain you feel becomes worse after each hit. My arms were broken beyond repair so they were cut off and were replaced by these.” She set her arms down. “I was never the same after that. If I loathed humans before, I absolutely despise them now for what they did to me. I wanted to make them pay. To make all humans pay for what they did to me. That’s why I joined the White Fang. To make them feel the wrath of absolute justice!” Her expression softened and lowered her head. “And then the White Fang turned on me, on Sienna but they and Adam will have their comeuppance. I’ll make sure of that.” She took in a deep breath and sighed deeply. “Twice I was betrayed. First by her…” Her voice dripped with venom when she said that last part of the sentence. “And then by the White Fang. It seems the only person I can trust is myself.”

“You’re wrong.” Seryu looked back up at Wave who staring at her with a serious expression. “I am sorry for what happened to you but you should know not all humans act like the way you think they do. If you can’t trust other humans then you can start by trusting me.”

Seryu scoffed again by Wave’s offer. “And what makes you think I’ll trust you?” Wave knew he needed more than his word as a man of the sea to convince Seryu. He only had one option left. Seryu saw Wave draw out his sword for some reason and brought up his left hand. In the next second, Wave pressed the blade against the palm of his left hand and quickly swiped it across. Droplets of blood leaked out of the fresh wound to the floor. Seryu thought he’d lost it. “Hey, are you crazy!?”

Wave immediately grabbed Seryu’s right hand and gripped it tightly. Usually, Seryu would just beat any other person into a coma for doing such a thing but something about what Wave was doing was different. “Seryu…” Wave stared at the Faunus girl with an intense focus gaze upon her. “The blood I will shed will be for you, whether it’ll be the blood of the ones who did this to you or my own. I will fight alongside you, no matter what, to the end.”

Seryu had no response of what Wave had declared to her. It was humans that made her this way so what would this one before her be any different? _“What human would cut his own hand for you?”_ That thought had randomly come to her mind. Wave did cut his own hand to show how much is he dedicated to her. She studied the soldier’s eyes intently and to her surprise, there was no sign, no hint of any lies, of any false promises. For the first time, a human was truly being honest with her. It was almost unbelievable to her. Almost. She tightened her grip on Wave’s hand and gritted her teeth. “Why? Why would you go this far for me? I don’t know a damn thing about you.”

To Wave, the question didn’t matter to him. “Because you were my comrade once and I believe you can be again.” Comrade. At this point, Seryu didn’t even know what that word meant to her anymore. Was this human before her the only one she could rely on? They barely knew each other even if Wave did know her human counterpart. And yet, Wave defended her, encouraged her, and made a declaration unlike any she had seen before. Whether Seryu liked it or not, Wave was the only one would stand beside her. Even if he was a human. Wave let go of Seryu’s hand and turned around away from her. “Just know this, Seryu. I’ll always stand beside you, no matter what.” He slowly started to make his way to the door. After what Wave did to his hand, he would have to find some bandages to wrap around his self-inflicted injury but to him, it was nothing compared to what pain Seryu had to go through.

“Hold on.” Just as Wave approached the door, he turned around when he heard Seryu call out to him. The soldier turned around to see Seryu stand up from the bed and walk over to him. Once she was standing close enough to him, Seryu placed her hand on Wave’s chest. “This is the only freebie I’m giving you.” Wave immediately felt a small pulse going through his body. He couldn't describe it but it somehow felt welcoming strangely enough. Seryu removed her hand. "Look at your hand now." Wave did just that and he saw the wound heal rapidly until it was no more. He was astounded something like that had happened. "Ozpin said you needed to work on unlocking your aura. I just did that for you." Wave looked back at Seryu who still retained her serious expression. "In case you don't know, our aura can act as a natural shield, taking the damage for us but it has its limits so don't go depending on it all the time. It can also heal small wounds like the one you gave yourself on your hand.”

Now Wave understood what Seryu meant earlier. He had no idea aura could work this way. Then a question came to him. “If it can heal wounds, why do you need to bandage yourself up?”

Seryu looked down at her side and placed her hand on her injury. “Like I said, it’s only good for healing small wounds. Injuries like this, it’ll take a lot more.” That seemed fair enough to Wave since everything had its limits.

Wave smiled at Seryu and wanted to give her a hug as thanks but he figured she wouldn’t like it. Still, this was a step in the right direction. “Thank you, Seryu.”

He turned around and grabbed the knob as he tuned it. The door opened and Wave already passed through it. Before he could fully leave out of her sight, Seryu still had one more thing to say to him. “You know I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”

Wave stopped again and turned his head to her. “That may be true but there are some battles you can’t fight on your own.” With those words spoken, Wave finally made his way back downstairs to the others. With Wave gone, Seryu closed the door slowly but gently and turned around to head back to the bed. Once she was close, fell down face first and sighed as she tried to figure out what had just happened to her. Seryu slowly closed her eyes and before she knew it, she went unconsciously asleep.

_F_

“Seryu…” Seryu found herself kneeling before Sienna Khan sitting on her throne while her head was lowered. She was summoned by Sienna herself and Seryu couldn’t tell if it was a blessing or something much worse then she would like to imagine. Sienna obviously had a displeased look in her eyes. “Do you have any idea what you have done?”

Seryu could hear the irritation in her leader’s voice. “I have punished the traitor Faunus who was responsible for killing our members. I have accomplished something Adam could not back at Beacon.”

Sienna narrowed her eyes at her subordinate. “By those words, I’m thinking you are sounding quite arrogant. You were not permitted to pursue this traitor Faunus. Much less take a squad to fulfill your ambition.”

It was true. Seryu had pursued Leone without her leader knowing but she had to do it. “I couldn’t let her get away with what she had done. A Faunus killing her own kind is unthinkable and unforgivable and even though I don't see eye to eye with Adam, he is still a member nonetheless and would pay for what she had done. Most of all, I did it for you, high leader." 

Her leader scoffed at her reasoning. “And what made you think you were above authority? Because of your actions, we have lost several of our own members. Not because of this traitor Faunus but because of you. You are responsible for their deaths. Does your ideal of absolute justice go that far? To use others for your own gain?”

Seryu could find no fault in her leader’s words. True, the shuttle that was carrying Leone crashed into the ocean and Leone may as well be declared deceased but some of the members she took with her also shared the same fate on that shuttle. It was something she had to carry on her shoulders for the rest of her life. Her leader was wrong about one thing, though. “No, ma’am. I would never fall to such a degrading level such as that.”

“Then you should’ve thought of that before you went in this pursuit of yours!” we have to do, she was not our top priority.” She sighed as she calmed down slightly. “You say you did this for me but you must admit to at least this, Seryu. You also did this for yourself. To prove you’re better than Adam since he had failed to defeat her.” Seryu won’t deny that. She saw this as an opportunity to both prove she was better and could defeat a foe Adam could not. To her, it was killing two birds with one stone. However, she didn’t foresee the consequences of pursuing such a goal. “While I admire your passion and loyalty to the White Fang, what you have done is unacceptable. Do you understand?”

Seryu felt disheartened by her leader’s words. The one thing she didn’t want was the disproving and disappointment from Sienna. “Yes, high leader.”

Sienna had reached her point across toward her subordinate. “You may leave now, Seryu but don’t think this is over yet. Your punishment will be decided later.”

 Seryu wouldn’t doubt that at all as disobeying came at a high cost. “As you command, high leader.” She stood up and turned around without at Sienna as Seryu started to walk away.

Seryu exited out of the grand hall and walked aimlessly in the all. “Uh-oh. Looks like somebody's in big trouble.”

The Faunus girl stopped walking and looked ahead to see another Faunus leaning against the wall with a smug smirk on his face. Seryu growled at the other member as she despised him just as much as Adam. “Syura…”

Syura chuckled playfully despite the glaring he was receiving from the other White Fang member. “No need to be so ferocious with me little dog or do you want your leash to be pulled?” One of the reasons why Seryu hated Syura; his analogies toward her. “It’s hard to believe that Sienna’s loyal doggie would go off on her own chasing a bone that looked primed to be chewed.”

“Are you done yet?!” Seryu had no time to waste on someone like him.

Syura grinned at the other Faunus as he had his fill for now. “I’ll get to the point. Believe it or not, Adam wants to talk to you.”

Some of Seryu’s anger became curiosity when she heard that coming from Syura. “Why the hell does Adam want to talk to me?”

Syura closed his eyes and shrugged. “I’m just the messenger. If you want to know…” He opened his eyes. “You’ll have to find out for yourself. Meet him tonight at the main hall. That’s all you’ll be hearing from me.” He turned around and made his leave.

Seryu was uncertain about this whole thing about Adam wanting to meet with her. She had half a mind to just ignore it but the other half wanted to know why Adam would want to meet with her out of the blue. Little did she know, the decision she would make would be almost fatal to her.

**B**

Seryu approached the doors that led to the main hall. She would be lying to herself if she wasn’t feeling a little anxious about this meeting with Adam. To her, there would be no reason why Adam would want to talk to her and yet, he does. Something about it didn’t seem right to her. Seryu pushed the doors open and sure enough, there was Adam standing the middle. “Seryu, I was wondering if you were going to appear.”

Seryu narrowed her eyes at the other White Fang member as she slowly approached Adam. She could already sniff out that there were several other members with them hiding in the shadows. Already this was starting to look suspicious to her. “I’m here now Adam.” She stopped walking and was at a cautious distance from Adam. “So, what’s the reason why you wanted to see me? You and I never saw eye to eye and you know what I think of you. Tell me what do you want with me.”

Adam saw no point in stringing Seryu along and decided to tell her. “Very well. I wanted to ask you if you’d like to join me.” He held out his hand to her.

Seryu raised an eye at Adam's strange offer. "What do you mean by joining you?"

Adam set his hand down. "What I mean is that it's about time I take control of the White Fang. Sienna is showing signs of hesitation and is having doubts. Only I can lead the White Fang to the true path. Many of the other members already see that. I'm telling you this now because I know how loyal you are to Sienna and because of that this was kept secret from you until now but even you must see the weakness she has shown. If it means anything to you, I did approve of you chasing down that traitor Faunus. You took something into your own hands. Something Sienna would never do. I believe you can be of great use for the future of the White Fang. That is unless you accept my offer."

Seryu had to process what she had heard from Adam carefully. It was akin to a major bomb dropping on top of her. She had no idea something like this was happening within the White Fang. The other members inside must’ve already been in on it if Adam was talking about this so freely. Most of all, Adam was planning to overthrow Sienna. “So, what you’re telling me is that you have most of the White Fang on your side and you’re going to overthrow Sienna, possibly murder her too?”

It was a crude summery but she was correct. “That’s right. Sienna is holding the White Fang back and any hindrances must be dealt with. Don’t worry, though as her death will make her a martyr. You can at least take pride in that. What do you say, Seryu? Will you be part of a stronger White Fang?”

Seryu’s hands closed tightly and gritted her teeth. Seryu won’t deny Sienna made some questionable choices recently but there was one thing that hadn’t changed about what Seryu thought of Sienna. She would always be and always will be the leader of the White Fang to her. “I’ll give you my answer. You can take that offer and your sword and shove them up your ass!”

Her answer echoed throughout the hall and Adam’s expression remained unchanged. “As I expected. Well then, Seryu…” He brought his hand back up and snapped his fingers. The members that were hiding the shadows came out and surrounded her while pointing their guns at Seryu. “You truly are a loyal dog to the end. The truth is I knew you would reject my offer and anyone who is against me is also against the White Fang. Seryu Koro, in the name of the White Fang, I hereby brand you as a traitor and all traitors will be and shall be executed.”

Seryu took a step back while looking very worried. These were the same Faunus she had fought alongside with and now they were going kill her. She glared angrily at Adam at what he was doing. “You’re not going to get away with this you bastard!”

Adam begged to differ as he smiled at Seryu. “It’s already too late. Sienna’s end draws near and you’re the only one who’s standing in my way.” He extended his hand in front of the Faunus girl. “Goodbye Seryu and good riddance.”

Seryu had to come up with something and quick or else her body will be riddled with bullet holes in the next few seconds. She could only come up with one strategy in such a short notice. Seryu quickly turned around and dashed to the nearest members. She didn’t have time to take out her kanabo so Seryu settled with her curved blades the outer sides of her arms. She slashed at the first members before they could shoot at her while they screamed and fell to the ground. “FIRE!” The other members started shooting at Seryu but she quickly turned around and jumped into the air. She pointed her left art at the group and her hand opened all the way to her wrist. Seryu fired a blast from her opening at the ground and loud boom occurred. Dust also spread around as a result and the other members couldn’t see where they were aiming at.

Seryu landed on the ground and had little time to spare to escape while everyone was blinded and confused. If she was lucky, she could warn Sienna about this. She turned around and then felt a sharp cutting pain on her left side. Seryu cried out and held the injury with her right hand. She looked at her would and it was indeed cut. The Faunus girl looked ahead to see Adam in front of her with his sword drawn out. “Such a shame I missed. I was aiming to sever your body.” He turned around to face Seryu. “This distraction of yours won’t last long. Just accept your death.”

The Faunus girl growled at Adam as the dust began to clear up. "Like hell, I will!" That was all the incentive Adam needed and rushed toward Seryu with his sword ready. Seryu crossed her arms to defend against the attack. **“Reinforce!”** A brief flash appeared on her arms and Adam’s attack was stopped. In the next second, uncrossed her arms and pushed Adam’s sword away from her. Seryu had two choices to make. Either attack Adam while he was open or take the opportunity to leave while it was still open. As of now, all Seryu could think about was surviving. She didn’t waste any time in running toward Adam and smacking him aside with her left arm. Seryu passed him and made a mad dash to the exit. She made it out just before the dust cleared up.

Adam wasn’t going let her get away that easily. “Chase after her now!” His subordinates followed his command and went after Seryu. While they were doing what they were told, Adam had a suspicion of where Seryu was going to next. “You.” He called out to the last member approaching the door. The member stopped and turned to him. “Head to the hanger and cut Seryu off. Take some of the others with you. When you have the chance, finish her off.” The member nodded at him and went to the intended destination. Adam smiled as he had won this small skirmish. “It’s all over for you now, Seryu and Sienna will soon follow.”

Seryu was panting heavily as she was fleeing while her hand was clutching the injury on her left side. She was running wherever the hallway was taking her. Rampant thoughts were going through her mind. _“I have to warn Sienna. She has to know Adam is going to-”_ Seryu heard several shots being fired from behind. At this rate, Seryu didn’t have time to warn her leader of what Adam was going to do. Her only choice now was to escape. She ran through the hallways and made several turns around the corners until the Faunus girl reached the hanger where all the other air shuttles were. Unfortunately, Seryu wasn’t the first to arrive. In between her and the shuttle was that same White Fang member Adam told to cut her off and there were several other members with that member. They weren’t much but in Seryu’s condition, it wasn’t good. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to listen to Adam. Do you have any idea what any of you are doing?!” The last thing she wanted to do was harm her fellow members but they didn’t think the same of her.

The members pointed their guns at Seryu. She yelled as shots were fired. After the firing had stopped, Seryu was panting as she was standing over the defeated White Fang members. They weren’t killed but unconscious. Even now, Seryu couldn’t bear to kill her fellow members. She had little time left before the rest come after her. She ran up to one of the shuttles and opened the door. Seryu went to the control panel and started it up. The thrusters fired and the shuttle lifted. It set off before the rest of members arrived with Adam among them. While he was disappointed he couldn’t end Seryu, at least she was out of his way. No one could protect Sienna now. “It doesn’t matter where you go now Seryu. There’s nobody else for you out there. Now all that’s left to deal with is that traitor Faunus in Menagerie along with Blake.”

In the shuttle, Seryu put the control on autopilot while walking slowly to the cabinet that had the first aid kit. She opened it and pulled out the kit. The Faunus girl sat down at the nearest seat and opened the kit to grab the gauze. She was still breathing heavily as she lifted her shirt up to reveal the wound Adam had given her. It was a serious injury and blood was leaking out of it. She administered the gauze around her torso to cover up the wound. It wasn’t the best treatment but it would have to do for now. The adrenaline she had since her escape had dissipated and felt very fatigued. “Sleep. I need…sleep…” Seryu fell to her right side and fell fast asleep.

A couple of hours later, Seryu was still asleep but unknown to her, there was another passenger who was on board. This passenger silently walked passed Seryu and approached the control panel. The passenger placed their hand on it and a strange green light appeared on the screen. After a few seconds, the light faded back into black. The passenger turned back at Seryu and smiled at her. _“You have someone waiting for you.”_

Loud noises started blaring and woke Seryu up. She immediately stood up and looked over at the control. The Faunus girl saw no one there and heard two certain words repeat over and over. “AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION! AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION! AUTOPILOT MALFUNCTION!” In the next few minutes, a loud crash could be heard.

_F_

Seryu opened her eyes and lifted herself in a brief panic. She panted heavily for a short time before collecting herself. _“Why did I remember that of all things and…what the hell did I see?”_ There was one other thing Seryu had noticed. There was a blanket discarded to the side when she awoke and was fully on the bed. "Who the hell did this?" The answer came quickly to her as she knew who exactly would do this sort of thing to her. "It was him, wasn't it?" Seryu felt a little disgusted that a human had touched her but at the same time, she knew he wouldn't do anything harmful to her. How the Faunus girl didn't notice was beyond her. Seryu looked at the clock and saw that it was three in the morning. "Why did I wake up at such a random time?" If it was this late, then that meant everyone else was sleeping. A growling sound could be heard from her stomach and felt a little embarrassed. "I guess I did kinda skip dinner. I guess I'll see what leftovers are there for me. If there's any at all." Seryu got off from her bed and stood up to leave her room. She closed her door silently so it wouldn't alert the others. Seryu traveled downstairs and from the stairs, she saw Wave sleeping on one of the couches. Why he was sleeping on the couch Seryu didn't understand but didn't care. However, he wasn't the only one. Seryu saw Cornelia sleeping on the other couch for an odder reason. Seryu didn’t care much for that either and reached the lower floor.

The Faunus girl walked to the kitchen and saw that it was completely empty with the sink filled with dishes that were clean. It seemed there wasn't much for her eat after all. That is until she saw a note posted on the microwave and walked up to it. Seryu read what was written in the note. _“I saved you your favorite dish. Or at least I hope it’s still your favorite._

_Wave”_

Somehow, this wasn’t surprising to Seryu and chuckled softly. She opened the microwave door quietly as possible and inside were five Salisbury steak burgers on a paper plate.  

Seryu couldn’t help but smile at the food before her. _“You idiot. Of course, they’re my favorite. You should know better.”_ She took the plate out of the microwave and closed the same as she opened it. The Faunus girl walked to the table and placed down the plate. Once she sat down, Seryu took one of the burgers and took a bite out of the burger. After the first bite, it didn’t take her long to finish the rest. Even if they were a little cold, they were best Seryu had ever eaten.

**B**

Birds began chirping as morning arrived in Mistral. The sun’s rays traveled through an open window and struck a pair of closed eyes. The sunlight bothered this person’s eyes and slowly opened them only to be blinded by the sunlight. “Can someone turn off the sun?” A hand came up to the eyes and rubbed them for a few seconds to adjust to the new lighting in the room. She removed her hand and groaned. The person in question was none other than Akame. She stopped rubbing her eyes and removed her hand. Once Akame did, she noticed something rather strange and alarming. She was in a bed that was not her own and could feel the silkiness of the covers on her entire body meaning she was naked underneath. Akame was very concerned about this. “How did I-”

She heard a yawn coming from behind and felt an arm wrap on top of her body. She then felt a soft kiss on the back of her neck. Akame gasped as she immediately sat up without any disregard of covering her chest to see who was in the bed with her. Once she saw the other person in the bed, her eyes widened in shock at who it was. It was a woman but not any woman. A woman she had seen before back in the streets of Mistral and when she was still a part of the Elite Seven. Akame saw the older woman sit up and giggled playfully at her as she sat up as well without covering up her chest either. She gave Akame a rather loving smile. “Well, good morning cutie.”

Akame had thought she had gotten used to this by now but this world had sent yet another familiar face to her. A face that played a major part of her leaving the Empire. The woman who she had killed. _“Merraid…Oarburgh…”_

 


	59. Pillars of Life

**A/N: Well, the semester is (almost) over for me so maybe there'll be a slight increase in updates. Maybe.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Fifty Nine: Pillars of Life

Akame was at a loss for words yet again. The woman she was staring at in disbelief was none other than a certain woman from her world known as Merraid Oarburgh, the leader of the Oarburgh clan. The woman who played an important part of her leaving the Empire and the woman she had killed. To make this more nonsensical, Akame was in the same bed as her, both clearly nude. It didn't take long for Akame to put two and two together of what happened between them. _“I…I....we…”_

“What’s with that face?” Akame snapped out of her shock when she heard Merraid’s voice. She saw Merraid still giving that playful smile. “Here, let me take a closer look.” Merraid quickly lifted Akame’s chin and closed the distance between them. She captured Akame’s lips with her own in a soft gentle kiss while her eyes close. Akame’s eyes, however, went wide with shock. This was very unlike the first time Merraid kissed Akame way back then where it was forceful. Merraid slightly opened her eyes to see the look Akame had and smiled into the kiss. She used her other hand to push the younger girl back on the bed while separating from the kiss. She then used this chance to be on top of Akame and straddled her while placing her hands just below Akame's breasts. Merraid smiled sensually this time at the position both girls were in as Merraid's body wasn't covered anymore. Akame's first instinct would've been to push the woman off of her but instead, she couldn’t help but be entranced by the sunlight hitting Merraid’s bare body which made her…beautiful. Akame could feel her heart beat rapidly as if it wanted to bust out from her chest. Merraid giggled excitedly. “You know, I can’t get over of what you did to me last night. It would be an insult to simply call you a girl. I think it would be much more respectable to call you a woman.”

Now Akame wondered what exactly she did last night for Merraid to say such a thing to her. She had some ideas. Her beating became harder when Akame saw Merraid lower herself to the younger girl while her hands traveled up to Akame’s shoulders. Inch by inch, Merraid was once again closer to Akame’s lips as her own could almost touch them. Their breasts softly pushing against each other which the younger girl such a thrilling rush. Akame didn’t know why but she was anticipating on what the older woman was going to do next. “How about I make you some breakfast.”

Akame was stricken by confusion as Merraid got off of her and the off the bed. Akame saw Merraid take a silken purple bathrobe off a hanger from the door and put it on. After she tightened the sash around, Merraid left the room. Akame could feel her heart relax now and groaned as she sighed. _“What just came over me and how did I end up in this situation?”_ Akame tried her best to recall but the best she could remember was a few bits and pieces. Most of them being ramen of all things. Then Akame remembered something else that was important and sat up immediately with a panicked expression on her face. _“Cora! And the others too! I didn’t come back home to them last night!”_ She figured everyone must’ve been absolutely worried about her at this point. Akame had to find her scroll immediately and text them that she was alright. The problem was finding her scroll and possibly her underwear. Akame scanned the room and there were clothes strewn across the room leaving her with no doubt that she did in fact sleep with Merraid. Something Akame should feel disgusted about but couldn’t. She shook her head and figure out that part later. Akame stepped out of bed and tried to find her clothes. There was no way she was going out of the room wearing nothing but a bathrobe. Akame put on her clothes and was thankful she was fully dressed. She lightly held the scarf that Leone once had before as it was the only reminder left of her.

Akame reached for her scroll was still in her skirt pocket. She didn’t waste any time in pulling her scroll out and immediately started to text Cornelia back. _“Cora. I’m sorry I didn’t come back home last night. Something…unexpected happened but I’m alright. I’ll get back to you and the others soon.”_ She hit send. Akame sighed as she knew Cornelia would be deathly worried at this point. Right now, there wasn’t anything else important. That is until she smelled the familiar scent of food being cooked and her stomach growled at the exact moment.

Akame looked out the door and walked right through it. She found herself in the living room and on the righthand side was a small kitchen where Merraid was. It seemed they were both in an apartment and by the size of it, a one-room at that. Akame could easily tell the smell of bacon. Merraid glanced back to see Akame standing outside of her room although a little disappointed that she was fully dressed. “Ah, you’re up. I hope you won’t leave just yet. Not until you have some of my cooking. It won’t be much longer.”

Akame could leave and go back to others or she could stay and observe. She decided on the second choice since this was a different Merraid. Akame walked over to the black couch across from the TV and a small table in the middle and sat on it while she waited for Merraid to finish. While she was waiting, Akame felt her scroll vibrate and pulled it out to see a reply from Cornelia. She opened the reply and saw the text Cornelia sent her. _“Akame! I was so worried! I’m happy nothing bad happened to you. Get back to us ASAP. You won’t believe who showed up last night.”_

Akame was curious as to what Cornelia meant by that. Not a second later and Akame received more text messages from her other teammates. _“That is the last time you are frigging going out overnight. Do you hear me? Seriously, do you have any idea how worried Cora was about you? PS: get your ass over here. You’re going to be surprised who we met last night.”_

_“It’s great that you’re okay Akame. You really missed a good feast last night. Don’t worry, we saved some food for you. Oh yeah, you also missed something kinda important last night.”_

_“Way to go to make your entire team worried. Hope you’re proud of yourself. Still, it’s great that nothing horrible happened to you. BTW, I will never hear the end of Taeko saying how she was right all along.”_

_“Cora was really happy that she got a text back from you and so were we. Can’t wait to see you again Akame. Also…you may want to see what happened last night for yourself.”_

_“It is a relief to know that nothing misfortunate happened to you. We’ll be waiting for your return. And I’m sure Chelsea already told you but I’ll tell you that I was right about reincarnation all along.”_

Akame couldn’t help but smile at the texts she received from her teammates. They were slightly wrong about how nothing happened to her because something certainly did happen last night and she wasn’t going to let them know. And judging by what everyone was saying, it seemed something important happened while she was away. It was all the more reason to get back to them. “You seem to be happy.” Akame looked up to see Merraid with a plate in each hand. She set both plates down in front of Akame and they had a pretty standard breakfast combo. Three cooked pieces sausages, five strips of crispy bacon, two pieces of buttered toast, and scrambled eggs with bits and pieces of ham and onions. There was also a single fork on one of the plates. Merraid sat next to Akame. “I hope this’ll be good enough for you considering how much you ate last night.” She just remembered something important she forgot to tell Akame. “Oh, yes. I never introduced myself. My name’s Merraid.”

Akame already knew that but it would still be good manners to introduce herself to her. “I-I’m Akame.”

Already Merraid liked the sound of Akame’s name. “Akame. Even your name sounds cute.” That was first Akame had ever heard. No one had ever said her name was cute before. Even she didn’t think so herself. “Well, Akame, no need to wait any longer. Go ahead and eat.” Merraid gestured at the food.

Akame turned to the food before her and while it did look good, she was a little hesitant to ask about what happened last night. Especially with what Merraid said before back at the bed but this could be her only chance. “Before I do, about last night. Just how did I…how did we…”

"End up in bed together?" Merraid finished. She chuckled at the question. "I guess I do owe you an explanation for that since you were overcome with grief so it makes sense you wouldn't remember much. Here’s what happened.” Akame turned to the older woman. “I was just walking around minding my own business when I happen to see such a cute girl crying for some reason. I walked up to you to see what was wrong but you seemed to be so distraught. I offered to take you along and see if I can cheer you up.” Now that Akame heard Merraid explain that, she remembered Merraid offering her hand to her last night. She must’ve been too upset to recognize Merraid at the time or else they wouldn’t be sitting together like this. “I held your hand as comfort while I was thinking of a way to cheer you up. You barely said a word to me. That was when we stumbled upon a ramen shop and thought that would be a good place to start and possibly you were hungry. We entered and looked at the menus. It seemed to have caught your attention and we ordered. It was during our little stay where I saw the strangest thing. Never have I saw someone like you eat thirty bowls. I wondered where you put it all. Then I found out all that energy must’ve gone to your tongue.”

Akame blushed as she knew what the older woman meant by that. Her remembering ramen made more sense now but Akame was still a little skeptical about that. “Do you happen to have the receipt?” She wanted to make sure Merraid’s story checked out.

“I believe so. I think it’s still in my dress. Let me go get it.” Merraid stood up from the couch and walked over to her room. Akame couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the older woman’s swaying her hips and backside. She snapped out of it when Merraid entered her room. Akame had no idea what was coming over her. She had only just met this woman she was already checking her out. It didn’t Merraid long to exit her room with a slip of paper in her fingers. “Found it.” She walked back to Akame and sat back down next to her. “Right here. I thought you would need some proof in case you asked something like this. You cost me quite a lot of lien.”

Akame took the slip and looked it over. Merraid was telling the truth since there were a lot of orders of different ramen and only two orders of the same kind of ramen. Only she would eat this much and try a variety. This confirmed that Merraid was telling the truth after all. Akame handed the receipt back to Merraid. She felt a small jolt going through her hand when it touched Merraid’s briefly before taking the slip of paper back. “Was there anything else that happened?”

Merraid pondered the question for a few seconds until she found her answer. “Ah, yes. I think it was when you were around on your thirteenth or sixteenth bowl is when you started to cry again about someone called…Leone.” Akame’s face became pale when she heard that. “Yes, you said something along the lines of never seeing her again and how you’re alone now. I know I shouldn’t pry into other people’s business but what exactly did happen between you two? Did you go through a bad breakup with this person?” Akame looked away from Merraid and lowered her head as she stared at the floor rather than the food. Merraid could already tell she touched a very sensitive topic. “Do you not want to talk about it? I’ll understand why.”

Akame shook her head. “No, that’s alright. Leone was…she was…we didn’t exactly break up. I…recently had learned that she…she…” Akame couldn’t bring herself to say that word. She started to tear up again at the thought.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Merraid was giving her support. “I think I can piece together the rest of the story. I guess all I could say is I’m sorry for your loss. She must’ve been a lucky girl to have someone like you.” She removed her hand from Akame’s shoulder.

Akame couldn’t help but giggle which was the first time Merraid heard such a thing. “I’d like to think I was lucky to have her. Someone like me, with a person like Leone, it was the only time I felt like it was too good to be true. But then it turns out I was right.” Akame returned to her saddened expression and looked away.

Merraid couldn’t help but feel sorry for Akame. A pretty girl, or rather, a gorgeous woman like her shouldn’t be able to look this sad. “Do you have anyone else to help you?”

Akame nodded at the question. “I have some friends but…”

The older woman could already tell what Akame was about to say. “There are some things they can’t help you with, correct?” Akame didn’t want to admit that but she couldn’t deny it was true. Her team would always be there to pick her back up but there was one thing they couldn’t do that Leone could and that was a lover’s embrace. Merraid can understand that much. “Friends can be dependable when you need them but sometimes they’re not enough. I’m not saying they’re useless but they can be supportive for so long. Sometimes, it’s only the one you love that can carry you the distance. It’s kinda like this. This Leone was the central pillar of your life and your friends are the support pillars. When that central pillar is gone, the support will be they won’t do as a good of a job.” She closed her left eye. “Am I somewhat close?”

Her explanation was the best analogy Akame had heard that described her life with Leone. Basically, her life in general. All of her friends and teammates, the Elite Seven, the previous Night Raid and the current one. They were all pillars of her life but one by one, those pillars began to crumble. It was Leone’s pillar that began to uplift Akame’s life but now that pillar was gone. Sure, Cornelia and the others will be there to support her but it wouldn’t be the same without Leone. Merraid closed her other eye. “In the end, and this might sound a little cruel but sometimes friends can never be as close to you as the one you love. Maybe except you include those friends as lovers and have yourself a harem.” She chuckled at the thought. “That’d be hilarious if you were the devil or an empress of some kind.” Akame wasn’t sure if she’d want a harem made up of her friends. Especially Kurome. Having a sister as part of a group of lovers would be just strange.

Merraid opened her eyes as she just realized something. “Oh, yes. I still haven’t explained how we ended up in bed.” She cleared her throat. “After we and mostly you finished eating, we left the shop. Some time had passed and I was sure it wasn’t such a good idea to send you off your way since you still seemed a little down. As a good and responsible civilian, I offered you to spend the night at my place. You didn’t give much an answer so I took it as a yes and held your hand again. We reached to my apartment and I offered to sleep on the couch while you could sleep in my bed but then you did something I didn't expect you to do." She paused for a dramatic effect of some sort. It did make Akame curious about what she did. Merraid smiled at her. "You just grabbed me by the shoulders, pushed me against the walls on my back and forced your lips upon me." Akame was very surprised she did and could do such a thing. Merraid loved the reaction. "Yes, I was not expecting you to do that. You pulled away and gave me such a desperate needing look. It's as if you wanted me to comfort you in more ways than one. I gave in and…well…you know." The older woman slightly blushed at the "activities" she remembered they did last night. "I won't get into too much detail but you were very aggressive which I didn't mind too much. In fact, it was the first I was ever on the bottom. You even gave me several hickeys.” Merraid pulled back her hair and opened her neck slightly more for Akame to see several dark circular marks on it.

It was most certainly Akame’s handiwork since she’d done the same thing to Leone multiple times. Luckily, Leone always wore her scarf so the others didn't even notice. Merraid let go of her hair. Still, it was quite a shock for Akame to learn she was the one who forced herself upon Merraid even though she was just trying to help her. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Merraid saw the look and thought to comfort her. "You shouldn't feel bad about what you did. You had a need and I gave myself to you of my own volition. You didn't do anything wrong. Of course, if it was someone else, then maybe there would've been a problem but luckily that didn't happen. If it makes you feel better, you are definitely the best I’ve been with. You certainly knew what you were doing and then some. Good thing seventeen is the legal age of consent here.”

As strange as the compliment was, Akame decided to take it. But then a question arose when she heard Merraid say that last part. “So, I take it that you’ve slept with other women before. Did you make them breakfast as well?”

To her surprise, Merraid closed her eyes and shook her head a little. “No.” She opened her eyes and stopped while smiling at Akame. “You’re the first I’ve cooked for. You did that good, no, great of a job last night.” Now Akame felt a little honored even if it was still a little awkward. Merraid looked back at the breakfast she made for Akame. “I think you should eat now or else it’ll get a little cold.”

Akame looked back at the breakfast and smiled. It would be an insult to leave such delicious looking food go to waste. “I think I will.” A thought occurred to her. “Aren’t you going to eat too?”

Merraid giggled a little at the question. “I’m good for now. What’s important is that you eat.” Akame didn’t need to argue any further and take on the older woman’s charity. She took the fork and started eating her breakfast. Akame thought the breakfast was very good and it didn’t take her long to finish which surprised Merraid since she hadn’t seen anyone eat that fast. Then again, she never met someone who could eat so much ramen. Among a certain other thing too. While eating, Akame still couldn’t get over the strange circumstances that happened to her recently. Strange but not too terrible and a little awkward since Merraid was her enemy before but it seems she was just a civilian in Mistral. Akame wanted to thank her for looking after her, even if they did sleep together, but she had a feeling Merraid would refuse.

After breakfast was finished, it was time for Akame to leave. Merraid opened the door for Akame and the younger of the two walked outside but stopped to turn around to face the older woman. She didn’t know why but it felt like she didn’t want to leave Merraid just yet but she had to. She bowed to the older woman. “Thank you for looking after me and…” She wanted to say she was sorry for what happened last night but Merraid made it clear she was more than alright with it.

The older woman chuckled again at Akame’s politeness. “You’re very welcome. I hope things will get better for you. In fact, I know they will.” She had one more thing for Akame before she could leave. “Before you go, one last thing.” Akame saw Merraid walk up to her and closed the distance between them. Akame may have been surprised at first at Merraid kissing her but this second time around, she fully embraced it as both of their eyes closed. Without thinking, Akame wrapped her arms around Merraid’s waist and deepened the kiss between as she pulled the older woman closer to her. Merraid wasn’t expecting Akame to do such a thing but would gladly oblige as she wrapped her arms around Akame in return. The kiss escalated when Merraid’s tongue pushed against Akame’s lips and Akame parted them enough to grant the older woman access. Merraid easily dominated the kiss and the two of them moaned together. Merraid broke the kiss off and they opened their eyes to each other. A thin strand of saliva connected between their tongues before breaking apart. The two of them were breathing heavily and Merraid saw that same needy look in Akame’s eyes from the night before. She herself felt the same way and a little hot under the collar. There was no denying what both of them wanted right now. “Maybe…you can stay for another thirty minutes.” Akame unconsciously nodded and Merraid separated from her. She took Akame’s hand and they went back inside the apartment with the door closing behind them and locked.

 


	60. Difference in Experience

**A/N: Late merry Christmas and happy holidays and early happy new year, everyone! I admit I had a little difficulty writing this chapter. Hopefully, the next chapter will go smoother.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty: Difference in Experience

“Alright, hold on! The landing’s going to be rough!”

"I hope you know what you're doing!"

“I have half an idea!” The air shuttle Syka and Sienna were on is heading for a crash course in a part of a desert near Menagerie in the morning sun. Since there weren't any ports they could land in, Syka decided to improvise. That idea was crashing into the sand which Siena wasn't a fan of. Of course, they weren't going to crash head first. As they neared the ground, Syka tried her best to pull up the shuttle to minimize the incoming rough landing. The two Faunus women braced for impact as the shuttle finally crashed into the sand. It skidded a few times on top of the sand before coming to a complete stop. In the next few seconds, the door opened and Syka hopped out of it. "Well, that went better than I thought." Her appearance had changed since previously wearing her White Fang uniform. The outfit she was wearing now was a dark tanned colored cropped tube top which revealed her midriff and baggy pants and shoes that were the same the color. Her hair was now put in a braided ponytail. On her arms were large violet gauntlets with a single large spike coming out from the top curved down forward and extended a little beyond her hand. She brought one of her gauntlets up to her face to inspect closely and lowered it to flick both of her arms. The spikes folded back section by section into a single cubed part.

Syka walked a few steps forward before turning around to face the open door. “You can come out now!” She didn’t hear a reply from her former leader and could figure out why. “Come on. What you’re wearing isn't that bad. Besides, I think you’d stand out in the crowd.”

“I’m still not sure about your choice of clothing.” Sienna finally revealed herself at the open door and Syka didn’t see what was the problem. The former leader had changed out of her original clothing (much to her embarrassment in front of Syka) and was wearing a new set of clothes. Sienna was wearing an open black sleeveless jacket with a red short-sleeved shirt underneath, slightly ripped dark blue jeans and black combat boots. Obviously, she wasn’t a fan of the new look. “This makes me appear like I’m some delinquent.” Sienna looked down and tugged on the jacket lightly.

Syka kinda knew that but they weren’t left with a lot of choices. “Hey, I had to grab what was in the compartment. Besides, aren't we runaways anyway? Also, it's kinda necessary since there is a faction of the White Fang in Menagerie. They're bound to recognize your old look."

Sienna sighed at the predicament she was now in. Forced to flee from the group she was tasked to command and now here she was. It was still better than being killed by Adam, though. She finally stepped down from the shuttle and approached the other Faunus girl. “Are you sure we landed close enough?” She stopped in front of Syka.

The scorpion Faunus nodded at her former leader. "As close as we can get. It'll be nothing but a short walk from here. Once we arrive, how about we get something to eat. Fleeing for your life can build up an appetite.” Now that Sienna thought about that, she hadn’t eaten anything since last night. "Now, before we do, let's get rid of the shuttle-" The two felt the ground tremble before them and grew fast quickly. "First." They had a bad feeling for what was about to come. They heard a loud noise and turned to the shuttle that tossed back and revealed a Death Stalker underneath. "That's…probably not good.”

“You think!?” Sienna walked back a few steps until she was behind Syka. She really couldn’t do anything since she didn’t have any weapons. Syka did, however. “Are you going to fight that or not!?”

Syka rolled her eyes and flicked her arms to bring out the spikes. “Might as well.” The Death Stalker screeched at the two Faunus girls and attacked by sending its stinger at Syka. She crouched slightly before jumping up to avoid the Grimm’s attack and over to where it was. The scorpion Faunus managed to land on the back of the Death Stalker’s head. “Let’s soften you up!” Syka slammed her hand on Grimm’s head and sizzling sound could be heard. The Death Stalker screeched and shook its body to be rid Syka off of it. Syka was thrown off and crashed back into the sand. She quickly stood up to see the Grimm raise its right claw at her. Syka rolled toward it to avoid the attack and was now under the Death Stalker. The scorpion Faunus took the opportunity and impaled both of her spikes in the underside of the Grimm.

The Death Stalker roared in pain as Syka began to run out of the Grimm while dragging her spikes along while tearing the Grimm in the process. She emerged from under the Death Stalker as she yelled out and ran ahead to distance herself from the Grimm. The Death Stalker turned around to face the Faunus girl. She was given another chance. "I think enough time has passed." She charged at the Death Stalker as the Grimm sent its stinger at her. Syka dodged to the side to avoid the attack and jumped headfirst toward the Death Stalker. With a strong yell, Syka thrust both of her spikes at the head of the Grimm and they, strangely enough, went all the way in. The Death Stalker roared one last time before dropped to the sand. Syka withdrew her spikes and sighed as the Grimm started to disintegrate. “That could’ve gone better.” Her spikes retracted and walked back to Sienna. “Are you okay?”

Sienna could ask the same thing about her fellow Faunus. She was a little miffed about one detail. “I’m fine but you couldn’t procure a weapon for me?”

Syka's response was just laughing awkwardly. "I would've but we do have to keep a down low. I think a random Faunus carrying a spear or a gun would draw some unwanted attention. I can only use mine that I put in one of the compartments in the ship from before. As long as you have me, you’ll be alright. Although, I didn’t mean for you to be a burden.” The former leader couldn’t blame her for thinking about that. Besides, Sienna wasn’t totally helpless. Weapon or not, she was still efficient in hand-to-hand combat. It just wouldn’t do much against a Grimm like a Death Stalker. “In any case, now that the distraction is gone, time for the next step.” She walked over to the shuttle and stood in front of it. “I think it would be better if we left no trace of our arrival.”

Sienna walked up to Syka and stood next to her. “And how do you propose to do that?” Syka smiled as she placed her hand on the shuttle and the metal surrounding her hand was instantly being eaten away. The metal was quickly being melted away and was spreading everywhere. Sienna was astounded by what she was seeing as the shuttle was already half-eaten away. “What kind of semblance do you possess?”

Syka was glad her former high leader asked that question. “My semblance is acid. I can make it as strong as I want it to be. The only reason my acid didn’t kill that Death Stalker was because it shook me off before it could do the job but it slowly worked its way through enough for me to fully pierce it.” The shuttle was almost completely gone with only a small part of it left. “Useful, yes but it can also be a pain as I have to watch out for when I'm not using it.” The last of the shuttle finally dissolved and was no more. Syka turned to Sienna. “Alright, now we can head to Menagerie. I just hope you’re about right about this person you mentioned helping us.” A thought about that subject came to her. “Come to think of it, I don’t think you ever mentioned the name.”

Sienna will admit she forgot to say who would be helping them. “This person is called Ghira Belladonna. He was the first leader of the White Fang and appointed me as his successor after his leaving. He’s now the chief of Menagerie.”

Syka easily recognized the last name. “Belladonna? Wasn’t there someone else in the White Fang with that name?”

The former high leader nodded in confirmation. “Yes. His daughter, Blake who was at one point Adam’s partner but she deserted after completing a mission with him.”

Now the scorpion Faunus remembered her after hearing the description. “So, Blake was the daughter of the previous White Fang leader and the present chieftain. Talk about being born privileged.” She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Syka exhaled and prepared herself for what lied ahead. “Well, let’s go see him then. I just hope the Faunus traitor doesn’t kill us first.”

That part worried Sienna as well but they had no choice. "It's a risk we have to take." She turned away from the other Faunus girl and saw the thick trees sprawled across from the near distance. "Let us go." Sienna began to walk over to where Menagerie was.

Syka quickly followed close behind her former leader. “You think we can get something to eat too while we’re there?”

**B**

Wave was astounded by what he was witnessing before him. It was unlike anything he’d seen before. “Hi-ya! Ya! Eeh!”

“Ha! Ah…yah!”

Ruby and Oscar were horrible in hand to hand combat. Especially Ruby. It was painful to watch for him and couldn’t help but make remarks about how the young leader was doing. _“Ruby, no. That’s not how you punch. You left yourself wide open with that movement. If you attack like that, your enemy will see it coming. You would’ve been killed that time. Several times over actually with how many openings you’re giving.”_ With Oscar, he had some idea of what he was doing but Ruby was downright awful. He thought if Budo ever saw this, he’d make sure Ruby would do back-breaking training regimes until she got it right. If not, she’d do them all over again.

The others, however, were having fun and laughing at whatever the young leader and Oscar called a “sparing” match outside the house. Chelsea couldn’t stop snickering. “Wow. For someone who can wield a giant scythe twice her size, Ruby really can’t throw a punch for crap.”

Ruby overheard her as she completely missed Oscar by a wide margin and stumbled a little before turning to her. “Hey, this is hard, okay. I’m not used to fighting without Crescent Rose.”

Chelsea continued to snicker at the younger girl. “And it shows. Better hope no great evil captures you when you don’t have your weapon aroun-ow!”

Taeko elbowed Chelsea before her teasing continued and the other girl rubbed her side. Taeko thought to give some actual advice to the young leader. “It’s difficult but necessary. If you always depend on your weapon, you won’t grow as a huntress. Dependence on your weapon is one way for your life to end.”

Ruby pouted at the older girl. “I already know that. Yang said something similar when she was trying to teach me how to fight barehanded.”

Ren thought to add his own advice to the mix. “You just need more practice is all.”

Nora agreed with him. “Yeah, and if Jaune can fight decently enough, you got this in the bag.”

Jaune leered over at his teammate. “Gee, thanks.”

Esdeath was the only one who smiled at the young leader. “I think you’re doing fine, Ruby.”

Ruby smiled back at Esdeath. “Thank you. At least someone is encouraging.”

Chelsea scoffed at that. “Yeah, that’s just because Esdeath has a thing for you.”

“Um…” Everyone turned to Oscar. “Where are your other teammates?”

Chelsea, Taeko, and Esdeath looked at each and then back to Oscar. Esdeath decided to answer the question. “They’re inside the house. They’re still waiting for Akame to arrive.”

Speaking of no-shows, Nora had a question of her own. “What about Wave’s new doggy friend?”

Wave closed his eyes and sighed at the question. He opened his eyes back up. “Seryu’s still inside her room. I knocked on her door when I brought her breakfast.” He figured it would be some time before Seryu could get used to being around other humans. However, Wave couldn’t help but smile at the note she left when he woke up to make breakfast. It only had one word. “Thanks”. It was a step in the right direction. He looked over at Ruby and Oscar. “Alright, you two get back to sparring. You still have a lot to learn.” Ruby whined at the order as she turned back to face Oscar and put up yet another horrible fighting stance.

Back inside the house, Kurome and Cornelia were sitting on one of the couches while Rienna was sitting on the other one. The reason she stayed in the living room last night was that she thought Akame would come back and she would have someone to welcome Akame back. Cornelia had quite a worried expression as she kept staring at the last text Akame had sent them. _"Cora. I'm sorry I didn't come back home last night. Something…unexpected happened but I'm alright. I'll get back to you and the others soon."_  

Soon. The blonde wondered how soon was because Akame had sent her this text well over an hour ago. Cornelia had sent other texts to Akame but didn’t receive any more after she and the others replied to her. Kurome had an irritated expression while her right leg was bouncing tirelessly in frustration and her arms folded across her chest. “Where the hell is she? She should’ve been here by now.”

Rienna could understand what her teammate was feeling. “Maybe she became distracted?”

It was the best explanation but there was but the question for Kurome was what was the distraction. “And what would that be? The only thing I can think of is Akame eating something.”

Cornelia locked her scroll for who knows how many times by now and stood up from the couch. “I’m going to look for her.”

Kurome wasn’t sure that was a good idea right now. “You happen to know where she is? Mistral is big, you know.”

The other girl clenched her hands tightly as she couldn’t help but think that something bad happened again in their group. “It’s better than just waiting around.” She started to walk toward the front door.

Kurome had to admit the blonde was right. Waiting around wasn’t doing anything and Kurome had to know what was keeping Akame from showing up. The worst-case scenario was that something had happened to Akame just like Leone. They couldn’t rule out the possibly Leone of all people, or rather, Faunus was taken away from them. She stood up from the couch. “I’ll come with you. It’s better with two.” She turned to her other teammate. “You want to join, Rienna?”

The second blonde nodded and stood up too. “Sure. You’ll need all the help you can get.”

Cornelia was glad she’ll have some help in finding Akame. It’ll be difficult but she knows they could do it. She grabbed the handle and turned it. Cornelia turned to her other teammates as she opened the door. “Alright. Let the others know we’re goin-”

“Ah!”

Cornelia stopped opening the door halfway through when she heard a familiar cry. She looked in front and lo and behold, Cornelia saw none other than Akame sitting on the ground with her hand on her face while groaning in pain. Kurome and Rienna came up to where Cornelia was and saw the same sight. Cornelia could only stare in disbelief. “Akame?”

Akame finally removed her hand and looked up to see Cornelia, Rienna, and Kurome all looking at her. “Cora-”

“AKAME!” Cornelia threw herself at her leader in joy and hugged her tightly. The blonde was in tears seeing the other girl again. “You’re back. You’re really back.”

Akame remained still as Cornelia continued to cry into her shoulder. She hugged the other girl back and closed her eyes. “I’m home, Cora.”

After hugging for a few more seconds, Cornelia finally separated from her leader while having a few tears left in her eyes and stood up. She held her hand to Akame and the other girl gladly grabbed it. The blonde pulled her leader up back up. “I’m sorry for tackling you but I was so…so…”

Akame chuckled softly and smiled sweetly at her. “I should be sorry for making you worry so much.”

“Damn right!” Akame saw Kurome walk up to her looking angry and in the next second, she delivered two swift blows to her head. Akame cried again in pain and held the top of her head with one of her hands. “That’s for making us worry and for making Cora worried.” Her expression softened and gave her sister a welcoming hug as well. “It’s great to see you again.”

Like before, Akame returned her sister’s hug. Rienna couldn’t help but smile at the scene before her. “I’ll let the others know you’re back. They’ll be so happy to see you again.” She made her leave and went to where the other members were.

Kurome separated from the hug and smiled happily at her sister. “Alright, time to come inside now. I think you’ve been out long enough.”

Akame nodded at the suggestion and returned her sister’s smile. “I agree.” All three girls went back into the house and the door shut behind them.

Back where RNJR and Night Raid were, they were still watching Ruby spar against Oscar hilariously bad and much of Wave’s dismay. They were interrupted when Rienna arrived with beaming smile on her face. “Hey!” Everyone turned to her and wondered why she was so happy. “Akame’s back! She’s finally back!”

Her news already brought smiles to everyone. Chelsea laughed excitedly. “About time. Let’s go see her.” She was heading toward the exit and then back to where the others were.

Esdeath turned to the members of RNJR. “Do you want to come along?”

Jaune just waved his hand at her. “You go on ahead. She is your leader after all.” Esdeath nodded at him and left with Taeko following her close behind.

As they left, Oscar’s eyes flashed and Ozpin took over for the time being. _“Mr. Wave…”_

Wave turned to the possessed boy. “Uh, yes?”

Ozpin walked up to him and stopped in front. _“Would you take over for me? I wish to see Miss Night as well.”_

Wave looked at Ruby and then back to Ozpin. “I guess so.”

The headmaster smiled at the soldier. _“Very good then.”_ He turned to Ruby. _“I hope you’ll learn something from him, Miss Rose.”_

Ruby couldn’t help but feel a little nervous but was willing. “Okay then. I hope you’ll go easy on me Wave.” Wave couldn’t make any promises.

Ozpin took his leave and Wave walked over to Ruby and stood across from her. “Okay, Ruby. Are you ready?”

The young leader nodded and put her arms up. “I’m ready when you are.”

Nora rubbed her hands excitedly at the matchup before her. “Alright! Ruby vs Wave! Battle of the century!” She threw both of her hands up. Ruby kept a close eye on Wave to see what he would do. She shifted her right foot back and Wave launched himself at the young leader. Ruby gasped at how fast the soldier was and was already in front of her with his hand clenched and his arm pulled back. Wave yelled as he threw the first punch of their sparring match.

Back in the living room, Akame and Cornelia were sitting on the couch while Kurome was sitting on the other. The younger sister giggled at the sight of Cornelia hugging Akame again. “You really don’t want to let go, huh?”

It was pretty obvious to the blonde. “Not one second.”

Akame couldn’t help but be reminded of how Tsukushi would hug her like this whenever they slept together in the same bed. All three girls then heard footsteps headed their way. “Ooh, what do we have here? Taeko, I think Akame is stealing your girl.”

Taeko ignored Chelsea’s comment as the rest of Night Raid entered the room. One of them was happier than the others. “Akame!” Esdeath threw herself at her leader and interrupted Cornelia's hug with her own. The only difference is that Esdeath accidentally shoved Akame's face into her cleavage. "I’m so glad you’re back!” Akame reply was muffled.

Rienna chuckled awkwardly at the sight. "Uh…Esdeath? I think she needs to breathe."

Esdeath realized what she was doing and broke the hug. Akame took in a large gasp of air as she was released. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

Kurome found it a little humorous that an assassin of Akame’s caliber would’ve been killed in the most unconventional ways. “Almost bit the dust on that, huh? Not the most flattering way to go out.”

Chelsea thought of that differently. “I don’t know. Death by cleavage suffocation sounds like a great way to go out to me.”  Joking aside, she was glad to see Akame again. “Glad to have you back with us.”

Akame turned to the other girl and smiled at her. “I am too.” She decided to get to the point of texts she sent. “So, what did I miss last night?”

Each of the members looked at each other before turning their attention back to their leader. Taeko was going to explain but someone else beat her to it. _“It is good to see you again, Miss Night.”_

Akame saw a new person walk into the room. It was a boy that seemed to be around Ruby ages but there wasn't something quite right with him. Astounding enough, she could sense two auras coming from him. Akame also noticed a very familiar cane he was using to walk with. She could only speak one question. “Do I…know you?”

**B**

Akame was brought up to speed on what she missed out last night. Her shocked expression she currently has was explanation enough of how she reacted. "I-I don't believe it." She looked over at Ozpin who was sitting on the chair. Some of the other members were sitting on the couches while Taeko remained standing. "I heard that you died or disappeared and yet…"

Ozpin chuckled at his student’s response as he expected her to react like this. _“It’s understandable you’re reacting this way. The others had similar reactions.”_

Akame felt like this was just the tip of iceberg. Ozpin, or least the Ozpin she knows of is a reincarnating entity cursed to live for who knows how long for ages. She still had some other questions as Akame noticed there was a certain hunter not around. “Where did Qrow go?”

Taeko thought to answer the question. “He went out to find some extra help that could be of use to us. The more, the better I say.”

Akame had one more question concerning a certain Faunus. “And Seryu?” There was a slight hint of anger when she mentioned Seryu’s name.

Kurome sighed tiredly as she would be the one to tell her sister. “She’s sticking around. Wave somehow convinced her to fight alongside with us and Qrow was the one who made it official. By the way, the White Fang backstabbed her.”

Her sister wasn’t expecting to hear that about Seryu and was surprised to hear that. “They did what now?”

Chelsea continued the explanation. “Yeah, it was something about her not going along with Adam and because of that, they chased her out. That guy basically has White Fang working under him now and plans to overthrow the current leader. Also, they’re planning on attacking Haven. It’s Beacon all over again.”

Apparently, Akame had missed out a lot last night. This was quite a lot to take in. “Aside from Qrow finding more help, what is it we’re going to do?”

Ozpin took over the explanation now. _“As of now, all we’re doing is strengthening ourselves. Miss Rose is learning to fight without her weapon, Mr. Arc has to awaken his semblance, and Mr. Wave with some help has unlocked his aura but has yet to awaken his semblance. Quite a lot on our schedule.”_

Akame knew Ozpin was right. There as there was a lot to do. The question now was, how much time did they have. “How long until the White Fang attacks Haven?”

“We have until the start of the semester which isn’t long.” Taeko answered.

The start of the semester. So, they did have some time but not a lot of it. “I see. In that case, we should do the same. We’ll first discuss what we need to work on the most and improve on them.”

Ozpin nodded in agreement with Akame’s suggestion. _“That would be wise. You know this group better than anyone.”_

Now that was taken care off, Akame had one more question for Ozpin. “Oh, yes, I want to ask you about Najenda.”

Her former headmaster already knew what she was going to say and chuckled. “ _You want to know what was my reaction when I first heard of her from your explanation. I admit I was quite surprised. The first instance of separate world doppelgangers.”_ Akame was satisfied with Ozpin’s answer. She had always wondered what he thought about hearing Najenda since the first time she saw the Najenda of this world. Ozpin stood up from his chair. _“Now, I believe I’ll return to Miss Rose and the others. I’m sure Mr. Wave has taught her a few lessons by now. Until then.”_ He took a few steps forward before stopping. _“Also, you have my condolences for the loss of Miss Wild.”_ Hearing that softened Akame’s expression and lowered her head. _“It is with a heavy heart that I have lost one of my students and one who wanted to start over. I know you harbor ill will toward Miss Koro but we do need all the help we can get, regardless of who they are, where they’re from or what they did. I’m not saying you should forgive her but the more help we have at our disposal, the better the chance we have going up against Salem.”_ He turned his back to the group. _“This is a fight we cannot lose.”_ With those words said, Ozpin made his leave from Night Raid and started to head back to Wave and RNJR.

_(“So, that girl. Who was she?”)_

Ozpin wondered when he would hear Oscar again. _“Akame Night. The truth about her is that she and Miss Leone Wild came from a different world. They were once assassins.”_

_(“Assassins!? That girl?!”)_

The former headmaster expected a reaction like that from Oscar. _“Yes. Those two have lost allies before and with Miss Wild now gone, Miss Night carries the burden of being the only one left from her world.”_

_(“Doesn’t she have those girls with her?”)_

He brought up a good point but Ozpin knew it would take more. _“They’re be there for her, yes but there is one large difference. As you know, those who come to the Huntsmen academies all come from different backgrounds but once put in a team, they all grow and learn together. In Miss Night’s and Miss Wild’s case, they came from a very different and extreme background, having already taking lives for the greater good for others and sacrifices. Miss Night was trained to kill at a very young age and Miss Wild survived day and night out in the streets by any means. In short, they’re already relatively skilled fighters who know what it is like to take lives. Their teammates, however, may know of their past but they lack the kind of experience Miss Night and Miss Wild have to understand them to an extent. For the rest of them, this is their first instance of losing someone close to them. For Miss Night, it’s another painful loss to her. Probably the most she has felt since coming to this world. She must’ve thought at one point that her previous life wouldn’t come back to haunt her. Something that would not happen again to her.”_

_(“Do you think she’ll be alright then?”)_

That was a question Ozpin didn’t have an answer to. _“That is something only Miss Night can decide upon. It’ll be up to her at this point.”_ In his own thoughts, he was concerned for Akame. She was at a crossroads now and will admit her skills will be useful in the upcoming fight. He could only hope Akame would follow the right path.

Back to Night Raid, once Ozpin was out of sight, Chelsea sighed tiredly as she leaned back in further into the couch. “Right, no pressure.” She turned her attention to her leader. “So, what are we going to do now Akam-huh?”

Everyone saw Akame with her arms on her knees and hands clasped together with that same dark red energy began to leak out from her hands. There as clear expression of pure hatred on Akame’s face. Everyone who was sitting immediately stood up while being worried about Akame. “Whoa, calm down. I know you’re angry about working with the same person who took Leone away but…” Kurome hesitated briefly before continuing to speak. “As much as we don’t like it ourselves, Ozpin has a point and for once, Cora’s dad’s advice.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!?”

Kurome ignored Cornelia’s cry. “We don’t have a choice.”

Akame kept her expression while thinking about what Kurome said to her. Working with Seryu infuriated her to no end. The only difference between having Seryu in their group and Esdeath was at least the Esdeath in Remnant wasn’t guilty of doing any violate deeds. Seryu, on the other hand, was with the White Fang. Before that, the Seryu in her world was responsible for killing Sheele and now this Remnant’s Seryu took Leone away. Akame remembered what Wave told her yesterday. _“You can’t kill the Seryu in this world for what the one I know did back in the Capital. If you do that, you’ll be no different than the people you killed.”_ In truth, he was wrong. She blames Seryu for taking the last person of her previous life away from her which was grounds for killing her but she didn’t have the final say. Akame didn’t like it but it was like Kurome said; they had no other choice in the matter in the fight against Salem. All she could do right now was go along.

In case she wasn’t convinced enough, Cornelia decided to add her own two cents on the matter. “It’ll be okay. You two don’t have to talk each other. I don’t think she’ll want to run into you either since she mostly spends time in her room. She even eats whenever we’re not around.” Her words didn’t seem to reach her leader as she could still see hatred in Akame’s eyes. She looked at Akame’s hands and decided to do something really stupid even by her standards.

Cornelia quickly grabbed Akame’s hands with her own while that dark red energy still steadily coming out. Her action caught her leader’s attention and the rest of her team. “Cora!” Cornelia closed her eyes tightly and screamed painfully as she felt her hands being burned.

Akame separated her hands from Cornelia’s and that energy immediately vanished since her anger for Seryu was replaced by worry for her teammate. “Are you crazy, Cora!?” She saw black burn marks where Cornelia grabbed her.

The blonde was breathing painfully and shakily from touching Akame’s hands clad in that certain energy of hers. She felt a myriad of dark emotions going through her body. Emotions that dark energy emits from Akame. Despite the pain and what was going on in her body, Cornelia laughed and tried her best to smile at her leader. “S-Snapped out of it n-now?” In a way, what the blonde did work. However, it made Akame feel guiltier.

Taeko stood up and walked over to her girlfriend. She kneeled next to the other girl and carefully held the blonde’s hand. Taeko examined the damage done carefully. “It doesn’t appear to be too bad but we do have to bandage this. However, this is only the physical damage.” She looked up at Cornelia. “How are you feeling?”

Cornelia chuckled weakly. “Honestly, I don’t think my stomach is feeling too good.”

That was all Taeko needed to know and stood up while bringing Cornelia up as well. She turned to the rest of the team. “I’ll take Cora to the bathroom and bandage her injuries since the first aid is in there and hopefully expel any impurities from her stomach.”

“You could’ve said she needed to throw up.” Chelsea commented.

Taeko ignored her and walked away while bringing Cornelia along with her. She stopped after taking a few steps with her girlfriend stopping after her and turned her attention to her leader. “When we return, we’ll talk amongst ourselves about our group.”

Akame nodded at the other girl in agreement. “Fine then. Once you two come back, we’ll begin our discussion.” Taeko nodded back at Akame and she and Cornelia continued their way to the bathroom while Cornelia groaned as her hand was placed on her stomach. 

**B**

The loud clacking of heels echoed through a hallway dimly lit by lanterns hanging from the side of the walls. “Are you sure this is wise, milady?”

A sly chuckle responded to the question. "Of course. After all, this kind of news has to be shared with the others. Plus, I have something very interesting I must share." The figures approached a pair of doors and were pushed open. “Hello everyone! It’s so nice to see you all again. Well, most of you.”

There were several responses to the arrival. “My, this is quite a surprise.”

“Why the hell are you here?!”

“Merraid. How surprising it is to see you.”

Merraid took a few steps forward before stopping and kneeled to one knee with her arm on top to the person who the voice belonged to. She smiled the last voice who spoke to her. “Greetings, Lady Salem.” 

 


	61. Failure and Betrayal

**A/N: Right, I’m sorry this chapter was posted a little later but work and school sometimes leaves me little time to work on the story. That and playing Ultra Sun for info for my other RWBY crossover (now playing Ultra Moon). So, now that Vol 5 is over, I have two things to say about it. One, RT doesn’t know how to properly tell a timeline and keep track of it and two, that certain thing did frigging happen so I have to improvise just a little. At least it won’t feel as rushed as I originally planned. So, expect some huge changes and surprises coming soon. Also, damn, the number of favorites this story has is now more than the follows. At this rate, perhaps it won’t be too long now before this story overtakes Familiar Fairy which is damn impressive.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty One: Failure and Betrayal

Merraid’s sudden arrival wasn’t what Cinder and everyone else was expecting anytime soon. Out of all the meetings they had, Merraid was rather fickle in attending most of them. It was a habit Cinder didn’t like about the other woman. “Why the hell are you showing up just now, Merraid?”

Merraid just chuckled as a response as she stood up and smiled at the Fall Maiden. “Cinder, I’m glad to see you’re feeling better. Still not a fan of your new look, though.” She looked over at Watts. “Doctor.” Watts didn’t say anything to her. Merraid looked around the room and noticed a couple of their own weren’t present. “Whatever happened to the brute and the Pet?” Brute and pet were names she’d refer Hazel and Tyrian. 

Salem continued to stare at her subordinate. “Hazel is currently with the White Fang and Tyrian is…indisposed for the moment.”

Merraid's response was closing her yees and shrugging. "Well, two fewer annoyances I don't have to look at." If there was one thing everyone knew very well about Merraid is that she had a hatred torwards men. She only tolerated the men in their group and just refer to them by a title she'd given them such as Brute for Hazel, Pet for Tyrian, and Doctor for Watts. Merriad would only refer the women by their names. 

Salem decided to get to the point of Merraid’s arrival. “Explain to me, Merraid. Why is it you decided to appear now? 

Merraid smiled at her master’s questions. “I’m very glad you asked. You see, I encountered quite a person of interest.”

Emerald rolled her eyes as she knew where this was going already. “Here we go…”

Merraid ignored the comment and continued with her story. "This is a person some of you may have heard of and one Cinder has encountered." She saw Watts raise his hand. He alone knew how to respond to her. "You may speak, Doctor."

Watts put his hand down. "We already know you're speaking of that red-eyed girl. We've known that she and her group, as well as that young girl with the silver eyes, are in Mistral thanks to Haven's Headmaster."

That was one surprise out of the bag. Perhaps she should participate more in the meetings after all. “I see. I suppose I can just skip to the important part then.”

Cinder narrowed her eye at the other woman. “And what important part are you talking about?”

Merraid was hoping Cinder of all people would ask her that question. “The part where I slept with her, of course.”

Silence filled the room and as everyone was looking dumbfounded at what Merraid said to them. The only one who was keeping a straight face was Salem. Flames immediately flared angrily from Cinder’s eye. “YOU WHAT!?”

Merraid absolutely enjoyed the Maiden’s reaction and hugged herself while pretending to be embarrassed. “Why, yes. We shared such a passionate night together after I found her looking lost and was in need. I couldn’t turn such a beauty away and so I offered to comfort her. Little did I know that she was quite the demon in bed…and in the shower after I made breakfast for her.” She unwrapped herself and moved her hair aside to show off the hickeys Akame gave her while feeling proud of them. “And this was her handiwork. I don’t believe they’ll be going away for quite some time.”

Cinder was only becoming angrier at the other woman. “So, what you’re telling us is that you had an opportunity to kill one of our enemies and you wasted it by feeding her bacon!? Why didn’t you take the chance when it presented itself to you?!”

Merraid was enjoying this more and more but she decided to get to the point. “Because I believe she can be of use to us.” Cinder’s anger turned into confusion now as her flames died down. Salem actually became intrigued by what her subordinate proposed. “You of all people should know how powerful Akame is. You did fight her back at Beacon, Cinder. Someone who can keep up with the power of the Maidens and have the power to call forth Grimm. That kind of power can be invaluable to us. She could join us.” She saw Watts raise his hand again. “What is it, Doctor?”

Watts put his hand down again. “And just how do you plan to turn that girl to our side? True, her power is something to behold, the fact of the matter is, she is still our enemy.”

Merraid already knew the answer to that. “Simple. Her will is weakened.” Once again, she saw confusion among her colleagues. “She has lost the love of life and all that remains in her heart is an empty void. Love is quite a powerful force but it’s also a double-edged sword that can overwhelming crush. Not that I expect someone like Cinder to know this.” She heard the Maiden growl at her but ignored her. “Only I can fill that void now. I saw the want, the need, and the desire in her eyes. I’ll do more than convince her to be on our side. I’ll be the one to save her from that void.”

Emerald blew a raspberry at that description. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re actually in love with her.”

“Actually, I’m quite smitten with her.”  

Once again, everyone wasn’t expecting Merraid to answer like that. This time, it was Emerald’s turn to have an outburst. “Are you freaking kidding me!? You slept with her for one night and you’re already head over heels with her?”

Merraid tsked at the other girl while she waved her finger at her. “My poor, sweet Emerald. I’ve actually known about her a lot longer then you realize and all of you know the answer. However, it seems none of you remember.” None of them knew what Merraid was talking about but apparently, she knew much more then what she was letting on.

Mercury had about enough of her and started to take a step forward to Merraid. "Enou-" The person behind Merraid immediately grabbed Mercury by the face with astounding gripping force and slammed him into the ground. Several cracks were formed from the impact and everyone except for Salem and Merraid were taken back from this action. Mercury grunted through the hand while feeling weaker all of a sudden and looked at the maid putting him down. He kicked using his right leg to knock her off but she easily caught it with her left hand. She gripped the leg tightly and dragged Mercury around in a spin before letting go and tossing him at the furthest wall away from the group. Mercury crashed into the wall and was deeply embedded in it. 

Emerald became worried for her teammate. “Mercury!” She ran over to where Mercury was. Just as she reached him, Mercury already fell out from the wall and landed on the floor. Emerald kneeled beside him and helped him sit back up. “You feeling alright?”

Her response was Mercury groaning while feeling a little fatigued. “Yeah, I am but damn that woman is a monster. As soon as she grabbed my face, I felt my strength being drained.” He glared at the maid before him.

The maid took out a cloth and began to wipe the hand where she gripped Mercury by the face. “You do well to remember who you are speaking to, ingrate. Before Madam Mera, you are nothing less than a sniveling maggot.”

**Merraid Maid member: Gilberda**

Cinder turned back at Merraid while scowling at her. Merraid was unintimidated by the Maiden. “I suggest you put a tighter leash on your mongrel of a lackey, Cinder. It obviously has no respect. Or better yet, maybe you should just get rid of it entirely.”

“ENOUGH!” Flames erupted from Cinder’s eyes while glaring angrily at the other woman. “I won't let you talk down to my disciples! If you want to talk about control, you should express some on some of your own!" Cinder wouldn't think twice of cutting Merraid down from where she stood.

Merraid kept a calm expression and brushed aside Cinder’s words. “Oh, Cinder. While you may have Emerald and…it as your subordinates, I have my…” Merraid brought up her hand and snapped her fingers. From behind out of nowhere, three individuals appeared and were kneeling beside her each side. One on her right side and the other on her left. “Lovely, wonderful maids.”

**Merraid Maid member: Cassandra**

**Merraid Maid member: Shizuka**

**Merraid Maid member: Mez**

 Cinder could never understand what was it with Merraid and this maid motif of hers. Still, as ridiculously dressed as they were, one fact was certain that they were skilled fighters. “Merraid…” Cinder and Merraid turned to Salem. “Are you sure you’re able to convince this girl to fight by our side?”

In all honesty, Merraid was fifty/fifty about the whole thing but it was an opportunity she couldn’t let go to waste. “It’s a possible chance. I would rather have her as a comrade and a lover rather than an enemy. However, this would also mean I’d have to be truthful to her.”

Salem narrowed her eyes at Merraid and came to a decision. "Merraid, I want you to bring this girl to me. If you believe she can be used as an asset to us and persuade her to join, I will allow her to join. If not, I will dispose of her and of you as your punishment."

This time, Merraid seemed a little concerned as this became a life and death gamble. She knew her master would place steep conditions on her offer. She couldn’t afford to fail at any cost. Merraid bowed to her master. “As you wish, Lady Salem. I will bring her to you as fast as possible.” She turned away from the rest of the group. “Come.” Her maids stood up and made her way to the door. As she walked through them, Shizuka and Mez grabbed the handles and closed the doors.

After Merraid’s group left, Cinder turned to her master. “Why? Why allow this? Akame, of all people-”

Salem held her hand to the Maiden in order to silence her. She set her hand back down on the table. “Remember what I said about never underestimating the usefulness of others. Merraid is right about this girl being capable of use to us. However, it'll all comes down to how she'll handle this. If Merraid fails, I'll simply execute her and the girl. We may lose a piece on our side but so will they. For now, let us see where this will take us." Unknown to Cinder and everyone else, Salem had one more motive in agreeing to Merraid's proposition. _“Whatever it is you’re planning, Armadia, it will not work.”_

More clacking echoed throughout the hallway and Merraid’s maids were walking behind her. “Madam Mera…” Gilberda spoke with worry in her voice. “Are you sure this is a wise decision you’re making? The toll for failure is absolute.”

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Merraid responded. “Akame’s abilities are far better suited in aiding Lady Salem and I would rather have by my side.”

Mez put her arms behind her head. “So, like…what are you going to do? Are you going to hypnotize her or something?”

“No.” Merraid replied. “Brainwashing or any other form of hypnosis would only backfire and destroy the trust I formed with Akame. Then again, telling Akame the truth about me would also destroy that trust as well but at least I’ll explain my reasons to her.”

“If hypnosis will not work, will you force her?” Shizuka asked.

That was the other option Merraid was against. “Force will not work either. Only a fool who knows nothing of love would commit such an act. No, the only thing I can depend on is Akame accepting the truth about me. This is more than a gamble; this is a testament of love.”

Cassandra hated to admit it but she wasn’t so sure her mistress could succeed in this endeavor. “Are you certain this Akame returns your feelings? It sounds you’re desperately hinging on that aspect.”

That was the only thing Merraid can depend on and be sure of it. "Who's to say she hasn't started to fall for me already? As I’ve said before, I could see it in her eyes. The eyes only those who are in love have while we shared our passion together. I can still see them even now. However, what I said about love is also true. That love may also be the breaking point for her and turn on me too. There’s a lot riding on this and I cannot afford to fail or else it’ll be all our lives.”

The maids understood how dire their mistress’ situation was. Nevertheless, one certain thing will never change among them. “Lady Mera…” Merraid stopped walking and turned around to see Gilberda and the other maids kneeling before her. “Whatever decision you make, we will follow without question.”

“Whatever what dangers you face, we will face them alongside you.” Cassandra continued.

“We will follow you to whatever path you walk upon. Even to hell itself.” Shizuka added.

“And like you can depend on us just as we depend on you.” Mez finished.

“We are your loyal maids as we are bound to you, body and soul, Madam Mera.” They all spoke at the same time.

After hearing that kind of declaration, Merraid couldn’t help but feel proud of her maids. She closed her eyes and smiled sweetly at them. “Thank you. You four are the most splendid maids one can ask for.” She opened her eyes and turned around while her maids stood up. “Let’s continue. I have something wonderful planned for my lovely Akame.”

**B**

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Syka paid the cashier with what Lien she carried and grabbed the two cups of flavored shaved ice. Syka ordered grape while she ordered orange for Sienna. She walked away from the stand and headed over to the table where Sienna was sitting at. Having the hoodie hung over her head might look suspicious to everyday passerby but it was the only way for her not be recognized by Faunus who might be in the White Fang. “Breakfast is served.” She set Sienna's shaved ice in front of her and sat down across from the former high leader. "Might not be the best kind but at least we'll have something to eat." Syka dunked her spoon into her shaved ice and brought it to her mouth. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she squealed with delight. "So nice and cold.”

Sienna smiled sweetly at her fellow Faunus. “Thank you for this.” Sienna did the same with her shaved ice. She couldn’t remember the last time she had tasted something so sweet before. Perhaps when she was a child one time. They ate their shaved ice in silence while enjoying each other’s company. When Sienna was halfway done, she stopped eating and looked at Syka. “Syka…”

The other Faunus girl stopped eating her shaved ice and looked back at the former high leader. “Yeah? What is it?”

This was a question Sienna wanted to ask Syka for quite some time and now seemed to be the perfect time to ask since they were enjoying a quiet moment together. “How is it you know Seryu and what exactly happened between you two?”

Sienna’s response was a small giggle from Syka as she smiled somberly. "Where do I start with that?" She leaned back in her chair and sighed while looking at the sky. "Seryu…Seryu always loved watching this superhero show back when we were kids. That show served as the basis of this justice thing she had. She actually wanted to become a huntress since they were closest to being superheroes. The rescuing, the helping, the whole shebang. Her dad was also an inspiration since he’s a doctor and always saving people from and I quote from Seryu ‘the maws of evil’s death. Syka leaned forward to face Sienna again. “However, her dad wasn’t too keen on her becoming a huntress since it was a dangerous job but Seryu and I ended up in one of the starting academies anyway. We seemed to do just fine and we did have good marks but every now and then, Seryu would see a human or two harassing a Faunus and she would be off running and defend them and by defend, I mean beating the crap out of the humans. Even some of the older students. Obviously, she got in trouble a lot of times and sometimes her dad was called in. However, none of that would compare to what happened next between us.”

Sienna saw Syka grip her cup tightly and could tell she wasn’t looking forward to explaining what happened next. “In our second year…I started to go out with this guy. A human, actually.” Sky could see the shock in Sienna’s eyes and didn’t blame her for reacting this way. “I know, I know. Human/Faunus relationships don’t normally work out well but he liked me and I liked him back so we became a thing. Seryu, however, was heavily against it. She said I was being manipulated, being used, that sort of stuff but I argued back and actually said that maybe not all humans were jerks. How stupid I was back then believing that was true. As our arguments became worse, I started to hang out with my boyfriend more and we talked less and less to each other. I didn’t like the rift that was driving us apart and wanted to close the distance but Seryu made it difficult. Fights and arguments aside, she was still my friend but Seryu was having trouble believing that. Then…that day happened.”

Syka had to steel herself for this next part as even just remembering that day caused pain within her heart. “It was after I came back home from a date when school ended. I started to do some of my homework and got a good portion of it done before I checked my scroll. When I did check it, I saw I got a text from Seryu saying why I wanted to see her in the gym after school. I didn't know what she was talking about since I don't remember sending her a text saying that. I was puzzled for a bit before something dawned on me. I didn’t know how or why but somehow, I had a terrible feeling overcome me and I rushed back to the school as quickly as I could. When I arrived, some of the last students were finishing up their club activities and leaving but I had to find Seryu quickly. I ran to where the gym was and I recognized one of the humans Seryu stood up against standing in front of the doors. I didn’t waste time in asking questions and just rushed him. After knocking him out, I kicked the doors open and saw the one sight that horrified to no end. Those same humans Seryu had fought before were grouped together and two of them were holding sledgehammers. Around them was Seryu, lying on the ground with her mouth gagged by a rag, two of those humans holding her legs down, another two holding down her shoulders and forearms and finally…”

Syka paused for a moment as she could still see that horrid sight from that day. “Seryu’s arms were destroyed beyond recognition. They were a revolting purple color and blood pooled around them and one of her ears was cut all the way through. pleaded they hurry. Several of the last students at our school overheard the screams and arrived to see me crying over Seryu. The ambulance arrived and so did the police. The ambulance took Seryu to the hospital while I was taken by the police and so were the humans involved. While I was at the station, I explained everything I knew about what happened. I didn't know how long I was in that station but it felt like an eternity. After I don't know how many hours, I was given the full story. It turned out that the guy I was dating was the younger brother of one of the humans that was harassing some of the Faunus and Seryu beat up. He was just using me in order to get close to Seryu and teach her a lesson she’d never forget and not to mess with them again. I also learned he was the one who sent Seryu that text from my scroll. I figured he must’ve gotten ahold of it sometime before we left school. I felt sick to my stomach and actually threw up from learning all of this. Since all of them were involved in something so heinous and racial, all of them who were involved were expelled from the school while I just got a suspension. While I did do the right thing, I still heavily injured other students, even if they were responsible putting Seryu in hospital. I didn’t mind that as long as those monsters stay as far away from us as possible and never bother us again. During my suspension, I took every chance I had to visit Seryu but hadn’t woken up yet. I was given details about her condition and I was told about her arms. They were so badly damaged that it was impossible for Seryu to use them ever again. So, they went for the next best option which was to replace the part of her damaged arms with the robotic arms you know now and it was her own father that did the surgery. He was pretty torn up about happened to his daughter and did his damnedest to the best of his ability for Seryu.”

Syka sighed as she neared the end of her story. “One day, Seryu finally awoke and I could see her again. I was happy to hear that and wasted no time in heading toward her room. When I arrived at her door, I knocked on it a few times and waited for a response but didn’t hear one. I reached for the handle anyway and opened the door. The first thing I saw was Seryu in her hospital gown sitting on her hospital bed with her new arms and that cut on her ear seemed to have healed. I said hi to her and…it went all downhill from there. Seryu was outraged with me and I had no idea why. She explained to me that those group of humans told her that I was involved in what happened to her. They told her I didn’t want anything to do with her now anymore that I was seeing someone else and never wanted to see her again. I told her all of that wasn’t true and tried to clear everything up between us but…whatever I said to her fell on deaf ears. Seryu told me that it’s my fault that she looked like a freak now and didn’t want anything to do with a traitor like me anymore and didn’t ever want to see me again. I could still remember that look Seryu gave me at that moment. The furious look on her face and the hatred in her eyes.”

Syka tightened her grip on her cup and clenched her teeth tightly. “Those damn humans have no idea how much damage they did to Seryu and I. They did more than just destroying Seryu's arms. They destroyed our friendship and Seryu's trust for me."

After hearing all of that, Sienna understood Seryu a little more now and the Faunus girl in front of her. It was these kinds of actions that the former high leader couldn’t forgive humans for doing such things. She then heard a strange sizzling sound and traced to where it was coming from. “Uh, Syka?” Sienna pointed at the cup the other Faunus girl was gripping and was apparently melting.

Syka looked down and let out a surprised yell before letting go of her cup before it dissolved completely and the rest of the shaved ice fell to the ground. She sighed out of disappointment and looked back at Sienna. “See what I mean about keeping my semblance in check?”

It was a little sad but honestly, this kind of trivial humor was exactly needed after hearing Syka's story. However, there was one detail Sienna was still wondering about the other Faunus girl's situation. "I'm sorry you and Seryu had to go through such an ordeal but I have to ask, how did you end enlisting in the White Fang? I know your reason already has to do something with Seryu."

Syka was actually going to explain that part next. “Well, several months after what happened, Seryu didn’t come to school anymore and I didn’t have the best reputation. Then one night, I’ve heard from her dad that Seryu ran away from her home. Apparently, she and her dad were having heated arguments and it reached a point where she couldn’t stand him anymore. There was a search but nothing came up that could lead where she went. That was the last time I heard anything related about Seryu. Cut to a few years forward and I entered in one of the Huntsmen Academies. I was put on a team but I keep a distance from then since they were all humans. I couldn’t trust any human after what happened even if they didn’t have any ulterior motives. I just did what a team member did and nothing else. One day, I was watching live news on my scroll while the rest of my team were out who knows where. activity from the White Fang. They showed several images of the members but one caught my attention. One of these members wasn’t wearing a mask for a reason and I recognized her as Seryu.”

Sienna wasn’t surprised to hear that. She had heard Seryu deliberately let her face be seen so that any human who did see her would remember her face and not forget the expression she’d have when she dominated them. “Seeing Seryu being in the White Fang completely caught me off guard but I suppose it would make sense. What the White Fang does fits perfectly for Seryu and I thought her ideals for justice became warped by now. This was the first lead I had relating to Seryu and it led to the most critical decision I made. I dropped out. I gave up on becoming a huntress and instead became a White Fang member all for the sake to see Seryu again.” She chuckled weakly at that. “It was easier said than done, though. I had to do some things I wasn’t proud of and it took me a lot longer than I thought. By the time I was close enough to see Seryu again, she was already in the same rank as Adam.”

Sienna could believe that. Seryu’s devotion to the White Fang plus her strong sense of justice propelled her to be on equal footing with Adam. However, it seemed Adam still had most of the popular vote on Adam since Seryu would only be loyal to her. “Before I knew it, I was roped in with Adam’s plan to overthrow you and eliminate any problem that would be a threat to him. Seryu was one and I

Sienna noticed something about Syka’s planning. “If I may ask a question, if saving me was your last-minute plan and you were to meet Seryu again, do you think that would be enough to be in her saving graces?" She saw Syka's eyes widened and that confirmed the former high leader's suspicions. "I see. So, in turn, you're using me as well. However, you are trying to rectify your friendship with Seryu so I won't mind it too much. And you did, in fact, save me regardless so I still thank you for that."

Syka lowered her head as she knew Sienna was right. Part of the reason why she saved Sienna was so she could feel some gratitude from Seryu and hopefully lessen the hatred she had for her. Still, saving the former high leader of the White Fang did have its own merits. “You’re still welcome.” She let out a content sigh. “So, that about explains everything about Seryu and I. Is it everything you wanted to know?”

The former high leader nodded as she was satisfied with everything she learned from Syka. Probably even more about Seryu now. Sienna did have to commend one thing about the other Faunus girl. “I’m quite surprised you would go this far for Seryu. Are you sure there isn’t anything more to it then what you’re letting on?”

Syka already knew what Sienna was insinuating. “It’s not anything like that, believe me. At most, I think it’s just me trying to own up to my guilt about what happened to Seryu. I suppose in a way, I really did hurt Seryu and it was my fault. Besides, me and Seryu? Heh, maybe in a different world. Anyway, we should probably hurry up. We do have somewhere important to be.” Sienna agreed and should finish eating her shaved her. She looked down and to her horror, some of it already melted. After quickly finishing up what was left of her shaved ice, Sienna and Syka made their way to their destination. As they traveled, the two Faunus women soon began to notice many of the other Faunus were walking in the same direction which made Syka wonder a little. “What’s going on?”

Her answer was soon answered when they saw their destination and stopped to see a large crowd pooled outside of the Chieftain’s home. Sienna was already confused as to what was happening. "What's the meaning of this?" She looked down and saw several humans with large cameras and prepping. "A newscast?”

Whatever was happening, it must’ve been important for many of the Faunus to gather in one place. “Let’s take a closer look.” Syka walked down the stairs with Sienna following her. As they neared the crowd, they decided to stop at the back so they wouldn’t be as cramped and could still see what was happening. They could hear scattered chatter among the Faunus with the same kind of questions they had.

Soon, everyone saw the doors open and out came the person Sienna wanted to see. "Ghira…" She couldn't help but feel nostalgic about seeing him again. "He's just as imposing as ever, it seems." Next came out another familiar face she recognized. "And Kali. I say the years have done her well.” After Kali, they saw the third Faunus exiting the house. “And there is Blake.”

Syka paid attention to the Belladonna daughter closely. _“So, she was the one who trained under Adam.”_ Finally, they saw the last Faunus leave the house and Syka gasped who she is. “It’s…her…”

Sienna saw who the other Faunus girl spoke of and her eyes widened. “So, it’s true then. She’s the one everyone in the White Fang spoke of.” They saw none other than Leone walking down the steps last and stood next to Kali as did Blake on the other side. _“The one called the Faunus Traitor. She’s exactly like the sketches depicts her to be. This is the first time I’m seeing her in person.”_ Sienna grew immediately nervous upon looking at Leone.

Ghira walked up to the podium and raised his hand. The crowd fell silent so they could hear what he had to announce and put his hand down. “Thank you all for assembling here. I wanted to take time to address some of the rumors that have been circulating around our island. I believe that it is important for the people of this territory to understand the truth. No matter how you feel about the human race, I think we can all agree that the event now known as the Fall of Beacon was a tragedy. A tragedy that will set both man and Faunus-kind back.” Sienna was already aware of that fact. “While the main aggressor is still unknown, we do have official confirmation that Adam Taurus…the leader of a powerful splinter group working inside the White Fang, was partially responsible for these attacks. His actions not only tarnished the reputation of an organization originally created to bring peace and equality to all, but to our entire race. Each day that this man remains unpunished, it becomes increasingly difficult to condemn those that look down upon us.” Whispersplans to overthrow the current leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan, and take over the reins himself.”

Syka scoffed at that. _“You’re preaching old news. None of you know it’s already happened.”_

There was a further quiet discussion among in the crowd. "His radical plans do not stop there…" Ghira raised the scroll above him. "The documents on this scroll proclaim his next target is to be Haven Academy and its attached CCT tower. Their plan is to strike on the last full moon before the beginning of the fall semester, roughly one month from today. I have sent my swiftest messenger to the government of Mistral…” He set the scroll down on the podium. “But I believe we have the greater responsibly. My relationship with the White Fang has been…an interesting one. Years ago, I led the organization to help try and create a world where I, and every Faunus who wished, could walk alongside the human race. And while I believe we made great strides toward this goal, it was made clear to me that the people both in and out of the White Fang wanted faster results. So, I stepped down and Sienna Khan was appointed as my successor. It’s true that I do not fully condone many of her methods.” Sienna lowered her head in shame as she heard that from Ghira. She reflected on her past actions and wondered if they were truly right. “What I do condone is what Sienna fights for...” And Sienna lifted her head up once again with a surprised expression on her face. “The idea that Faunus and humans are, and should be, equal. Adam Taurus does not seem to have that goal in mind. What he has done benefits no one but himself. I think it's time that the Faunus showed the world that we are equals! Time that we snuff out this splinter group, and restore the White Fang to what it once was!" The crowd cheered at their chieftain's words. "To do this, I think the answer is clear. We must go to Haven and protect it at all costs!" And the crowd stopped cheering as soon as Ghira declared that. Everyone in the crowd appeared to be uncertain about what he proposed. Ghira cleared his throat. "Before we proceed any further, I'd like to invite my daughter to come and share her story. Not only as a former member of the White Fang, but also as a survivor of the Fall of Beacon.” He gestured toward Blake. Now the spotlight was on Blake and walked toward her father. She stopped in front of him while looking into his eyes. “You can do this.”

“TRAITORS!”

Everyone turned to where they heard the voice and a cloak was cast off to reveal Ilia wearing her mask and appeared to angry. Leone snarled at her. “Ilia. You must have some balls to do this kind of thing.”

“Cowards. After everything the humans have done to us, everything they’ve put us through, you’re asking us to help them?!”

Ghira knew he had to calm Ilia down and quickly. “I know we haven’t been treated fairly-”

“Where was their help when the Dust companies treated our people like slaves!? Where was their help when kingdoms hunted Faunus just for being who they are?! Where was my help when my parents were killed in a Dust mine!? Where!?”

Ghira did have to admit Ilia brought up valid points but it didn’t work the way she thought. “Young lady, progress takes patience and cooperation!”

“The Belledonnas are the worst kind of Faunus! They want to work with the same people that are trying to hold us down!”

Leone had just about enough of Ilia’s rant. _“Okay, that’s it. I’m snapping her neck!”_ She was about to move until she saw someone in the crowd making her way toward Ilia. _“Who’s she?”_

 “If you truly want to help your people, now is the time to support Adam, not the Belladonnas! He will bring about the future that you deserve. And if you are unwilling to fight, know that the White Fang will do it for you!”

“That’s enough!” Ilia heard a different voice and saw Syka jump at her. Ilia pulled out her weapon and extended to the tip to one of the posts. Syka missed the other Faunus girl and Ilia lifted herself up and made her escape.

“After her!” Some of the Menagerie police chased after Ilia.

As they ran off, Leone couldn’t help but groan at what happened. _“Well, that just happened. She’s lucky that other girl appeared when she did or else I would’ve throttled that chick.”_ Speaking of Syka, Leone noticed that same girl walking through the crowd and heading toward someone. _“Where’s she going?”_

After Ilia’s performance, Syka regrouped with Sienna and they both left the crowd. They had a small discussion about what had happened. “Why did you do that?” Sienna asked.

The answer was obvious to the scorpion Faunus. “Someone had to and she wasn’t making things any easier. Plus, I didn’t agree with that girl said. If we let the White Fang fight for the rest of Faunus, it’ll create only more bad publicity for the rest of our kind. However, I hate to admit it but I have to agree with one thing she said. For us to work with humans who’ve done so much wrong to us? I can’t imagine myself working with the same group who took Seryu’s arms.” Sienna would have to agree as well. However, she could see two sides to this. Working with humans who have harmed their kind would be deplorable but it would be far better than Adam dragging their kind through the mud further. Plus, she couldn’t forget what Ghira said about her. About he didn’t agree with her methods but did agree with her ideals. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “So, what now? Are we still going to see the Chief?”

Sienna sighed at the question but it was still the plan as they turned to a deserted street. “Yes. We’ll wait for the crowd to disperse and then confront Ghira. He has to know what happened.”

Syka had to agree with that as it was true. “Fine. We’ll wait like an hour or two and-ah!”

Sienna quickly turned around to see what happened. “What’s wrong Syk-”

“Hello there.”

Sienna gasped as who she saw before her. She saw Leone gripping Syka’s tail away from her while Syka was on all fours while looking to be in pain. _“How did she…we didn’t even hear her walking behind us. We didn’t even sense her.”_

Leone narrowed her eyes at the former high leader. “So, what’s this I hear about you trying to meet the Chief? Also…” She gripped Syka’s tail tighter which made Syka cry out in pain again while she gripped the ground tightly. “I heard you mention Seryu. I have a feeling I know who you two really are so I’ll just get to the point. What business do two White Fang members have with the Chieftain?”

Sienna shivered with fear as she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Leone’s eyes. _“It feels like I’m staring into the eyes of death itself!”_

“Don’t keep me waiting or else…” Leone increased the pressure of her grip on Syka’s tail and Syka cried yet again. “I’m going to rip this tail out of her ass!”

“It’s not what you think!” Sienna finally answer the other Faunus. “We only wish to speak to speak to Ghira. That’s all.”

Leone didn’t think that was true. “Is that so? Sorry, but as the Chief’s better security, I’m going have to deny your request. Instead, I’m going have to deal with the two of you personally. Especially you.” She looked down at Syka. “You must have some connection to Seryu. Because of that bitch, I’m far away from my team and probably think I’m dead. Anyone associated with her, I’ll personally deal with them myself and send a message to her.”

This whole situation was going downhill for them and if something wasn't done soon, Sienna feared this would be the end for her and for Syka. “Leone?” Everyone heard a new voice behind Leone.

Leone glanced back while keeping a tight grip on Syka’s tail. “What is it, Blake?”

Blake appeared to be a little confused as what was going on. “I saw you leave all of a sudden and wondered where you were going. Leone, what are you doing?”

The Faunus blonde looked back at Sienna. “What’s it look like? A couple of White Fang members want to meet with your dad. Kinda funny they showed up right after Ilia had to make a scene earlier." 

Sienna had to clear everything up and fast before Leone set out what she was well known for in the White Fang. “We have nothing to with Ilia’s interruption. Please, you have to believe us.”

Blake looked past Leone to see the Faunus before her. She narrowed her eyes and then widened with shock as she recognized her. “Sienna?” The former leader gasped as her cover was blown. Now Blake narrowed her eyes the same as Leone. “What’s the high leader of the White Fang doing in Menagerie?”

Just as Sienna thought it couldn’t be any worse for her, it became all the better for Leone. “The leader of the White Fang herself, huh? You saved me a lot of the trouble hunting you down myself. I’m going to make you pay for what the White Fang’s done.”

Syka struggled to look up at her former leader. “Si…enna…”

Sienna had to think of something and fast so she just spoke the first thing that came to her mind. “It’s about Adam!” Blake and Leone’s expressions changed to being surprised by what Sienna said to them. “Please, Blake…” Sienna had a desperate terrified expression on her face. “I need to see your father. Urgently.” Blake and Leone’s response to Sienna’s plea was just looking at each other and wondered what to think of it.

**B**

Sienna took a sip of the tea and sighed contently. “Your tea is just as amazing as I remember it, Kali.”

Coming from someone like Sienna, Kali was glad to receive a compliment from her. “Why, thank you.”

Sienna then turned to Syka who as sitting next to her. “How’s your tail?”

Syka rubbed her tail a little as she could still feel the pain from Leone’s grip from earlier. “A little better but it still hurts.”

Leone scoffed at the other Faunus girl. “You’re lucky I didn’t toss your ass by the tail in the air.”

As soon as the crowd dispersed, Blake decided to bring Sienna and Syka to see what they had to tell Ghira. Leone, of course, was bitter about this decision but had no choice but to roll with it. Needless to say, both Ghira and Kali were surprised to see Sienna the last time they saw her was when Ghira stepped down as leader of the White Fang. Sienna explained she had something important to tell Ghira while Kali brewed some tea for her since they were guests. As of now, all of them were in the living room. Leone kept glaring at Sienna intently which caught Kali’s attention. “Leone, don’t stare at our guest. It’s quite rude.”

Her comment only made her granddaughter growl. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I have the leader of the White Fang right in front of me and the only reasons that are keeping me from maiming her are because Blake said so and because she has something important to say about Adam."

Ghira can understand Leone’s frustration but he was curious as to why Sienna was here. And, why she was wearing those kinds of clothes. “So, Sienna…if you’re here in Menagerie, I can assume you heard my speech from earlier and about you.”

His successor nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I did and...you were right about not approving the mehtods I've done. Even now I'm feeling ashamed of what I've done about them." 

“And you should.”

Kali didn’t approve Leone’s remark. “Leone…”

Blake decided to get to the point as to why Sienna wanted to see her father. “Sienna, what is it you wanted to tell my father? Why are you here in Menagerie?”

Sienna lowered her head in shame once again as she set her cup on its plate. “You said Adam was planning to overthrow me and take over the White Fang. Unfortunately, Ghira, Adam has already done so. He’s taken over the White Fang. I’m no longer the leader.”

 Ghira and everyone else was surprised to hear that and it confirmed his fears. "So, it's already happened. I'm so sorry, Sienna." 

Leone’s surprise quickly went to anger as she gritted her teeth. _“If I had just killed him back at Beacon…”_

“Adam planned on killing me but she…” Sienna looked over at Syka. “She was the one who saved me. If it wasn’t for her, I would be dead by now.” She turned her attention to Ghira now. “You must know, I didn’t approve of Adam for what he did back at Beacon. He crossed a line he shouldn’t have and all it did was put a larger target on the White Fang. I even thought of withdrawing from attacking Haven because it didn’t seem worth it. I put my race first before my ideals. Unfortunately, Adam doesn’t see it the same way. He believes humans are lesser than the Faunus and should serve us instead. What Adam is ultimately trying to do is try to wage war against the humans. That’s something I could not agree with in any way whatsoever.”

Hearing that changed Leone’s opinion about Sienna a little as even she didn’t like what Adam did or what he’s plotting. The Faunus blonde had no idea Adam would be this depraved. It almost reminded her of how Esdeath acted back in her world in wanting to wage war. Still, she couldn’t forgive her for what Sienna did in the past whether what they involved Adam or not. Leone did have one question to ask the former leader. “Hey…” Sienna turned to Leone. “If Adam is the leader now, what happened to Seryu? Is she following that fucker now?”

“SERYU WOULD NEVER DO THAT!” Everyone was caught off guard by Syka’s outburst and all attention was on her now. “Seryu only has loyalty to Sienna. She and Adam don’t exactly see eye to eye. In fact, they can’t stand each other. When Adam was planning to overthrow Sienna, he first had to deal with Seryu first since she would never follow him. So, he drove Seryu out of the White Fang and I don’t know where she is now. With Seryu out of the way, there was nothing else stopping Adam from overthrowing Sienna.” Unlike from before, Leone didn’t feel sorry for Seryu. 

“It’s my fault.” Sienna spoke and all eyes were on her now. Her hands closed tightly and trembled slightly. “If I had just would’ve paid more attention to what was going on, then maybe none of this would’ve happened. It’s my fault things have gotten this way. This is all my fault because I was incompetent.” Sienna lowered her head all way to the table to Ghira. “Ghira…I’ve failed you as your successor. I know more than anyone else that I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

For Sienna to say such a thing to him, Ghira thought Sienna must truly feel awful as the successor he chose. He was about to say something to her but Leone cut him off. “Suck it up.”

Sienna immediately looked up at Leone while Kali didn’t approve what she said to her. “Leone-”

She saw Leone hold up her hand to her. It was clear she wanted to say something to the former leader and set her hand down. “What's happened, happened. There's no point in agonizing over what happened in the past. All you can do now and live with what you’ve done. Sin and all.”

While what Leone said was very insightful, Sienna couldn’t help but see the irony in her words. “that’s funny coming from someone like you. It must be easy living with for what crimes you’ve done to us. To your own kind.”

Blake didn’t like where this was going already and Leone knew what Sienna was talking about. Only Kali and Ghira were left in the dark in what they were talking about. “Sienna, what are you talking about?”

Syka was surprised that they did know. Then again, it would make sense she wouldn’t tell them. “So, you don’t know, do you? You have no idea who she really is.”

Ghira wasn’t in the mood for riddles. Clearly, they knew something about Leone. “What is it you’re trying to say?”

Sienna slammed her hands down on the table and stood up while staring intently at Leone. “This person who you’re letting live in your own home, who you seem to trust…she is none other than the Faunus Traitor who has murdered several of her own kind in cold blood!”

The silence was present in the room as Kali and Ghira were trying to process what Sienna revealed about their own granddaughter. Kali slowly turned to Leone with clear disbelief in her eyes as did Ghira. “Leone, what is she saying?”

Leone said nothing at first as she stared intently at Sienna. Finally, her response was a tired sigh as she stood up and walked away from everyone else until she reached one of the walls. She then turned around and turned her attention to Blake. “You want to tell them or should I?”

Blake gasped as she knew what Leone was saying. “Are you sure?”

Whatever they were talking about further confused Ghira and Kali. “Blake, what is it that you two are saying?”

Leone knew there was no going back after this. She’d hope her grandparents would never know about this but since Sienna blew the whistle on her, she had no other choice but to tell them the truth about her. “Kali, you may want to prep the strongest tea you got. If you think finding out your daughter dating a human girl was crazy, you ain’t heard nothing yet.”

 


	62. Flaws and Improvments

**A/N: And we are back! At this time, I have graduated college. Well, “graduated” in quotations because I still have one more class to take in the summer but if I pass that, I get my degree. I don’t know how much it’ll impact the progress on my chapters but at least it’s one class. What’s really worrisome is me playing Nintendo Switch games which is very addicting so I’ll have to limit myself on that. Otherwise, you guys are never going to get an update for a long time. And that’s also the reason why I haven’t updated recently. With that said, hard to believe I started this story two years ago and this has become my most favorited story. I already made an announcement about it but to make it short, A New Beginning surpassed Familiar Fairy and I aim to continue my other RWBY and Akame Ga Kill crossover stories. Now, I kept you all waiting long enough. Let’s move on to the story.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Two: Flaws and Improvements

The sound of ticking from the clock was the only sound present in the quiet living room. Accompanying the ticking was the clattering of Kali’s cup and plate as she raised her cup to her mouth but at this point, her strongest tea did very little to calm her nerves. Ghira, Sienna, and Syka shared Kali’s reaction of disbelief when Leone finished explaining her story to them. Finally, Sienna was the first to break the silence. “You’re…an ex-revolutionary?”

Syka finally gathered her thoughts on the matter and made a connection of what she heard about Leone earlier while being in the White Fang. _“So, what Adam said about her being an assassin from another world is true after all. However, her being in an army before is completely new. That I didn't see coming."_

Ghira closed his hands tightly and sighed deeply while turning his attention to his daughter.  “Blake, has everything she told us…true?”

Blake looked at her father in the eye and nodded at him. “It is. Everything Leone said is true.”

Kali set her cup down and stared at her supposed granddaughter. “So, Leone, you…actually did kill-”

“People? Yeah, I did.” Leone was leaning against the wall with her right foot planted on it while her arms were crossed under her breasts. “Surprise, your granddaughter has god knows how much blood she has on her hands. Remember what I said about me putting you in the hospital before we sparred? Let’s replace that with the morgue if our fight was life or death or you were a target that needed to be eliminated.” Kali now believed that after hearing what Leone’s previous affiliation was. Leone closed her eyes and let out a tired sigh of her own. “So, now you know. I didn't really want either of you to know about this because to me, you’re civilians. Blake and the others know because they’ve known us ever since me and Akame arrived here.” She opened her eyes again and leered at Sienna. “That is until someone had to open their big fucking mouth.”

Sienna leered back at the other Faunus girl and wasn’t intimidated by her. In fact, she had a whole slew of questions to ask her now. “If what you say is true then…why?” Leone raised an eyebrow at the former high leader’s question. “If you were truly part of such a cause, then why go against the White Fang? From what I can understand, this Revolutionary Army of yours and the White Fang have similar goals. Shouldn’t you see them as well? You could’ve been an ally rather than being branded as a traitor to your own kind.”

Sienna's question brought out a deep growl from Leone as her leer became a deathly glare. "How are dare you say they're the same! They are nothing alike! With the Revolutionary Army, they had people who were willing to risk their lives, willing to die for their cause for a better future! The White Fang is nothing more but a bunch of cowards pulling hit and runs and sneak attacks! If that's all you see, then clearly you're more narrowminded than I thought." Leone took in a deep breath to calm herself down before deciding to maul Sienna. “In any case, all of you know who I was and what I did. What you do with that information is all up to you now. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading back to my room. Or a prison cell if you send me there instead.” Leone promptly left the room without saying another word and didn’t look back.

Now it was just five Faunus in the room and Ghira pondered about Leone’s whole history. He honestly had mixed feelings about the whole thing. _“So, this entire time, I’ve welcomed an assassin into my very home.”_

“I still think she’s a good person.” All eyes turned to Kali who still seemed unsure but at least knew where she stood. “I’ve spent time with her and I know she isn’t some cold-blooded killer without reason.”

Sienna was immediately enraged by her words and stood up while glaring angrily at her. “How can you say something like that!? Have you already forgotten that she has killed several of our own kind?!”

Ghira stood up as well and gave Sienna the same look she was giving to his wife. “Watch your tone Sienna! I will not have you speaking to Kali like that!”

It was obvious tension was running a little high in the room. “I’m with what mom said.” Everyone turned to Blake this time who had a calm expression on her face. “What mom said is true about Leone. Yes, she did kill people but they were people who did terrible acts to innocents. And if no one was going to make them pay, she and her team would.”

Hearing that only infuriated Sienna further. “If that’s true, then why doesn’t she make the humans pay for what they have done to our kind for so long? Why couldn’t she aid us in our cause?”

Blake’s response was calmly narrowing her eyes at the former leader. “I guess Leone is right. You really don’t see the difference between the Revolutionary Army she was in and the White Fang.” She stood up next and left the room.

Sienna couldn’t help but feel frustrated at hearing those words again. _“Then what is the difference? How can she and I be so different when the goals we pursued are the same?”_ Her eyes turned to Syka who really hasn’t spoken a word throughout the entire ordeal. “Syka, what are your thoughts about her now?”

Syka’s only response was chuckling unsurely. “Honestly, it’s kinda surprising but in all honesty, I think this may be more important to you and the chieftain.” So, Syka’s input wasn’t worth much but she was right. This was important to her and now more than anything, she wanted to know what made her and Leone so different from each other.

**B**

Once Taeko came back with Cornelia with bandages on her hands, Akame and the rest of the Night Raid group were in the living room. Akame was sitting in the chair while some of the other members were sitting on the couches while rest were standing around. Now that Akame was back, they could start discussing on what they could improve about themselves with the time they’re given. “So, let’s begin talking about what we can do about furthering improving ourselves. To start, we'll list what our weaknesses are. Anyone can speak up about another member.

“Rienna!”

“Huh? What?” Rienna didn’t know why Kurome, Chelsea, and Taeko all spoke at once. Even the other members seemed quite confused but had a feeling what was about to be discussed.

Chelsea wasted no time in tearing what was the problem with Rienna. “It’s those freaking tanks you call flamethrowers you carry around. Whenever we have something serious go down, you take the longest to get ready because of those things.”

Rienna responded by whining at her teammate’s words. “But…they’re really powerful. Yeah, sure they have their problems but it always pays off.”

“I hate to say it but sometimes, it’s not worth it.” Rienna turned to Kurome this time. “Whenever we had to fight, you play two roles. You either start the fight or provide backup. Devil Incarnate is great but only useful when you’re up against a large group of Grimm. Against the enemy we’re fighting, Devil Incarnate is more of a liability to you.”

Kurome brought up several good points and Akame had some of her own. “Kurome is right. Your weapon is powerful but it also makes you vulnerable. Whenever a battle begins, you always remain stationary providing support since your weapon does one of the longest reaches out of any of us. However, that’s only when we’re in a group. If fighting alone, you would be killed. An example of this is when I fought against Bols. The only reason he gave me trouble was because he had someone else fighting alongside him. If it wasn’t for that factor, I would’ve ended the fight.” Rienna couldn’t help but feel a little down when Akame spoke about her father like that. “I know you want to honor your father by using his weapons but perhaps it’s time to make something different for yourself.”

Rienna seemed worried about what Akame meant by that. “And what would that be?”

“You could modify your weapons.” Akame replied. “You can make improvements to your weapons to be better adapted. Perhaps making them more manageable for you to move around more quickly. That way, you could provide more support to us. There is still the issue that you’re a long-range fighter. Becoming efficient in hand-to-hand combat would help cover that.”

Rienna mused over all the suggestions of her teammates had said about her. There was some truth to what Akame said about her. About how she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. There wasn’t anything wrong with that but she was aware of the fighting style she was using. She always did stay in place when providing backup to her team and in return, they back up her in a fight. In a one-on-one, she would lose easily as it could be difficult in hitting a single opponent. True, her weapon has a long and wide range but it is only in one direction. Her semblance being causing explosions balances it out but there is still the factor of her opponent being quicker then she can see. Akame, Taeko, and Kurome are examples of this as they can reach her quickly before Rienna has a chance to counter them. What's more, they're proficient in close-quarters combat while Rienna is not due to how heavy her weapons are. With these points being valid and the kind of enemy they’re up against, all Rienna could do was lower her head and sigh. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do to modify Devil Incarnate. I memorized their blueprints so much I can basically recollect which part goes where with my eyes closed.”

Everyone, especially Chelsea were glad to hear that. There was still the part where Rienna needs to learn how to fight hand-to-hand but they have some time to teach her. With that subject covered, it was time to move on to the next team member who needed to improve. And Taeko knew who she wanted to bring up. "If I may suggest…" Everyone turned their attention to her. Taeko scanned her party before focusing on Cornelia. "Cora has some difficulties to overcome."

Now Cornelia was surprised that her own girlfriend called her out and was curious what she had to say about her. “Okay, Taeko. What is it that I need to work on?”

The answer was very obvious to Taeko. “Just as Ruby needs to learn how to fight without her scythe, you have to learn how to fight without your weapons. Of course, the advantage you have is applying your semblance to your body as we’ve all seen in your fight back in the Vytal Festival. I’ll be completely honest about this. While your victory was impressive, you were just lucky and nothing more.” Cornelia was surprised that Taeko was speaking something negatively about her but she knew her girlfriend was talking about her honest opinion. “Your opponent didn’t know how to counter your grip and it was only through sheer willpower you were able to hit her. If you were up against me, I wouldn’t give you the chance before your attack could hit me. There is potential in what you did but it does need refinement. If sharpened, you could become a force to be reckoned with, weapon in hand or not." Akame had to admit Taeko was on point with Cornelia. Back in her world, Cornelia was efficient in hand-to-hand combat and it worked well in tandem with her Teigu.

Cornelia thought the same. In fact, she felt it was quite empowering applying her semblance to her fist and feeling the power going through her which was a different experience when she normally used her semblance through her weapons. Cornelia wouldn’t mind doing something like that again and more often. “Okay, I’ll try work on that then but what about you Taeko? Do you have anything you need to improve?”

Taeko expected that kind of question and already had an answer for it. “As a matter of fact, I’m already efficient in hand-to-hand combat so I already my bases covered. Chelsea as well.”

Rienna and everyone else was quite surprised to learn that about their two teammates. “Wait, really?”

Chelsea chuckled confidently and her smile was just the same. “Yeah, it was part of the early morning training Granny put us through when we were young. Let’s just say It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that much.” Everyone could believe that since they heard more than their fair share of Babara Oarburgh from them and some of them already knew she was quite the huntress back in her day.

With Taeko and Chelsea having their bases covered, there were only two members left on the team. Akame turned to Kurome next. "Kurome, what can you tell me about the limitations of your semblance?”

Kurome thought it was her sister was asking a question like that since she and everyone else knew but she had a suspicion behind it and decided to explain. “As you know, my semblance can be separated into four stages. Times two obviously means my abilities are amplified by twice the normal output. When I’m in that stage, the strain it puts onto my body isn’t that bad. However, when I go into times three, that’s when I start to feel it but I can still manage it. At times four, that’s when it starts to take a toll on my body. At times five…well, that’s the point where my semblance hinders me more than helps and because of that, I use it as a last resort. I suppose you’re asking what I can do about it.”

Akame wouldn’t expect anything less from her younger sister and nodded. “Yes. If possible, I would like for you to improve your endurance while using your semblance. Particularly, your amplify times four stage. I won’t ask you to do times five since that is asking a little too much.” Kurome won’t argue against that since it was already difficult achieving times five in the first place for her. Still, working on enduring times four will be a challenge. It’ll be taxing but hopefully, it’ll pay off.

Now that six members were aware what they needed to improve, there was only one member left and all eyes were on Esdeath. She couldn’t help but feel nervous since she was the center of attention. “Okay, so…what is it that I need to work on?”

Kurome and the other members tried to think of what Esdeath can improve upon but it was Akame who had several ideas. Except, the problem is, she didn’t think they were applicable but decided to voice them out. “In all honesty, there are two techniques you could do but I don’t think they are within your power as they were the very same techniques the Esdeath I knew I could do.”

Whenever Akame brought up Esdeath's counterpart from her world, it was always something interesting. Terrifying and fucked up, but interesting. Esdeath and everyone else was already attentive to what their leader had to say. "What else could she do?"

Akame calmly closed her eyes and recalled the two moves Esdeath was terrifyingly known for. “Esdeath was proficient in two powerful skills. One of them was creating an entire army of ice soldiers capable of movement known as the Ice Calvary. Because of that, our final battle with the Empire became all the more difficult. However, the other skill she’d develop was likely far more powerful.”

Chelsea had a hard time believing that with what she and the others have just heard. “Oh, come on. What’s more powerful than creating an entire ice army?”

Akame opened her eyes to her team. "How about having the power to freeze time itself?" Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief as soon as they heard that. "Esdeath's Imperial Arms didn't have a trump card at first but had done the impossible and created one of her own and it was freezing time. It was this ability that made her more powerful than before."

Chelsea couldn’t help but chuckle nervously while having an uneasy expression on her face. _“Just when I think Esdeath’s counterpart couldn’t be more hardcore. Still, having the power to freeze time would’ve been helpful back at that Kuroyuri place.”_

“Um…” Akame saw Esdeath raise her hand and then put it down. “As impressive as that is, I think you were right from before.  There's no way I can create an ice army or freeze time. My semblance is powerful, yes but I don't think it can do those sorts of things with it."

Akame was aware of it. She just thought it would be a good idea for them to know. “That’s just fine. We can still work with what you can do. Perhaps hand-to-hand. As strong as Esdeath was, she was adept in close quarters combat.” That was something Esdeath could work with.

With everyone accounted for, Taeko decided to sum up everything about their meeting. “So, aside from Akame, Chelsea, and I, Rienna needs to remodify Devil Incarnate and learn how to fight in hand-to-hand, as well as Cornelia and Esdeath. Kurome just needs to work on enduring her times four for a longer period of time. Is that all?”

That was about the jist of it. Everyone was aware of what they needed to work on and improve. Akame smiled and nodded before standing up. The other members followed suit. “If everything is accounted for, then we’ll begin training tomorrow.” She then turned her attention to Rienna. “How long will it take you to remodify Devil Incarnate?”

Rienna did some minor calculations in her head before coming up with an answer. “It shouldn’t take too long. A couple of days at most.” That was sooner than what Akame had expected but she shouldn’t be surprised. This was a weapon Rienna knew the ins and outs of. She could almost compare the other girl to Ruby when it came to Crescent Rose.

Speaking of the young huntress-in-training, it was probably time to see how she was doing along with the rest of RNJR. “How about we head over to where Ruby and the others are? I’m sure they would be happy to see me again after what happened last night.” Everyone nodded in agreement and started to head over to where the other team currently was.


	63. More Than You Appear To Be

**A/N: Well, it’s about time I posted another chapter on here. It’s not freaking easy trying to work on a chapter when you have multiple assignments due on the same day. That and not trying to crack under the pressure that tests decide everything in my grade. With that being said, I’m going to level with all of you. What I’m about to do in this chapter is so far beyond out there, it might as well be jumping the shark. So, I won’t blame any of you if you stop reading the story after this chapter, unfavorite, unfollow, and all of that malarkey (if you haven’t already at this point). The only defense I have for this is that I had to make the connection relate somehow.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Three: More Than You Appear To Be

It didn’t take long for Akame and company to arrive where Ruby and the rest of RNJR were. When they arrived, they were already greeted with Wave pinning Ruby to the ground while holding a tight grip on her arm behind her back. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Uncle! Uncle!”

Cornelia’s only response to the scene was chuckling uncomfortably. “I guess she still hasn’t improved at all.”

Her comment drew Nora and the other’s attention and once they turned to their direction, they saw Akame among them. “Akame!” Nora immediately went over to Akame and gave her one of her traditional bone crushing hugs. “It’s great to have you back with us again!”

Akame wheezed as she struggled to draw a single breath. “Nice…to…see…you…too…” Her face started to turn into a pale shade of blue. 

Ren couldn’t help but sigh at what his childhood friend was doing to the poor girl. “Nora…” Nora heard him and took that as a cue to let Akame go.

She stopped her hug and took a step back away from the other girl. Akame took in a deep breath as air refilled her lungs. Out of all the ways to go, a bone-crushing hug really wasn't one Akame thought of. That and suffocation by face-in-cleavage but one was more preferred than the other. While Jaune was glad to see her again, he also had a question. The same as everyone else's mind. "Where were you last night?"

Akame didn’t show it but she was rather embarrassed in answering the question. “I…someone helped me out in time of need is all.” That was about the best answer she could give them and there was no way she was going to tell them she’d slept with the same person who helped her out.

“Excuse me.” Akame looked to where she heard a familiar voice and saw the same boy Ozpin was possessing from before. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Oscar Pine. It’s…nice to meet you.”

Akame chuckled quietly at Oscar’s introduction as she could tell he was a little nervous talking to her and not because she was a girl. “Ah, don’t be shy Oscar. Akame’s only a former assassin from another world. As long as you didn’t do anything bad, she won’t hurt you.” Again, Ren sighed at Nora’s way of uplifting the younger boy’s fears.

“Again, Ruby.”

“Right…”

Everyone’s attention turned to Wave and Ruby as they saw the soldier release her and walked away from a short distance. A question came to Cornelia. “Why’s Wave focusing on Ruby and not the both of you?”

This time, Oscar was the one to sigh. “He thought it would be better to train Ruby first since she has more to learn.” Everybody could see that.

“And how’s she been doing so far?” Esdeath asked.

“Terrible.” Nora, Ren, Oscar, and Jaune answered at once.

Jaune could at least see the bright side of Ruby training. “At least he’s not injuring Ruby in any way.”

Once Ruby stood up, Wave took up a stance again. “Are you ready?”

The young leader took up her stance but seemed very uncertain. “M-Maybe?”

Wave could see the doubt in Ruby’s eyes but would address this later. For now, it was time for another quick round. He bent his knees slightly before rushing over to Ruby. The younger girl gasped as her eyes widened by how fast Wave was and he was already in front of her. Ruby froze when she saw a lethal look in Wave’s eyes. The soldier didn’t waste any time as he pulled back his left arm and delivered an uppercut at Ruby. However, his attack only traveled in front of Ruby but she could feel the force behind the attack. Wave quickly drew back his arm and pulled back his other arm before attempting to punch Ruby in the face. However, his next attack slightly moved to the side of Ruby's head and avoided it but the young leader could still feel the power behind the power. Ruby was still in a state of shock when Wave disappeared in front of her and felt an arm wrap around her neck and lifted her up while a hand was placed on the top of her head. “And neck snap. Now you’re dead.”

He set Ruby down and let her go while the young leader was able to catch her breath. Ruby dropped down to her hands and knees while trying to contemplate what had just happened to her. Sparing with Wave was a totally different experience than when she sparred with Yang back at Patch a long time ago. Her elder sister was tough on her, yes, but Wave was more intense and sensed something that scared her when Wave came at her. She couldn't tell what it was but if the young leader had to guess…it must've been killing intent.

Wave walked past her while evaluating what happened before. “Your enemies will waste no time going for the killing blow the first chance they see it. Your reactions were slow, you hesitated when your enemy made the first move, you left multiple openings for attacks, and you showed no signs to break free from my hold as soon as I had my arm around your neck and my hand on your head.” He stood in front of Ruby and turned around to face her. The young girl looked up to see the disapproving look on his face. “In summary, you’re nothing more than a target who’s easy to kill and will take advantage of your weaknesses.”

Ruby hung her head in shame. What Wave said about her was honest. Brutally honest. With Crescent Rose, she could fight among the best but without her beloved weapon, she couldn't fight for beans. Looking back on it now, Ruby now envied her sister, Leone, and Wave for being well adept in hand-to-hand and it only made that gap between them and her all the more painful. “With that being said…” Ruby looked up at Wave again to see him giving her a soft smile while extending his hand to her. “While you have a lot to improve on, that just means you’ll grow faster. With the right training regime, of course.”

Ruby returned Wave’s smile with her own and grabbed his hand. Wave pulled the young leader up to her feet and continued to smile at her. While her hand-to-hand combat skills would need some work, he could see the potential in her and improving. That and Ruby reminded himself a little when Wave himself couldn't throw a punch to save himself once upon a time. Seeing this scene play out in front of her, Akame couldn’t help but be reminded of Bulat and Tatsumi whenever they sparred together. _“Come on, Bro. Go easy on me!”_

_“Ha, ha, sorry about that Tatsumi. I thought you could handle that attack. Let’s try that again and this time, pay attention.”_

“You okay Akame?” Wave’s question snapped Akame from reminiscing and saw that Wave and Ruby were standing in front of her. Her seeming out of it and having a strange smile on her face worried the soldier. “Were you lost in thought or something?”

Akame closed her eyes and shook her before stopped and opening her eyes again. “No, I was just…remembering something from earlier.”

Both Ruby and Wave knew there was more to the answer but decided it was enough. Wave smiled at her and placed his right hand on her shoulder. “Well, it’s good to have you back. You made everyone worried, you know?” Akame knew that very well at this point. There was one more thing Wave wanted to make sure of now that Akame was back. “Also, about Seryu-”

“It’s fine.” Akame interrupted Wave. “If Seryu can help in any way, that's fine. Just as long as she stays in line.”

For Akame to say that it was certainly better than the alternative she tried to do yesterday. Wave gladly agreed to that. "You can count on me for that and she's not that bad of a person. I mean, yeah she…" Wave stopped himself before bringing up that sensitive subject again before again. "Never mind. The point is that she just needs time to get used to all of us.” Akame would trust Wave's judgment on this. “Now then…” Wave turned his attention to Ruby and Oscar. “We'll break for lunch and we'll start again, beginning with a small warm-up: one hundred fifty pushups from the both of you. After that, we’ll see where we can go from there.”

Both Ruby and Oscar were flabbergasted at what Wave suggested as a warm-up. "A hundred fifty pushups? Isn't that a bit much for the start?”

Wave didn't think so as he laughed at Ruby's uncertainness. "Trust me, you're getting it easy. Back when I was still training as a soldier, my higher-ups demanded three hundred pushups. Sometimes more and that’s only one part of the training routines I had to do.” Ruby wasn’t sure if she could survive such a routine. “So, the sooner we can finish lunch, the sooner we can start up again.” Both Ruby and Oscar weren’t exactly ecstatic about their next training regime once lunch was over.

**B**

Leone sighed tiredly as she was laying on her bed while staring at the ceiling with her hands behind her head. She estimated an hour had passed since her telling the whole truth about her to Ghira and everyone else. And since after that, Leone had come to resent it. To certain others like Ghira and Kali, they were better off not knowing who she was and what she had done in the past. The Faunus blonde may have only been living here with them for the past couple of days but she truly felt like they were family to her just as Blake and Yang were. Now that the cat was out the bag (no pun intended), she didn’t know where her relationship with them would go from here on out. A couple of knocks on her door broke her train of thought and Leone sat up while turning her attention to her door. “It’s open.” The door slid open to reveal Kali which surprised Leone. “Kali? And here I was expecting one of the guards to move me to one of the jail cells.”

Kali already expressed a concerned look about the younger girl and walked into Leone’s room. “I wish you wouldn’t speak so negatively about yourself.” She started to approach Leone.

Leone couldn’t help but chuckle in an almost comical way. “I think you forgot that I used to kill as a profession. You sure it's a smart idea to be close to someone like me? I think Ghira would have some problems with this scenario."

Kali sat down next to Leone and didn’t show the slightest hint of fear in her eyes. “You’re not wrong about you said. Ghira would like to speak to you regarding what you did but I wanted to speak to you before him I managed to convince him to speak to you but for only five minutes.”

A kind gesture and defiantly piqued Leone’s interest. “Well, you have your five minutes so what do you have to say to me.”

Kali took in a deep breath and finally speak her mind. “Personally, I believe you’re someone who’s kind and gentle to those you care about closely. I could tell during all the time we spent together. You say that you’re a murderer, but you also explained you only killed people who tormented innocents. That alone says you’re not someone who’s bad.”

The older Faunus’ words brought out a simple laugh out of Leone. Her eyes had a somber expression to them and stared at the floor. “Ha, ha, you’re not the first one to tell me that but you’re forgetting one thing. Even though what I did was for the better of others, it doesn’t change the fact I’m a murderer through and through. You can believe I’m a good person but that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t change who I really am. Even if I did become a huntress, me being an assassin will never go away for as long as I live and after I die.”

Hearing those words cut Kali deep. She had no idea had such a negative view of herself and the worst part was she could understand that way of thinking. Kali and Ghira were once part of the White Fang and that would always be a fact about them. The same applied to Blake. However, Leone seemed to forget something important as well. “While it may be true that you can’t change of who you are…” Kali placed her right hand on Leone’s shoulder. Her action made the younger Faunus raise her head and turned to her. “But what you can change is the future you desire. Was that not the reason you were fighting for?” Leone gasped quietly as her eyes widened with shock. She honestly had no idea how to respond to what Kali had said to her. Kali used this opportunity to further explain. “What you have done in the past may be a part of you now but you and you alone can decide what your future will be.” Her grip on Leone’s shoulder tightened. “You decided to be an assassin to change people’s lives for the better and now you can decide again but this time for yourself. Wanting to become a huntress is a step in the right direction. The only thing left for you to do is to continue walking down that path." After saying all of that, Kali relaxed her grip and took in a deep breath. She removed her hand and realized what she had said. "Goodness, I…I don't know what came over me." Kali was rather feeling embarrassed now.

That embarrassment didn’t last long as she heard Leone laugh again but this time more cheerfully. She was actually guffawing while clutching her stomach. As much as Leone wanted to continue laughing, she had to force herself to calm down and let out one more sigh. “Blake’s really lucky to have a mom like you, you know that?” Leone wiped her right eye and stood up. “I guess I really needed that kick in the ass more than I thought.” She turned to the older Faunus woman once again and smiled at her. “Thanks, Kali.” Kali nodded and smiled back at her supposed granddaughter. The look she was seeing now from Leone was the one that told Kali she really was a kind girl. “Well…” Leone stretched her arms up for a few seconds before letting them down again. “I guess your five minutes are up now. Time for me to see the Chieftain now. I’ll catch you later.”

Leone started to walk out of the room and meet up with Ghira. “Leone…” The Faunus blonde stopped in front of the doorway and turned around again to Kali. “When you’re done with your meeting with Ghira, could you come to my bedroom? I have something I want to give you.”

Leone could take that proposal out of context but she knew what Kali meant. “Yeah, I’ll swing by when I’m done.” She flashed Kali one more quick smile before leaving the room and headed toward Ghira’s office.

**B**

Leone approached the door leading to Ghira’s office and standing in front of it was Blake and Syka who was waiting for her. Leone stopped in front of them. “Hope I didn’t keep him waiting.”

Blake shook her head and was clearly worried. “No, you didn’t.” That was good for Leone to know. She didn’t like keeping important people waiting. “You do need to know that I won’t be with you while you’re meeting with the Chieftain. He already knows what I think about you but he wants to judge you on his own accord." In other words, Ghira wanted to hear what Leone had to say from her own mouth. Leone could respect that since he will be hearing it straight from the horse's mouth.

“Sienna’s also in there.” Syka spoke up. “She wants to know something about you.”

Leone could care less about Sienna. She could at least humor her in answering whatever question the former high leader. “Fine then.”

With that confirmation, Syka and Blake stepped aside and Leone approached the door and stopped in front to knock on it a few times. “You may enter.” Leone slid the door open and entered the office. Once she entered, Syka closed the door behind the Faunus blonde. Inside the office, Leone saw Ghira sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and Sienna sat next to him. She could see the seriousness in their expressions. As soon as Ghira made eye contact with her, he gestured to couch in front of the table. “Have a seat.”

Leone took up the offer and walked over to the couch. Each step she took quietly echoed in the room while not breaking eye contact with Ghira and Sienna. Leone reached the couch and sat down across from Ghira and Sienna. At this point, Leone knew she wasn’t facing her grandfather. She was facing the Chieftain of Menagerie. “So, what do you have to say to me?”

Ghira started by uncrossing his arms and setting his hands on his lap while staring intensely at Leone. "For as long as I can remember when I was the leader of the White Fang and becoming the Chieftain of Menagerie, never have I heard one of our own killing their own kind. A scuffle and fight here and there but never to the point of murder. You already explained what you had done back in the world you came from and I can respect the reasons behind your actions. However, even if the Faunus were part of the White Fang, they were still your kind and as the Chieftain of Menagerie, I will ascertain your actions. What reason did you have for staining your own hands with your kind’s blood?”

Leone returned Ghira’s intense stare with her own. She already knew what her answer would be. “The reason’s simple. Anyone who threatens my friends, whether they’d be human or Faunus, I will not hesitate to kill them.” Sienna felt a slight hitch in her breathing when she heard Leone’s answer. The look she was seeing in Leone’s eyes, they were firm and unwavering. She had honestly never met someone like Leone before. “And I’ll have you know the White Fang targeted your daughter the first sight they saw her. One of them had a chainsaw ready to carve her out if I didn’t step in. The other members that were with the guy had the same idea so I did the same to them. And I would gladly do it again if it means to keep her and everyone else I care about safe.”

Ghira studied Leone carefully after hearing her reason. To him, he could see the strong, fierce resolve in her eyes. Her reason was not entirely unjust as he could see himself doing the same thing in protecting his daughter and the civilians. Just not the part where he would take another Faunus’ life in doing so. In that regard, Ghira can admit in that’s where Leone is stronger than he is. Not in terms of strength, though she already does, but for the sake of doing anything she can to protect those she cares about. It was an attribute Leone carried back then and still carried it to this day.

To Sienna, she was conflicted by Leone’s reasoning. Yes, she did kill fellow Faunus but it was to save Blake who was a fellow Faunus. However, she needed more proof to confirm how strong her conviction was. “And what if it wasn’t Blake? What if it was another Faunus you didn’t know? Would you have done the same thing? The same for a human?”

Leone was already annoyed by the former high leader’s questions and huffed. “It’s like I said before. I will kill anyone, whether they are human or Faunus, who threatens my friends. I’d do the same for civilians, human or Faunus, and that hasn’t changed since my time as an assassin.”

Sienna felt more conflicted now about the other Faunus girl. The most she can grasp about Leone is that her morals lie to her friends and wouldn’t hesitate to put her life on the line for an innocent civilian she wouldn’t even know. In short, Leone protects the innocent, no matter who they are, human or Faunus and punishes those who would do harm to them. And that’s where the center of her conflict lied within. “Then what makes you and I so different from each other? What makes this Revolutionary Army of yours different from the White Fang? You could’ve been an ally instead of being an enemy. Tell me, what’s the difference?”

Leone guessed these were the questions Syka told her about earlier. She took in a deep a breath and stared at Sienna right in her eyes. “Answer me this, Sienna. Can you recall at any point during your entire life living in the White Fang, giving Faunus hope?”

Sienna was already puzzled by Leone’s question? “Hope?”

The Faunus blonde narrowed her eyes at the former high leader. She held up two fingers from her right hand. "Two. There are two differences between us, Sienna. The first is that the Revolutionary Army gave the people hope that we would succeed in overthrowing the Empire. And in turn for that, they supported us. For every client we had, for every mission we completed, we gave them a sense of peace of mind. The Revolutionary Army was fighting for more than the people. We were fighting for a better, hopeful future for everyone. Whereas the White Fang is doing the opposite of what it was originally created for. All they’re doing is making the other Faunus who aren’t associated with them look like they’re the villains. It’s ironic, actually. An organization that’s trying to help Faunus is hurting them instead.”

“WE DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE!” Sienna yelled in outrage and glared angrily at the Faunus blonde. “We had to make the humans learn the hard way that they couldn’t push us around any longer! It’s only through fear that we finally received the respect that we deserved.” She heard Leone laugh which she didn’t understand what was funny. “Why are you laughing?”

Leone let out a couple of more laughs before looking at Sienna again. “Do you even know the difference between fear and respect? I’ll tell you. Respect is earned and those who give respect will never turn on you. Fear, on the other hand, can lead to dire consequences and in time, that fear will turn into revolt. Why do you think the Revolutionary Army started in the first place? It was because they were afraid that if something wasn’t done to fix the corruption of the Empire, it would mean the end for everyone. What you were doing, what the White Fang is doing, is giving false hope and a false sense of peace. And nothing good will ever come out of that and proof of that is having your own members getting killed for it.” Leone sighed briefly before moving on to her next point. “Honestly, I agree with what Ghira said before. I believe humans and Faunus should be equal but not through the methods the White Fang is using. There’s more than one way earn respect and your method isn’t one of them.”

Her words cut Sienna deeply. More so than any bladed weapon through and through. Was the path she so diligently walking wrong all along? If so, just how many did she drag along? How many sacrifices had she made that were in vain? Was everything Sienna had done in vain? She was almost afraid to ask her next question. “And…what’s the second difference?”

The second difference was more obvious than the first. “The second difference between us is experience.”

Again, Sienna was puzzled by what exactly the other Faunus meant. “What does that supposed to mean?” Ghira was also curious as to why Leone brought that up.

Leone would gladly explain as she meant more than what she said. “I’m talking more than experience in combat and in kills. I’m talking about what I had to go through in my world. A world that if you were in it, you’d be killed in the first five minutes as soon as you appeared. What’s the worse you had to go through? The Faunus you knew had to go through?”

Sienna had to think back a little to answer the question. “Being mostly ridiculed by humans and Faunus I knew went through the same. Many White Fang members that were captured were incarcerated.” This time, Sienna would ask her own question. “And what about you? You already told us what your world was like so what happened to you?”

Leone gave the former high leader a disinterested expression. “How does having your life being drained from you sound?" Sienna and even Ghira seemed stunned to hear that coming from Leone. “Not good enough? Then how about being impaled from the back by a sword sound? Or how about being shot multiple times in the stomach and barely surviving that? No, even better. What do you think being cut apart alive sounds like?” Sienna and Ghira were now speechless when they heard Leone was saying. “You have no idea what’s it like feeling pieces of your body being carved out of you. Slowly, and painfully while you were helpless to stop it. And I just don’t mean pieces of my skin. My eye gouged out, a hole in my cheek, nails ripped out of my hands, my right arm and breast, and my left leg being cut through. All of that happening while terror was coursing through my entire body. The only reason I was able to survive all of that was because of my regenerative abilities. And do you know what the fun part is? It was a human that did all of that to me and she did it for her own sick pleasure.”

Sienna felt both amazed and sick to her stomach after listening to Leone’s description of what happened to her. She had heard feats and tales of what the Faunus blonde had done but to hear such things happen to her, and from a human no less, it was unbelievable. Leone continued her story. “No, she wasn’t a human. She was a goddamn monster. Her and everyone else we had to go through. Them and the pain of losses I had to suffer through.”

This time, Ghira was able to speak up. “What kind of losses?”

Leone chuckled again and began to reminisce. “The team me and Akame were on, Night Raid, we thought of them as a family to us. We all had our laughs and shenanigans with each other. You wouldn’t even know that we were a bunch of assassins judging by how we all acted. But it’s because we were assassins, we were always standing in front of death’s door. A member that we were laughing together in the morning could end up being killed at the end of the night. And that's happened to almost everyone we knew.” Leone lowered her head and stared at the table. Ghira could easily see the hurt and loss in her eyes now. “We had to go through it all. The first was Sheele, the second, Bulat, Chelsea was the third one to be killed, Su wasn’t far after her, Lubbock, and finally…Tatsumi who I thought was going to see the end. The only ones who lived through this hellish nightmare of ours were me, Akame, our boss Najenda, and Mine which I don't think amounts to much. During a brutal rescue mission, Mine gave it everything she had to kill another target of ours, Great General Budo. But because of that, she ended up being in a coma which I don't think is any better and honestly, I don't think she'll ever wake up. I wouldn't be surprised if they put her out of her misery by now.”

The conflict within Sienna began to wane and replacing it now was pity. Before her now wasn’t the Traitor Faunus she had heard over and over again. Who she was seeing now was someone who went through grief and strife beyond anything she could’ve imagined. _“She has lost so much and been through so much more than I have. She was right all along. I pale in comparison to her. I can also see something ironic about her. She was someone who protected the weak but kept losing those she cared the most herself. I suppose that’s the life of an assassin but losing those close to you isn’t easy for anyone, no matter who they are.”_

Leone raised her head to face Ghira and Sienna for the last time. "So, yeah, that's the difference between us, the difference between the White Fang and the Revolutionary Army, and you already know the difference between my world than yours. You heard that explanation from me earlier today.” She turned to her attention toward Ghira. “Now that I told you about my life experiences, Chieftain, what’s your final verdict about me?”

Ghira's response was breathing in and exhaling heavily before giving his final judgment. “I’ll be honest here. When you first revealed yourself as an assassin, I was…overwhelmed. In fact, I was sickened by it. I would never have thought that my daughter shared a close bond with a killer. And I welcomed that same killer into my own home. I feared for the safety of my family. I can understand the reasons why you did what you had to do but that does not excuse you from your actions." 

Leone was actually kind of glad he said that to her. “Wow. You’re the first one to acknowledge that.”

The Chieftain cleared his throat to regain the focus at hand. “However, after hearing what you had to go through. The pain, the loss, the suffering, how you spoke about your former teammates, all of that leads me to believe that there is more to you than what I have originally thought. In the end, you are like most other beings. Someone who has compassion for others, grieve for loved ones lost, the emotions you’ve displayed. All of that portrays you as someone more. And for that, I would like to apologize to you.” Leone could hardly believe what had she heard coming from the Chieftain. No, what she had heard from Ghira himself. As soon as she had revealed herself as a former assassin, his opinion of her changed drastically and negatively. It was only after Leone had explained everything in deeper detail that his opinion had changed back. It wasn’t only that but having the Chieftain to apologize to her was something she didn’t expect as well. “As Chieftain of Menagerie, I will pardon you for your past actions.”

Even though the pardon won’t undo any action Leone had done, just knowing he would forgive her was good enough. There was a difference between her friend’s forgiveness and the forgiveness from the leader of an entire island. “Thank you, Chieftain. I appreciate that. More than you know.”

 Ghira nodded as he knew what Leone meant. “You’re welcome and with this, I believe our meeting has concluded.”

Leone let out a relieved yet heavy sigh that this was finally over. If it were any other trail, she’d just bust her way through and kill anyone that tried to stop her. But with Ghira, she knew he was doing his job and would’ve accepted any punishment he’d give her. At worst, Ghira would’ve just exiled her and Leone would’ve been fine with that. Thankfully, she was glad about the end result. “Well, if that’s the case…” Leone finally stood up before Ghira and Sienna. "I would like to thank you for your time." She bowed slightly to Ghira and made her way to the door as Ghira and Sienna watched her. The Faunus blonde slid the door open and finally left the office before closing it again. Leone looked around and saw that neither Blake nor Syka were around. That was fine with her as she had one more thing to do. _“Right, time to go see Kali.”_  Leone then started to walk toward to where Kali said where she would be earlier.

Back in his office, Ghira closed his eyes and let out an equally heavy sigh. “That was much more than what I expected. Honestly, I’m glad things ended the way they did.” He opened his eyes and turned his attention to Sienna. “Did you get what you needed and if so, what do you think of her now?”

Sienna lowered her head as her ears flattened as she thought of everything Leone said. From earlier today to several seconds ago. “She was right all along about the differences between us. What I didn’t count on was how large those differences would be. She is by far the strongest being I have ever come across and not only in terms of strength. Everything that I have done, everything that I went through, pales in comparison to her. What truly frightens me are the humans she had to go up against. It’s true that in the history of Faunus, humans have mocked and degraded us but the humans in her world sounded more like they were monsters. Especially the one in particular that…cut her into pieces just for the sheer enjoyment. Just imagining about that…” She shuddered slightly at the thought. “No, even thinking about that makes me feel ill.”

Ghira didn’t blame her for thinking like that. Even he couldn’t believe there existed a human such as that. “And the differences between this Revolutionary Army and the White Fang?”

That subject tore Sienna apart the most as she reflected her actions. “To be honest, I thought having the humans to acknowledge us through fear was easier because they would not see us eye to eye. I believed what I was doing was right until she pointed out the flaws. What she said about the White Fang is true, now that I think about it. It was first created to help our kind but instead, we’re just making it worse. Or rather, I’m making it worse and the Fall of Beacon is a prime example of our actions. With this Revolutionary Army, they’ve done what they set out even though it could cost them their lives. I suppose when you get down to it, the White Fang is nothing more than a group of cowards compared to them. I guess that makes me one too.”

“Sienna…” Ghira could tell how utterly crushed Sienna was. Crushed under the weight of the mistakes she had made in the past. Everything that has happened up to this point was on her and probably thought no amount of retribution could atone for what Sienna had done. However, this is where Ghira thought she was wrong. "You are anything but a coward, Sienna." The former high leader turned to Ghira with a surprised expression on her face. "As I've said before, I do agree that Faunus and humans should equal. You had your heart in the right place but your methods to do it were…less than conventional. It’s not too late for you to start the right thing and by doing that, you can help us to take back the White Fang.”

To Sienna, it couldn’t have been that easy. She just couldn’t undo everything she had done in the past. Then again, the same could be said for Leone. What the Faunus blonde had done was leagues above what the former high leader had done and yet she was still moving forward. Perhaps it was time for Sienna to take a page out Leone’s book. Sienna sighed as she made her decision. “If that is what you wish, then I will honor it. However, I have one condition.”

Ghira was glad to hear Sienna was on board. Now he just needed to know what was Sienna’s condition. “And what would that be?”

For the first time, Sienna smiled at the Chieftain. “I refuse to be the leader again.”

**B**

Leone finally made it to Kali and Ghira's bedroom. She stood in front of the door for several seconds before knocking on the door. The reply was instantaneous. "You can come in." Leone slid the door open and entered the room. Upon entering, she saw Kali sitting on the edge of her bed and smiled at her. "I'm glad you've arrived. How did things go with Ghira?"

The younger Faunus flashed Kali a happy grin as a response. “It’s all good between us now. I was honestly nervous about the whole thing but it all worked out.” Kali was glad to hear that. She was equally worried how her meeting with Ghira went but now she doesn’t have to anymore. “So, what was that you wanted to give me?’

Leone's answer was Kali standing up from the bed and walked over to the closest. She stopped in front of the closet and opened it. Kali looked at the top shelve in the closet and spotted a medium-sized wooden case. She reached for the box and grabbed it before pulling it back to her. Kali then turned around presented it to Leone. “Leone, what I’m about to give you is not only special to me but special to somebody else I knew a long time ago." Kali walked back to the bed and set the box down on it. The older Faunus woman opened the case to reveal a single gleaming silver gauntlet with open holes where the fingers slid through. When Kali picked up it, there was a photo lying face down beneath the gauntlet. Kali gave a melancholic look at the picture before turning around to presenting the gauntlet to Leone. “This is what I wanted to give you.”

Leone was in awe of the weapon she was seeing before her. She took a few steps forward to get a closer look at the weapon. "Holy crap, Kali. I didn't know you had something like this." Kali handed the gauntlet to Leone. The Faunus blonde admired how it looked. "Is this weapon yours, Kali?"

Kali chuckled softly as she loved the look Leone was giving to the gauntlet. “No, it…belonged to a close friend of mine a long time ago. I took care of it meticulously for a long time. Try it on.”

The younger Faunus followed what Kali told her and slipped the gauntlet on her right arm. It seemed the gauntlet reached to the middle of her forearm. It was obviously larger than Lionel. She extended her arm in front to get a better view. “This thing is awesome, Kali.”

Kali knew she’d like it but knew how Leone would like it more. “Clench your hand tightly and you’ll see something surprising.”

Leone did just that and as she closed her hand, three curved blades came out from in-between her knuckles. Leone gauged the blades were seven inches in length. The Faunus blonde was immediately impressed. “Whoa, oh, oh, your friend must’ve been a badass if they used this. Does it have a name?”

The older Faunus woman smiled as she was glad to be asked that question. “Silver Saber. That was the name given to it by my friend.”

Silver Saber. It was a name Leone liked a lot. There was one question she had for Kali as she lowered her arm. She released her grip and the claws retracted. “This is awesome and all but why did you decide to give this to me if it means a lot to you?”

Kali’s smile never left as she had several reasons. “For one, you mentioned that your previous weapons were taken away from you so I thought this would be a viable replacement. And the second…” Kali stopped herself as closed her eyes and shook her head. She stopped and opened her eyes once again. “Never mind. It’s not important. I’m just glad that you like it.”

That was an understatement coming from her to Leone. “Like it? I freaking love this thing! Thanks, Kali”

Again, Kali was thankful for hearing that. “You’re welcome.” During all this celebration, the older Faunus woman thought now would be an appropriate time to ask a question she’s had for quite some time. “Leone…if you don’t me asking, do you remember anything about your parents? Your real ones. Your mother? Your father?”

Leone raised an eyebrow as the question seemed strange but didn’t mind answering it. “My parents, huh. Well, I never gave one passing thought about who my dad was my entire life. As for my mom…” Her expression changed as she seemed slightly sad. “She passed away due to illness when I was a kid. Since then, I've been living on the streets while working at a seedy massage parlor. At least I was getting paid even though the pay was crap."

Kali couldn’t help but feel remorseful for Leone. For a child to survive in the streets after their parent had passed away. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it.”

Leone shrugged like it was no big deal. "It's alright. I've gotten over it by now. Although, I do remember two things about her. In fact, I think they're the only three things I remember about my mom. One of them is making my scarf and the other was singing that one song that helped me sleep at night. She'd always sing that whenever I had nightmares or felt uneasy. The third is that she always called me her little lion."

Kali’s heart tightened when she heard that. “I see.”

With everything said and explained, Leone immediately gave Kali a hug, though a bit too strong for the older Faunus’ liking. “Again, thank you, Kali.” Kali struggled to reply due to air leaving her lungs. Leone let go of Kali (much to her relief as she can breathe again) and raised her hand again to marvel at Silver Saber. “I got to show this to Blake. Again, thanks a lot!” Leone ran out of the room in excitement.

Kali was happy Leone loved her gift. The look on her face was one she’ll remember for quite some time. She turned around to see the case again and the photo in it. The older Faunus woman sighed sadly as she reached for the photo and flipped it to see the picture. Upon seeing it, old memories began to surface. One memory included Kali in her younger years talking to another female Faunus sitting around a table. _“So…have you told him yet?”_

_“Tell who what?”_

_“You know what I mean. Ghira! I know you’re interested in him. I’ve seen the way you look at the guy.”_

_“O-Oh. I think you’re just imagining things.”_

_“Is that so? Then I guess you won’t mind if I ask him out. I mean he has the looks and those muscles…”_ Kali’s friend gave out a sensual purr. She saw the worried expression Kali had and just laughed. _“I’m just teasing you, Kal. But seriously, you should try asking him out or someone else will steal him away from you.”_

Kali blushed at the mere thought of confronting Ghira. _“I-I don’t know.”_

Her friend rolled her eyes at Kali. _“Come on! I know for sure you two would make a cute couple. Maybe have a kid running around a few years later?”_

Now Kali was blushing furiously at this point. _“I think you’re making wild assumptions at this point.”_

Another memory came to Kali as she remembered her friend humming a pleasant-sounding tune. _“That actually sounds nice. What song is that?”_

_“Oh, it’s…just something I came up with. You can use it if you like when you and Ghira have a kid.”_

Kali blushed at the mere thought of having a child. _“I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I don’t think Ghira and I are ready to have children.”_

Her friend scoffed at that. _“Oh, please. I know you two would make great parents. I wonder what your kid will be like.”_

The third memory that came to Kali was an unpleasant one as it was the last time she would see her friend again. _“Kali, Kali open up!”_

Kali yawned as she stood up from her bed and opened her door while wearing a black nightgown. Her friend was standing outside in a white top and black shorts while looking very distressed. _“What happened?”_ Her friend walked into her room and Kali closed the door. She saw the other Faunus girl pacing around with a worried expression. _“Would you tell me what’s going on?”_ Her friend stopped and took out a small object from her pocket. She handed it to Kali and she inspected it closer. It became obvious what it was. _“A pregnancy test? And it’s positive. Wait, that means you’re-”_

_“Yes, it does.”_ Her friend placed her hand on her stomach. _“He can’t know about this. If he finds out then…”_ She closed her eyes and shook her head to be rid of any horrible thoughts. She stopped and opened her eyes with a pleading look in them. _“You can’t tell anyone about this. You can’t tell him about this.”_

Kali was growing increasingly worried about her friend. _“I won’t but what are you going to do?”_

For her friend, the answer was easy. _“I’m going to leave the White Fang.”_ Kali gasped in shock at what her friend was going to do. _“I want my child to grow up safely and I can’t be in the White Fang if I want that. Especially if he’s around. I’m sorry, Kali.”_ After that night, Kali never saw her friend again. The only thing she had to remember her by was the gauntlet her friend left behind and took care of ever since.

Then a funny circumstance happened a few days ago in the present time. _“To be honest, when I first saw her, I immediately thought it was you and you came back. She looked so similar to you but I knew she was different from you. The more time I spent with her, the more nostalgic I became. I truly want to believe what I think who she is but it’s just too wild for it to be true. What she had to do, what she had to go through, where she’s from, her age. All of that doesn’t add up and yet…I feel like some part of you came back to me. I don’t know if I’m just crazy and seeing things but…I truly want to believe.”_ Tears began to flow out of Kali’s eyes as she continued to look at the picture of her in her younger years and a lion Faunus girl with long wild blonde hair smiling together. Above their heads were their names and it read: “Kali and Leona”.

**B**

Ruby sighed in relief as she laid flat on the couch after having a delicious yet painful dinner. Her body felt sore after doing the training regimes Wave game them. “Finally. Sweet, sweet rest.”

Oscar felt the same as he sat in the chair in the corner. “That was the most I had to do in a workout. And to think, we have more to do tomorrow.” Both of them groaned at the mere thought of it.

Nora and the rest of RNJR saw the two wallowing in dread for the training tomorrow. Nora didn't see the reason why they were in poor spirits. "What are you two complaining about? What you did look like a lot of fun. I can do some of those in my sleep. Literally!"

“It’s true.” Ren confirmed.

Ruby groaned as she turned her head to face her team. “It may be easy for you Nora but it’s really hard for me and Oscar.”

Jaune could understand their dilemma. They're not particularly used to the kind of training Wave was giving them but he knew it was for their benefit. He was one of the most experienced fighters, aside from Qrow and Akame. “Well, look at it this way Ruby. It’ll be all be worth it when it’s over.”

The young leader groaned again as she rolled her body in the opposite direction of her team. "I wish getting stronger didn't have to be so painful. I don't know if I'll be able to move when we go back to Haven again."

Over at the kitchen, Esdeath and the rest of the team were cleaning up. Esdeath couldn’t help but overhear the conversation in the living room. “Poor Ruby.”

“Esdeath, hand me the next plate.” Rienna’s request brought her teammate back and handed her the next soaked plate. The two were currently washing and drying the dishes.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Taeko were cleaning the table while having their own thoughts about Ruby’s and Oscar’s training. “I don’t know what Ruby was complaining about earlier in dinner. Granny put us through some rigorous training but it worked out great for us.”

Taeko thought differently about what Chelsea had said. “You seem to forget that we were trained at a young age while Ruby is just starting at her current age.”

Chelsea had to admit her childhood friend had a point. “Yeah, you’re right about that. But seriously, though, I don’t think Ruby would last a couple of days with Granny’s training.”

Taeko scoffed at Chelsea’s assumption. “Don’t be ridiculous, Chelsea. Ruby wouldn’t survive the first day.”

Chelsea stopped wiping the table momentarily and laughed a little. It was rare for her to hear Taeko crack a joke. Even rarer for them to agree on something. After settling down, she had a couple more unrelated questions. “Anyway, where did Wave go? Last I saw him, he had a plate full of food left from dinner.”

Taeko stopped wiping and folded the cloth. “I assume he’s bringing the leftovers to Seryu. I would think you’d notice her absence during dinner.”

Again, Taeko had a point and Chelsea rolled her eyes. “Right, right. I still wonder what guy sees in her. Speaking of missing people, where are Akame and Kurome?”

The other girl had some sort of inkling for the sisters’ whereabouts. “I believe Akame is taking a shower and Kurome will most likely bring her a change of clothes.”

Chelsea easily acknowledged her friend’s answer and shrugged. “Sounds about right.”

As Taeko mentioned before, Kurome was carrying a set of Akame’s pajama’s while walking to the bathroom. As she approached the bathroom, Kurome could hear the water running. The younger sister opened the door. Thankfully, the shower was in a separate room divided by a door so Kurome didn't have to worry about seeing her sister in the buff. That was strictly reserved for whenever the team came across a hot spring or a sauna. Kurome saw Akame's clothes on the sink and set her pajamas on the counter. "Akame! I brought your pajamas!"

“Thank you, Kurome!” Akame called out from the other side of the door.

Kurome took her sister’s clothes and left the bathroom but not before closing the door. She made her way back to their room and opened the door to it. Once Kurome entered, she placed her sister’s clothes on her bed. _“With your frown, even desserts are bitter_. _Somewhere far away I can hear a song._ _If I’m awaken I’ll jump into this unknown world._ _Just as I’m feeling like if I’m dreaming, the secret Nightmare Counselor!”_

“What the…?” Kurome heard her sister’s scroll go off out of nowhere and took it out of Akame’s skirt pocket.

The younger sister brought the scroll closer to her face and saw that it as a number she didn’t recognize. All kinds of questions were raised while hearing the ringtone continuing. _“Raise my eyes from the past and look at a future vision. Is that called ‘escaping from reality’? The curiosity that threw me in this dark path of course is a limiter break too. It cannot be helped and yet it moves. Something changes: a wasted evolution. I’ve never thought I’ve ever wished something so bad, call me, call me, call me, call my name!”_

Kurome answered the called and placed the scroll close to her ear. “Hello?”

The bathroom door opened and Akame walked out while wearing her pajamas. She dried her hair with a towel before setting it around her neck. After that, Akame walked to her room to retrieve her scroll. As she approached the room and entered it, Akame saw her clothes on her bed. She walked over to the bed and reached into her skirt pocket but soon found out her scroll wasn’t in there. “Where’s my scroll? I know I put it in here.” It didn’t take long for Akame to connect the dots and quickly left the room. Akame quickly descended downstairs where she thought her sister was. "Kurome, do you know where my…" Once Akame arrived on the first floor, she saw Kurome talking to the rest of the group. From the look of it, everyone had expressions ranging from shocked to confused. "Kurome?" Everyone heard Akame and turned all their attention to her. For some reason, Akame couldn't help but feel something was wrong. "What's going on here?"

Kurome narrowed her eyes at her older sister and brought up Akame’s scroll displaying the unknown number to her. “So, Akame. Do you mind explaining to us who Merraid is?”

**A/N: Again, I don’t blame any of you for thinking what I did in this chapter is completely fucking stupid.**


	64. The First Hug

**A/N: Hey, a fast update. You know what that means. Well, obviously I finished my class. Also, the reviews for the last chapter weren’t what I expected them to be. Ah, and before I forget, I would like to give a special shoutout to Toa IceHeart for the tribute fanart. I love it and it’s freaking fantastic. Thank you so much!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Four: The First Hug

Akame was walking in the streets of Mistral while passing a multitude of people by. The reason for her walking about in the morning was because Akame had something important to take care of. Actually, it was because of what happened last night is the reason she needed this to be resolved. Akame sighed heavily as she slightly lowered her head. She clearly remembered what happened between her and her sister last night.

_F_

“I CAN’T FUCKING BELIEVE YOU!!!”

“It’s not what you think-”

“BULLSHIT!”

“Kurome, I can explain-”

“Oh, yes Akame. Please explain how you ended up with some random woman’s number calling your scroll!" In all honesty, even Akame didn't know how Merraid was able to call her scroll. Her best guess what she must've sneaked a peek at some point during their time together.

While Kurome was going off a tangent with her sister, everyone else was just watching what was unfolding before them. They could understand why Kurome was angry at her sister. Within their group, they only had each other’s numbers. For an unknown number to be calling Akame’s scroll, that meant something was up. “Please, Akame. Just tell us who this Merraid woman is.” Cornelia was among having a leveled head.

Akame felt ashamed for being asked such a question. She’d hoped to keep it a secret from the others but now…Akame just sighed in defeat. “Merraid was the woman who looked after me last night.”

The truth was out but the answer only raised more questions from Kurome. “Okay, so why did this woman who looked after you call your scroll? I find that a bit suspicious.” Akame couldn’t answer that question. She knew the answer but that answer would infuriate Kurome more. Unfortunately for her, Kurome was connecting the dots herself. “Hold on. Earlier today you sent us a text saying you’ll be back but it too you an hour to do so. I’ve wondered-” She gasped in shock at the conclusion she came to. “No way…I don’t fucking believe you. You blew us off, your own team and friends... FOR AN EXTRA HOUR OF SEX!?” Akame felt both ashamed and embarrassed for hearing that. “What, did you also sleep with this woman last night too?” Kurome saw her sister turn away from her. At this point, Kurome was absolutely disgusted by Akame's actions. "Unbelievable. This is how you're coping with Leone's loss? Do you just sleep with any woman you come across now? I thought you were better than this!"

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” A small but powerful pulse emitted from Akame and everyone froze still. Akame looked back at Kurome with her eyes changed into their demonic form. The shame and embarrassment in her eyes from before was replaced by irritation. “You have every right to be angry with me and I apologize for keeping this away from you. However, I will not let you continue to berate me.” Akame closed her eyes for a second before opening them to reveal they had changed back. “Yes, it’s true that I slept with Merraid but it was nothing more than a moment of weakness. And I did not willingly give her my scroll number.” Akame slowly walked over to Kurome and stopped once she was in front of her. She quickly swiped her scroll away from her younger sister and turned away from her. Akame then began to walk away from the group. “I will take responsibility for my actions and deal with Merraid myself. Good night.” Those were the last words everyone heard before seeing Akame walk back up the stairs and back into her room.

Once they heard the door close, Oscar groaned and fell down to the floor. Everyone’s attention turned to him now. Ruby became worried while Nora kneeled next to him. “Oh no, Oscar’s down! Ruby quick, give him CPR!”

“Wait, why me?!”

“I’m fine! I’m fine.” Oscar gave a sigh of relief once he recollected his nerves. “It’s just…I never felt fear like that before. It was like…she was going to kill us. Her eyes alone made me frozen with fear.”

Chelsea didn’t blame him for feeling that. She and guessed everyone else felt the same thing. “Well, Akame is a former assassin. That’s kind of her thing.”

Oscar stood up and sighed again. “She appeared more like a demon than an assassin.”

“You’re not wrong there.” Everyone turned to Wave this time as he stared at Akame’s door. “Back in our world where she was still wanted, Akame was given the name Akame of the Demon Sword Murasame. My last fight with her definitely showed me she’s earned that title.” He turned to the rest of the group. “And I’m sure you’ve witnessed that power too.” He wasn’t wrong about that.

“Still, though. Akame already sleeping with other girls. She doesn’t wait around, huh?” Nora then felt a strike from the back of her neck. “O-Ow!”

She turned around to see Taeko with her hand raised. “There is a time and a place for everything. Now is not the time. You do well to remember that.”

“She has a point.” Nora turned to Ren. “Jokes aren’t appropriate right now. Especially what happened.”

Nora sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

The rest of the members of Night Raid only stared at Kurome and were worried about her. They saw her hands closed tightly and shaking. Kurome gritted her teeth and growled slightly. “Damn it, Akame.”

On the other end of the door, Akame was leaning against it. She held her scroll close to her chest and tightened her grip on it. Akame brought her scroll up to her face and checked her call history. She found Merraid’s number and tapped it. The former assassin brought her scroll to her ear and heard it ring. And then, she heard the other line pick up. “It’s me.”

_F_

After the call, Merraid had agreed to meet her at a small café near Merraid's apartment in the morning. Of course, Akame didn’t leave unprotected as she carried Yatsufusa and Murasame as always. She didn’t have much longer to walk as she saw the café up ahead. _“A café near her apartment with lavender tiles. That must be it.”_ And sure enough, Akame saw Merraid sitting on a chair at one of the outside tables.

Merraid turned her head around to see Akame and smiled happily. “Ah, you’re here!” She stood up and started to walk toward Akame. The two walked toward each other until they met each other halfway. “I’m glad you could make it. I’m even happier that you wanted to see me again. I haven’t even ordered yet. That’s if you haven’t eaten yet.” Unfortunately, Akame didn’t feel the same way. Instead, she was furious at the woman in front of her. It seemed even in another world, Merraid was still problematic. Merraid clapped her hands together. “What do you say? Shall we have breakfast?” Akame didn’t reply in the first few seconds. All she did was stare intensely at the older woman. Merraid thought it was strange. “What’s wrong? Why are you giving me that look?”

Akame narrowed her eyes before finally speaking. “I’m sorry. For two things.” Merraid tilted her head slightly in confusion. In the next second, a loud smack could be heard in the street. People near the two girls stopped and witnessed that Akame slapped Merraid. The older woman had an expression of disbelief at what just happened to her. Akame kept her steely gaze at the older woman. “That was obtaining my number without my knowledge. What you have done was nothing more than an invasion of privacy. Because of what you did, my sister, my team, my friends, they all know what I did last night. I never wanted them to learn of that and yet you ruined it all because of a call you made. What were you thinking?”

Merraid got over her initial shock. “In all honesty, I was surprised someone else picked up your scroll. It was never my intention to cause you trouble. I simply wanted to see you again.”

“Sometimes simple intentions can lead to trouble and that’s what you’ve brought to me.” Akame retorted. “In any case, my first apology is slapping you. My second is for what I did to you last night. I know you told you told me I shouldn’t feel bad and didn’t do anything wrong. But that does not excuse my actions for what I have done. I cannot live with myself knowing I did such a thing and cannot apologize for it. You looked after and yet I took advantage over you. I can only hope you can forgive me in return.” Akame slightly bowed to the older woman.

While Merraid was understanding of what Akame did, she didn’t like what had transpired before her. _“Damn it. It seems she’s snapped out of it. Her will regained its strength. I would’ve thought she’d still be fawning over me but now I see that’s not the case anymore. I can’t let her slip through my fingers now that she’s so close. I promised Lady Salem that I would deliver Akame to her. And no matter what, I will make you mine…Akame. Only I am the one worthy enough of you.”_ She gave a sly smirk at the younger girl before putting up her façade. “If you really wish to make it up to me…then go out on a date with me.” Akame lifted herself up and was shocked to hear that from Merraid. “All I ask for in return is one date for a whole day. After that, I promise I’ll leave you alone. Deal?”

Akame didn’t like Merraid’s proposal at all. She only came here so she can put this whole mess behind her. This deal Merraid was offering was nothing more than an annoyance to her. If it were another time then maybe Akame would consider seeing Merraid. However, this was not the time. She had far more important things to worry about such making up with her team and dealing with Salem. Akame gave out a long sigh. “If it’ll get you to leave me alone, I’ll agree. When it’s over, we will not meet again.”

In the shadows of Merraid’s mind, a sinister grin appeared and an evil gleam in her eyes. She immediately hugged Akame and pulled her close. “You have no idea how happy you made me!” Merraid had a malevolent expression on her face. “I promise you’ll enjoy this date to best of what I can offer you.” She separated from the younger girl and smiled innocently at her. “Now, how about that food?” Her response was Akame’s stomach making a loud growl. Merraid couldn’t help but laugh while Akame’s face flushed red. “It seems meeting me was more important than breakfast.”

She wasn’t wrong there. Settling this matter was more important than eating breakfast and that was saying a lot. Before Akame could start their date, she had one more thing to do. She pulled out her scroll and started tapping on the screen repeatedly. “I’ll let Kurome know what I’m doing. After what happened last night, she deserves to know now.” She finished and sent the text. Akame stared at the text sent message and knew that her sister wouldn’t be happy. They may be on bad terms now but she owed it her to let Kurome know nonetheless. Lest she wanted to drive a wedge further between them. Akame put her scroll back in her and looked back at Merraid. “Shall we begin then?” Merraid eagerly went to Akame’s side and locked arms together with her. The two then started to walk back to the café to enjoy a nice breakfast together. Akame could tell the older woman was ecstatic about this date. She couldn’t say the same but a deal is a deal. After this date was over, Akame will focus on reconnecting with her team and come up with a plan on what to do with Salem.

**B**

Chelsea felt something vibrate in her skirt pocket and took out a scroll to see what it was. She checked the message and chuckled at what she read. “Uh-oh. Kurome is going to be more pissed off when she sees this.”

“Why do you even have Kurome’s scroll?” Rienna asked.

The other girl put the scroll away back into her skirt pocket. “It’s for safekeeping. Kurome is going to be in her times four state for a while and crushing her scroll is not the first thing she wants to do. That’ll be the plates when she’s helping out Ruby and the others with breakfast.”

“What did the text say?” Cornelia asked.

Chelsea’s response was a Cheshire grin. “Oh, something about going on a date with the woman she just slept as a deal so that she’ll leave Akame alone. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s digging herself a deeper hole.”

“Leave Akame to her own volitions. We’re here to discuss what are our thoughts are of her recent actions. We already know how Kurome thought from last night.” Taeko was correct. Most of the members in Night Raid were in Rienna’s room to talk about what they thought of Akame’s recent action. “Personally, I believe what Akame did was deplorable. I would’ve expected better from someone like her. Having done such a thing has dragged her through the mud.”

Chelsea rolled her eyes at her friend’s explanation. “In other words, Akame hit a new low in sleeping with some random woman. As for what I think about the whole thing, yeah, I think she fucked up big time here. One night stands usually don’t work out well for the person involved and the people around them. This is just another example.” She turned to Rienna. “What do you think about all this?”

Rienna seemed unsure what to say about the whole situation. She tried to come up with her own thoughts on the matter. “I’m…not sure. It does sound like what Akame did was bad so…I guess I have to agree with you and Taeko.”

The three of them were all in agreement what Akame did wasn’t exactly the best. Four if they included Kurome. “Come on guys. This isn’t fair.” They turned to Cornelia who seemed upset at them. “Aren’t you being a little harsh on Akame?”

Chelsea scoffed at the second blonde. “Oh, so you think it’s okay that Akame slept with the first woman she saw right after she learned that Leone was KILLED?”

“Of course not!” Cornelia retaliated. “But none of you were there that night when I chased Akame down. You didn’t see how broken she was, how defeated she was. She’s not only lost someone she loved. She lost the only person who went through god knows what back in their world same as her. They knew each other much longer than they knew us so we can’t even begin to think what Akame had to go through.”

Everyone had to admit she brought up a good point. However, it wasn’t good enough for Chelsea. “If you ask me, you’ve should’ve done a better job. If you’d drag Akame back here, with or without her kicking and screaming, none of this would’ve happened. I know you’re trying to justify for what she did but the bottom line is that she kept this hidden from us. Her own team. Her own friends. Not to mention she gave that woman her scroll number which is a big deal. Do you think we really have the time for her to be seeing other people?”

Cornelia didn’t have a reply to that. Chelsea was right about her for not trying hard enough. If she had convinced Akame a little more, this whole mess wouldn’t have started. In a way, she felt partly responsible for what happened to Akame. So far, she’s failed to keep her promise with the previous Cornelia. “Um…isn’t that the reason why Akame went out to see her in the first place?” All eyes were on Esdeath now. “I mean…she left even before breakfast could be made. I think that kinda proves this is really important to her.”

Esdeath wasn’t wrong there. For Akame to skip out breakfast of all things, they knew this was something that couldn’t wait. Still, Taeko wasn’t convinced enough. “While it is admirable for Akame redeeming herself, it’s not enough for us to completely forgive her. She has to earn our trust back.”  That was the bottom line for the entire team. Even with Cornelia and Esdeath defending Akame, it was still four against two. All they could do now was wait for Akame to come back from her date and see where they can go from there.

**B**

Seryu heard several knocks on her door and sat up. She can already guess who was on the other side. "Come in."

She saw the doorknob turn and the door opened to reveal Wave as expected. He entered the room and waved at the Faunus girl. “Hey there. Good morning. I just wanted to know what you want for breakfast.”

Seryu stared at the soldier before sitting on the edge of her bed. “Three sausage links and seven bacon strips. Maybe a couple of biscuits.”

It wasn’t much but it was enough to put a smile on Wave’s face. “I can do that. Thank you.” He turned around and started to leave the room.

“Hey…” Wave stopped and turned around once again to face Seryu. She looked back at the soldier. “What was with all that noise last night? It seemed like something was going on.”

Wave immediately seemed uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, you heard that huh? Well, Akame…Akame is kinda in a lot of trouble. Something about seeing a different woman and keeping it a secret from everyone. I’ve never seen Kurome that angry before. I seriously wonder what Akame has gotten herself into.”

Having heard him mention Akame again brought up a question from Seryu. “You two are from the same world, right? And the…other Faunus girl?”

Wave nodded at the question. “Yeah, that’s right. Why do you ask?”

Seryu almost hesitated to reply because she felt a little nervous. It was completely necessary for her to know. “What’s your relationship with her?” There was a moment of silence between the two. Wave was caught off guard by Seryu’s question while Seryu blushed at the question she just asked. “No, wait! That’s not what I meant! I meant to say what does she mean to you!” That didn’t sound any better from before and screamed in frustration. “No! That’s not what I meant either! I mean…” She tried to come up with another way to ask her question but she became too flustered to speak again. _“What the hell is wrong with me!? Why did I say those things!?”_

"We were enemies if that's what you wanted to know."

Seryu heard his answer and calmed down. She was surprised to hear that kind of answer from him. “Enemies?”

The soldier nodded at her. “Yeah. As I told you, I was a soldier for the Empire but Akame was with the Revolutionary Army. We only fought each other twice. The first was that happened to encounter her in the woods. The second was recent because…” He paused momentarily before resuming. “Because I wanted to make her pay for what she did to Kurome.”

The Faunus girl raised an eyebrow at him. “You mean that girl’s younger sister?”

Wave thought to explain a little more to her. “Not exactly.” He walked up to Seryu and sat next to her. Normally, Seryu would be against it but she knew Wave wouldn’t do anything. That and she wanted to know more about his history. “You see, the Kurome I knew, she was also part of our team, the Jaegers. However, she was subjected to multiple experiments, she became addicted to the drugs that were supposed to regulate her body. Because of that, Kurome's lifespan was severely shortened. Akame left the Empire in hopes to save her but there were only two options. It was either take Kurome to a special hot spring where it can prolong her life…or kill her.” Seryu gasped and her eyes widened in shock. In all the time she was in the White Fang, not once has she heard of one human doing such a thing another. Much less sisters. “Ultimately, Akame did kill her sister and I have never forgiven her since then. It was surprising to see Akame again in this world and I wanted to make her pay for what she did to Kurome. What she did to her own sister. I was close to finishing her off in our second fight but then…Kurome arrived out of nowhere. At first, I thought it was unbelievable she appeared before me but it was real. She may be this world’s Kurome but I was happy to see her. Even if she is a different Kurome than the one I knew.”

Seryu noticed the look in Wave’s eyes as he spoke about Kurome. For some reason, she felt a slight twinge in her chest. She had to ask another question to distract herself. “So…If the two of you are enemies, why are you on the same side now?”

Wave turned to his former comrade. “It’s because we share the same goal. Because of that, we agree upon a true since we’re up against a dangerous enemy. As a soldier, it's my duty to protect the innocent.”

His words rang deep through Seryu’s mind. In fact, they reminded her of someone else she looked up to a long time ago. _“Why? Why are you always getting in the way of my plans!?”_

_“Because I am a hero! And a hero’s duty is to always protect the innocent!”_

Seryu was so enamored by the compression, she accidentally spoke a name. “Azure Angel…”

Wave seemed confused as he could’ve sworn he heard Seryu say something. “What was that?”

The Faunus girl realized what she said closed her eyes and shook her head. “N-Nothing.” She stopped and reopened her eyes to look at Wave one more time.

Wave didn’t know what was that all about but he decided to leave it. He stood up from the bed. “Well, in any case, I’ll go ahead and prepare your breakfast.” He started to walk away from her again.

“H-Hold on!” Wave stopped and turned to Seryu one more time. “Just one more question. You said you would protect the innocent. Does that include Faunus as well?”

The soldier gave Seryu a comforting smile. “Of course, I would. In fact, I owe one for helping me while I was living in this world. I can never repay that kind of generosity.” Seryu just stared at Wave dumbfounded. “I’ll bring you your breakfast when I’m done with it. Okay?” He finally left with closing Seryu’s door.

Seryu was once again alone but this time, she had some thinking to do. Primarily, what Wave had said from before. “Sharing the same goal, huh?”

Back downstairs, breakfast was almost ready. Mostly everyone was gathered around the table. Kurome was focusing on not breaking the fork while holding it. Chelsea snickered at how hard she was concentrating. “Careful Kurome. Don’t want to break that fork now. Along with who knows how many other utensils.”

Kurome growled at the other girl. “I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

Taeko took a quick sip of her orange juice. “We also need to figure out a schedule. We know Wave is training Ruby and Oscar but there’s also our training we have to start on.”

“You can have all the time if you want.” Ruby half-joked. In truth, she really wasn’t ecstatic to do Wave’s training again since her body was still a tad sore from yesterday. However, it was necessary for her if she wanted to improve fighting hand-to-hand.

“Everyone!” They all heard Wave yell from the kitchen as he helped in the last minute. “Breakfast is almost ready! Just a few more minutes!”

“Hurry it up already! And don’t forget the syrup!” Wave couldn’t help but chuckle at Nora’s request.

“You’d get used to it.” Ren reassured him.

Wave would take his word for it. As soon as he was done with the sausage and bacon, he’d add the biscuits next and take it to Seryu’s room. “Excuse me…” The soldier gasped and turned to see Seryu actually downstairs. In the kitchen no less. Ren was equally surprised to see her down here since Seryu avoided them entirely. Seryu shyly looked away from them while lightly scratching her right cheek. “Can I…eat with you?”The other reason Just those reasons. Not because she wanted to know Wave more. At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

Wave smiled at Seryu and was proud of what she asked for. To him, it was a step in the right direction. "Of course, you can."

**B**

As the early morning sun shined over Kuo Kuana, Blake and Leone were slowly walking down the stairs. Blake stopped just briefly before reaching the bottom. “Okay.” She turned to Leone. “Are you ready?”

Leone's response was a confident trouble. "Compared to everything else I had to go through from before, signatures are a piece of cake." She flashed a scroll to the other Faunus girl. "By the way, it nice for that girl to lend me her scroll. What was her name again? Syka?" Blake was also thankful for that. Otherwise, it would’ve been more difficult to do this on her own. They reached the bottom of the stairs and made their way to the town.

Back at the Belladonna estate, Kali secretly watched them leave while a heavy sigh left. “Kali.” Kali turned around to see her husband standing in the doorway. He had a very serious expression on his face. “We need to talk.”

**B**

The tea that was briefly poured sat idly on the table before the Belladonna couple. There was silence between them for the first minutes before Ghira finally spoke up. “So, you decided to give Leone that weapon. From what I remember, that weapon once belonged to your dear friend. I’m sure you have your reasons but can you tell me why you gave it to her?”

Kali continued to be silent while staring at her tea. It took her several more seconds to respond. “Well, at first it was because Leone currently doesn’t have a weapon. However, when I saw Leone put on that gauntlet for the first time, I couldn’t help but be reminded how much she looked like her wearing that. Surely, you’ve noticed by now. About Leone…”

Ghira growled softly as he knew what his wife was talking about. “I have. She does bear a striking resemblance to her. But Kali, it’s been over twenty years since you’ve last seen her. Surely, you can’t think Leone is-”

“I know it’s hard to believe.” Kali interrupted her husband. “Everything about this doesn’t make sense. She’s from a different world, what she had to do, the fact she’s around the same age as Blake…” Kali briefly stopped to recollect herself and sighed. “And yet…I want to believe that some part of her returned to me.”

Ghira admitted he too could see that. He couldn’t fault his wife for thinking like this. Still, the Chieftain was wary about these unusual circumstances surrounding Leone. There was only one way to be certain who she really is. “Are you going to tell her about this?” Seeing his wife’s ears flattened told him his answer. “Kali, if you want to be absolutely sure to know you think who Leone is, you must tell her. Only then these frantic thoughts of yours will be put to rest. If these assumptions are proven to be true-”

“You don’t have to worry about that, dear.” Kali interrupted her husband. “If that ever happens, I will deal with it.” Kali sighed out of exhaustion. “Still, if it does happen to be true then I wonder what his reaction would be if he found out he has a daughter.”

Now that Kali mentioned it, Ghira wondered the same thing as well. “Surprised, I’m sure.”

**B**

As soon as Blake and Leone entered the town, they split up in hopes to achieve faster results. Blake first started by gathering a small crowd and stepping on a soapbox. She presented her scroll to the mass. “Your Chieftain needs you! Your people need you! Please, join the fight and help us save Haven Academy!” Her only reactions from the crowd were expressions of uncertainty.

In another part of the town, Leone conversing with another Faunus. “I can tell by just looking at you that you have what it takes to help us. Want to join and help make a difference?”

The other Faunus civilian didn’t seem sure at all what the Faunus blonde was offering. “Mata!” The front door opened and out came his mother and grabbed him by the arm. “Get back inside.”

The mother dragged him back into their home. "Mom!"

“You’re not going anywhere!” All Leone could do was rub the back of her head and felt like she lost a chance.

Blake tried to convince a couple of Faunus to sign but they walked away from her. Leone did the same in a different crowd but achieved no result. She groaned and continued to walk among the crowd. Leone was becoming a little annoyed about how the recruiting was going. _“Come on! How hard is it to get a couple of signatures? I don’t think it was this difficult for the Revolutionary Army when they did this.”_ She pondered where to go to next. It was then an idea finally came to her and snapped her fingers. "I know who to go to!" Leone made a dash to her next location.

**B**

“Gotta admit, this is one hell of a surprise. I didn’t think we’d see you again.”

“Yeah, it’s great to see you two again.” Leone was currently at Kay’s and Omar’s home. Her plan was hoping the siblings could sign the petition and finally make some progress.

Kay poured some tea into Leone’s cup and her brother’s. “What really surprised me was seeing you standing alongside the Chieftain and his family. I thought you would’ve left by now.”

Once Kay finished pouring, she sat down next to one of the sides of the table. She shared similar thoughts with her brother. “No kidding. I thought you had to go somewhere. What made you change your mind and why were you with the Chieftain’s family?”

It would be awkward for Leone to explain everything to them so she decided to tell them what they needed to know. “That was the plan at first but something else came up that I had to do here. As for why I was with the Chieftain’s family…well, I’m friends with their daughter. It was a complete surprise to me when I found that out and that she was here.” She took a sip of her tea before setting the cup back down.

Kay whistled at that as she was impressed. “Friend’s with the Chieftain’s daughter, huh? I wish I was that lucky. As for your business, I can pretty much guess what it is. It has to do something with the Chieftain’s speech yesterday, doesn’t it?”

Straight to the point which was how Leone liked it. “Yeah. You see, we need-”

“We’re not interested.” And just like that, Leone was instantly shut down. She was sure she’d get a couple of signatures from them but the end result was the same. Omar was silently drinking his tea while Kay was looking at Leone in a disinterested way. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like we have anything against humans. Hell, we traded with them every now and then. But the bottom line is that my brother and I are just two siblings in the fishing business and that’s always been our lifestyle. Asking us to do something like saving Haven is way out of our league. Do you think any of us on Menagerie is ready and willing to take on the White Fang? Risk their lives to save an academy?” Leone hated to admit it but the other Faunus girl was right. At first and foremost, the civilians of Menagerie were fishermen, merchants, and suppliers. It was asking them too much to do this sort of thing. “I’m sorry you came here for nothing.”

Leone lowered her head until her bangs covered her eyes. “No, it’s fine. Thanks for your time and the tea.” She stood up and quietly made her leave.

As the two siblings saw Leone exit their door, Kay glanced over at her brother. "You forgot to ask her if she was single." Omar's reaction was spitting out the rest of his tea.

**B**

It was midday now and Leone and Blake finally met up for a quick refreshment. At least for Blake. Both of them didn’t have any luck in obtaining any signatures from the citizens. Leone was just finishing up how her end went. “And that’s what she told me.” The Faunus blonde sighed in defeat and thought about what Kay said to her. “She did bring up a good point, though. The citizens here aren’t like you, Yang, and everyone else we know and they’re definitely not like me.”

Blake had to agree and knew why Kay would say such a thing. “I don’t blame her for saying that. The Faunus here in Menagerie, the ones that weren’t born on the island, moved here because they were tired of fighting, of having to struggle constantly. Menagerie is filled with people that just want to be left alone. And here we are, asking them to put the rest of the world before themselves.”

That was a lot more than what Leone expected to know. It just wasn’t the natives who didn’t want to fight. It was also those who fled to get away from the fighting. “This is deeper than I thought.”

This problem they have wasn’t even the worst of it. “The problem is whatever happens at Haven is going to affect them whether they like it or not. If Adam gets his way and Haven falls, it’s only going to make things worse for the Faunus. Everywhere.’

Leone growled as she heard Adam’s name. “Him again. Why did you even work with a bastard like that in the first place?”

Blake’s response was a sigh and looked at the other Faunus girl. “Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself ‘they are the personification of this word?’”

Leone’s expression from irritation to confusion. “Not that I know of. Well, maybe except for Lubb. Pervert definitely defines him. Oh, and Su. Stingy is him. Pretty awesome but stingy.”

Blake laughed a little as it was very welcome. “Okay, well, I remember getting to Ruby and thinking, ‘this girl is the embodiment of purity’. After a while, I saw Weiss was ‘defiance’. And Yang was ‘strength’.

The Faunus blonde was very interested in this kind of thinking. “And what word would you describe me as?”

Blake was glad Leone asked that. “Well, it would be easy to say that bravery fits you perfectly since you’re a lion Faunus. However, I think a word more befitting to you would be… ‘protective’.”

Leone chuckled softly at that. “Yeah, I say that sounds about it right. Now…what was Adam’s?”

Blake’s smile immediately faded and looked away from the other girl slightly. “At first, I thought Adam was ‘justice’, then I thought he was passion.’. But over time, I realized I was wrong. He wasn’t any of those things.” She looked back at Leone. “He was ‘spite’. Not ‘hatred’, not ‘rage’ but ‘spite’. He won’t accept equality, only suffering for what he feels the world did to him. And his way of thinking is dangerously contagious. That’s what worries me about Ilia. She’s not like Adam, not yet at least. But I don’t know how long that will last.”

Leone could tell how worried Blake was for Ilia even though she was an enemy to them. “Sounds like you and Ilia were close friends, huh.”

Blake slightly nodded. “She was. Her chameleon traits meant she could pass as human. She could’ve lived a normal life if she wanted but she didn’t.” She looked out to the other Faunus people. “I’ve always admired that. She lost her family in a mining accident when she was young and she joined the White Fang. Like me, she was more or less trained on the raid alongside other Faunus.” Blake then turned to her drink and started to swirl the small umbrella around in her drink. “She learned to survive, to defend herself but as Sienna started to gain a following and Adam, she became more dangerous. I guess I did too.” She stopped moving her umbrella. “My parents tried to get me to leave with them but I refused. I had Adam and Ilia after all.”

Leone narrowed her eyes at her supposed father. “Sooner or later, we have to fight her and I won’t hold anything back the next time we meet.”

Blake was already aware of that fact. “I know.”

The Faunus blew out some air and leaned back in her chair. “Do you even know what to do next?”

The other Faunus girl did have an idea but was unsure if it would work. “I’m going to help her the way Sun helped me. He showed me that sometimes you need to be there for a friend. Even when they don’t want you to be. I was drowning in guilt and fear. I tried to push him away but he didn’t give up on me. And I can’t give up on Ilia. It’s about time I saved my friends for once.”

The Faunus blonde smiled at Blake as she admired her determination. “Well, if you think there’s a chance, I’ll stand by your choice. But…if Ilia does refuse your help and tries to do something to you, I will break her neck.” Blake was thankful Leone’s word but she does hope the latter half doesn’t come to pass. Leone looked up at the sky and had a content expression. “All that stuff you said about being there for a friend and saving them, it reminded me of the time everyone in Night Raid did their damnedest trying to save Tatsumi. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. We were up against Esdeath and Budo, two of the Empire’s strongest. We managed to save Tatsumi and get away but not without any losses on our end. Mine ended up in a coma and Tatsumi had the Tyrant Dragon trying to take over his body.”

It was great for Blake to know a little more about Leone’s history. Then a question came to her. “Leone…” The Faunus blonde lowered her head to look at Blake. “How did you end up in your…profession?” She had to be careful what to say since they are in a public location. “Maybe it can help us with our recruiting.”

Leone wasn’t expecting Blake to ask her that but was glad nonetheless. She grinned mischievously. “Oh, that? I just happened to beat the shit out of a couple of bastards I didn’t like and just like that, I got recruited.”

Blake’s expression was dumbfounded. She never expected it would be that easy for Leone to join the Revolutionary Army. However, she still didn’t get the answer she wanted. “Okay…what about the other members of your former group? How did they get recruited?”

The Faunus blonde had to think more on that. "Well, Akame was trained at an early age and defected to our side. Lubb was originally a soldier in the Empire but defected when Najenda joined. Bulat was the same except the Empire gave up one of his allies. Sheele just had a knack for what she did. Chelsea, I don’t know much but her count isn’t anything to sneeze at. Su was practically built for battle. Tatsumi was an amateur swordsman at first but he quickly grew strong. Mine, again, I don’t know much. The best I can guess is that she was trained by Najenda. Hell, she even gave Mine Pumpkin which was her Imperial Arms originally.”

Blake became a little down after hearing Leone’s explanation. “I see. So, all of them had prior experience then.” While it was interesting to learn more about Leone’s previous team, it didn’t help at all with them trying to recruit. After all, the citizens of Menagerie had little to no battle experience at all. There was one fact that piqued Blake’s interest. “Hold on. An Imperial Arms can be wielded by a different person even if it’s original owner is still alive?”

Leone nodded at her question. "Uh-huh. You see, an Imperial Arms can be used if it matches with the person who's using it. If the affinity between the person and the weapon aren't a match, it rejects them and that can lead to some pretty harsh consequences. That’s why not just anyone can use an Imperial Arms. Another example would be Incursio. It was first handed to Bulat from some old guy that used to be his teacher and then it passed on to Tatsumi. Also, remember that all the Imperial Arms were created one thousand years ago. Pretty sure all of them went through different owners. Even my Lionel.”

Another question came to Blake about the Imperial Arm's affinity. "How do you know if it's compatible with you?"

That, Leone had to think a little more before coming up with an answer. “I guess it would have to do with something about first impressions. Bulat told me how Tatsumi liked Incursio and that would be it. I suppose. I remember the first time I saw Lionel and something just called out to me to get it. Next thing I knew, I was a totally badass lion girl.” She smiled at the nostalgic thought of seeing Lionel.

Blake smiled as well at the other Faunus girl. “I wish I could’ve seen it. It meant a lot to you, huh?”

Leone couldn’t agree more and chuckled. “It meant the world to me. Funny enough, whenever I activated Lionel and became a beast, I always felt more…like myself. I don’t know why but it always felt right to me. Almost natural even.” She had a dreamy look in her eyes before returning to reality. The Faunus blonde stood up from her chair and stretched her arms out. “It’s about time we get back to work.” She lowered her arms and looked at Blake. “Hurry up and finish your drink. We can’t stop now just because of a few refusals.”

Blake had a determined expression and nodded once again. “You’re right. We can’t give up now. We have to keep trying.” Blake then quickly drank the rest of her drink. After she was finished, two split up again in hopes in at least making a little progress.

**B**

 A loud roar of a motorcycle engine could be heard in a large forest. On the motorcycle was Yang and she was carrying one more. He was a shady person the blonde met at a gas station and was more than welcome to give him a piece of her mind for not minding his own business. The only reason why she was carrying a shady lowlife on her pride and joy was that he said he knew where her mother was. She looked back at her passenger. "How much further, pal?"

“This should about do it” Yang slowed down Bumblebee and stopped at a small circular clearing. “You wait here. I’ll go up ahead and make sure the coast is clear.” He got off from Bumblebee and Yang saw him running into the woods. She did the same and removed her sunglasses, her glove for her right hand, and part of her coat. Yang moved her neck around and stretched her arms out. Driving for a period of time could make one feel a little restless. The blonde then heard a noise and turned to the direction of it while raising her robotic arm. A shot was fired at her and it deflected off her right arm. She lowered her arm and saw the shady lowlife return with a few friends. He laughed smugly at the blonde. “I can’t believe you were dumb enough to let me lead you here. His group quickly surrounded Yang with weapons ready.

Despite being surrounded by enemies with weapons and guns pointed at her, Yang wasn’t intimated by them. “Is this everyone?”

Her passenger chuckled at her. “Yes, little lady. This is it. Well, unless you count the whole rest of the camp back that way.” He gestured the direction behind him.”

Yang pointed in the same direction. "That way?"

The lowlife turned his friends and they seemed confused before looking at Yang again. “Yes. That way.”

That was Yang needed from him. “Good to know. Thanks.”

Now the lowlife was feeling a tad cocky and began to walk up to Yang. “Now to pay me back for this tooth, we’re going to take your bike. And you’re going to take your lumps.”

Yang’s response was raising her left arm and setting it down quickly to activate Ember Celica. Everyone around her was on guard now. The lowlife pulled out his gun and aimed it towards Yang. “You got the jump on me last time, sweetheart. But you really ought to think twice about fighting all-” A gun apparatus appeared out from above her wrist. The time for smack talk was over now. “Alright…get her!” Everyone rushed at Yang while the blonde calmly walked over to them. The first thug tried to deliver a punch but Yang delivered a kick to his leg before spinning around and knocked him off his feet. While he was momentarily in the air, she punched him straight to the ground. Yang then did a backflip to avoid the next attack and kicked it away next. The next thug tried to counterattack but Yang blocked that as well before jumping and delivered a swift spinning kick.

The other’s open fired at her and Yang raised her right arm to block some of the shots. In-between the shots, Yang rushed at the first person and jumped kicked. She used the momentum from her last attack to quickly reach the other three behind her. As Yang landed, she performed a three hundred sixty degree at all three thugs at once, knocking them away. She saw the previous thug she knocked back from before coming at her again and met her halfway. Her opponent tried to get the first hit but Yang avoided it and delivered the knockout punch to her. She then noticed the next assailant trying to attack her from behind her. Yang blocked the attack with her robotic arm and quickly turned around to deliver an uppercut. The brawler next caught the attack from the lowlife and stomped on his foot. He screamed in pain just before Yang kneed him into the chin. For the three behind her, Yang jumped and performed a roundhouse kick at all of them.

The lowlife growled as he stood up and took aim at Yang while she was busy dealing with the others. He fired a single shot at her but it missed. He grabbed Yang attention and she didn’t take too kindly being shot at while she was busy. She backfisted the last two thugs which brought them down and quickly crouched. Fired from both of her hands and launched herself straight at the lowlife. He tried to deliver a punch of his own but Yang lowered her left arm and shot up into the air spinning over him. She landed behind him and delivered the final punch to the lowlife. She sent him flying to the last stumbling thug and knocked them both out.

Her weapons back into its bracelet form and tried to quell the shaking in her left hand. With the fighting done, Yang started to walk back to Bumblebee. "Who…Who are you?" Even with all the punishment, Yang had given him, the lowlife managed to stand back up. "It doesn't even matter. When Raven finds out what you did, you're dead!"

“Possibly but I doubt it.” She turned around to face him. “I’m her daughter, after all.” She finally got on Bumblebee and started it up. “By the way, all of you were lucky it was just me fighting. If a certain someone I know was with me, she’d finish you off faster then I could’ve.” Yang finally drove off in the direction the lowlife pointed to.

All the lowlife could do now was just see Yang off driving to where Raven is. Only one thought came across his mind. “I’m dead.” He then passed out.

**B**

The sun had already begun to set once Yang reached the camp. Her welcoming was less than friendly but that was to be expected. Once she said she wanted to meet their boss, they thought she was crazy. But after taking a second look, they realized she was serious. So, now Yang was being escorted through the camp. Yang took a quick look around the camp and saw that she wasn’t too welcomed. Everyone started to gather around the largest tent in the camp. Yang and her escort stopped in front of the tent. For Yang, after all this time, she would finally meet the woman who was her mother. The woman who’d abandoned her and her father for an unexplained reason. However, Yang’s reason for meeting her wasn’t like before. It was for a different purpose now. Finally, a figure exited out of the tent with a Grimm-like mask covering her head. Finally, they have met. “Mom.”

Raven took off her helmet and smiled at her daughter. “Yang.” She set the helmet on top of a wooden crate and took a few steps forward to the younger girl. “So, after all this time, you finally decided to visit me.”

Yang’s left arm started to twitch again and held it to calm it down. She stared intensely at her mother. “You know that I searched for you. I spent years looking for you.”

"And you've found me. You were patient, determined, and strong enough to make your dream a reality. Well done, Yang. But did you have to be so rough with my men?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Trust me, they had it easy compared to someone else I know. She would’ve done worse to them. Besides, I didn’t want a fight. They started it.”

Raven continued to have a smug and impressed expression. “Well, you certainly finished it.” Yang didn’t feel the same way as her mother. “Right. I’m sure this is all very overwhelming. But I must admit that you’ve proven yourself. So, any questions you have, I’ll be happy to answer. You can stay with us tonight. I’ll even have the cooks whip up something for you.”

“That’s not why I’m here.”

Raven frowned at what she heard from her daughter. “What was that?”

Yang thought to make it clearer to her. “I’m not here for you. Ruby is somewhere in Mistral. She’s with Qrow. And she’s going to need my help. I just need you to take me to her.”

Raven narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “And why would I do that?”

Yang crossed her arms innocently as a mockery. “Because we’re family.”

The older woman closed her eyes when she heard that specific word and turned away from her daughter. “Family. Only coming around when they need something.” She opened her eyes and walked a few steps away from Yang before turning to face her again. “I have to say, I’m disappointed. After all, you found me, didn’t you? Why not take that drive and use it find your little sister if she really means that much to you?”

For Yang, the answer was easy. “Because you’re going to save me time. Ruby was heading to Mistral, but there’s no guarantee she’s made it there. Looking for her in Anima could take ages. But…dad told me how your semblance works.”

Raven slightly looked away from her daughter. “Tai…”

“You can bond to certain people. And when you do, you could create a portal that takes you straight to them. You got one for dad. One for me. And you’ve got one for Qrow. He promised me he’d watch out for Ruby before he left. And I trust him. So, make a portal to my uncle and sister and I’ll be on my way.”

Raven huffed at her daughter’s arrogance. “It takes real strength to march in here and demand such a favor of me. I’ve got to say, I’m impressed. It’s very noble to want to help out your sister. But if she’s with Qrow, then she’s already a lost cause.”

Yang didn’t like what her mother had said about Ruby. “What does that mean?”

It appeared Raven had to explain a little more to her daughter. “You don’t want to get mixed up in all of that, Yang. Ozpin is not the man you think he is. And Qrow is a fool for trusting him. I would know. I trusted him once too.”

The blonde really didn’t give a crap about what her mother had to say about Ozpin or her uncle. “I don’t care what you think.”

At this point, Raven knew it would be useless to try and convince her daughter. The best she could do now was give her a small warning. “All I’m suggesting is that instead of getting wrapped up in something too big for you, for any of us, that maybe you take a moment to wonder if you’re already where you belong.”

"Save your breath." Yang retorted to her mother. "You can spout off whatever you want but nothing is going to keep me from my sister.”

Despite the warning Raven had given her, Yang was still adamant in searching for her sister. “Well, aren’t you stubborn.”

To Yang, it was the pot calling the kettle black. “I get it from my mom.”

There was silence between mother and daughter before Raven decided to speak again. “Well, if that’s how you feel, then it sounds like we’re done here.” She turned away from Yang. “Take her away.”

The blonde saw several of the people already surrounding her but that’s not what she was worried about. “Did you not hear me?” Raven stopped in front of the entrance of her tent and looked back at Yang. The brawler was becoming a little furious now at her mother. “I said send me to Qrow, damn it!” Her eyes quickly changed their red color.

“That’s enough!” Yang turned to one of the bandits. “You watch your mouth in front of our leader!”

Yang just glared at the bandit relentlessly. “Make me.”

The bandit seemed unsure at first but decided to charge right at the blonde. He jumped and tried to attack Yang but she ducked to avoid the attack. She then quickly stood up and pulled her right arm only to punch him away from her. Her attack sent him flying and crashed into one of the smaller tents. In doing so, it revealed quite a surprise.

Weiss, who was trapped in a cage, saw her teammate. “Yang?”

Yang had an equally surprised look on her face when she saw the former heiress. “Weiss?!”

There was a slight confusion in the crowd as their hostage and Raven's daughter apparently knew each other. With Weiss exposed now, there was only one thing left to do. “Alright, well, subtlety is out.” She kneeled down next to the small ice knight and smiled at it. The small knight inserted its sword into the ground and kneeled before her. It then started to grow until it was large enough to destroy the cage. The bandit closest to the cage started to flee. Weiss didn’t waste any time rushing over to Yang’s side with her knight behind her.

Yang was already in a fighting stance with Ember Celica activated. She couldn’t help but wonder what Weiss did earlier. “What is that?”

That was the least of Weiss’ worries. “Don’t worry about it.” She turned to the blonde brawler. What are you doing here?”

“Well, that’s my mom and she can take us to Ruby.” Both girls turned to Raven who couldn’t believe the turn in events.

It finally hit Weiss who the woman took her really was. “Your mom kidnapped me?!”

Yang was also surprised to hear what Weiss said to her. She looked at her mother in disbelief. “You kidnapped her?!”

The crowd around them was beginning to become restless. The ice knight covered their backs and they were ready for the fight to begin. They started to rush as the closest person but a bolt of lightning came in-between and stopped them. “Enough!” Both girls turned to Vernal and Raven.

Raven was glad that Vernal intervened before things became messy for all of them. “Thank you.” She turned to her attention to everyone in the camp. “If you people don’t keep it together, this place will be crawling with Grimm. Vernal, give the girl her weapon back.” Vernal was surprised by her leader’s orders. She reluctantly tossed Myrtenaster back to the former heiress.

Weiss was able to catch her weapon and inspected it closely to see if anything had happened to it. “You two. In my tent. Now.”

Both girls turned to Raven and Yang was unsure why Raven ordered them to do so. “Why?”

All Raven could do was stare back at the two girls. “If you’re really going after your sister, then you need to know the truth.” That was all she said before reentering her tent.

The crowd surrounding them started to walk away from the two girls. It seemed everything started to calm down now. While Yang was happy to see Weiss again, this wasn’t how she quite pictured in seeing her again. “Sorry about-”

She didn’t even get to finish her sentence when Weiss dropped her weapon and threw herself at the other girl and hugged her. Yang didn’t quite expect Weiss to do this sort of thing. Weiss hugged Yang closer to her as she was overcome with joy seeing her friend again. “I missed you so much.”

Yang quickly chuckled as she hugged Weiss back. “I missed you too.” The two girls continued to hug each other while the ice knight dissipated.

**B**

Fennec and Corsac just recently finished a message sent by Adam. They wanted to what each other's thoughts were on the matter. "You're thoughts?"

“Are of no significance. If this is how High Leader Taurus wishes to proceed, then we shall make it so.”

“Of course, brother. Still…” They heard knocking and turned around to face the door. “Come in.”

The door opened and Ilia entered the room. Fennec was pleasant in seeing her arrival. “Sister Ilia. Thank you for meeting with us.”

Ilia walked up to them and stopped to kneel before them. “How may I be of assistance?

Corsac gestured at the other Faunus. “Please, stand.” Ilia followed the order and stood up. “We have wonderful news.”

Ilia couldn’t help but feel nervous as to what the news was. “What is it?”

“We finally received a message from the Mistral Brotherhood; the operation was a success. Adam Taurus has claimed his place as the High Leader of the White Fang.”

Ilia felt slightly less nervous now after hearing that. “Good. And Sienna?”

Corsac and Fennec quickly glanced at each other before turning their attention to Ilia. “She had fled with the assistance of another. Due to this and the aid of another member, they are called to treason. This is what all the other branches of the Fang have agreed upon.”

Ilia couldn’t help but feel disappointed in Sienna. Someone like her fleeing with their tail in-between their legs. No pun intended, of course. “As long as she’s out of the way, that’s fine.”

Both Corsac and Fennec slightly bowed to her. “Indeed. Your maturity and understanding in regard to this matter are appreciated. And it is why we've summoned you here.”

“The White Fang is experiencing…a transitional period.” Fennec began.

Corsac continued. “Growth requires change.”

“And change can be painful.”

Ilia could kinda see where they were going with this. “If it’s for the betterment of the Faunus, then…it’s a pain we can endure. What’s our next mission?”

“Containment.” Corsac answered. “With the CCT towers still inoperable, we have the luxury of control over the flow of information.”

“News of Adam’s ascension has yet to reach Menagerie. But when it does, the citizens of Kuo Kuana will undoubtedly react poorly now that the Chieftain has spoken out against us.”

Ilia sighed out in frustration. “It’s my fault the Belladonnas had any ground to stand on. Them and that Faunus traitor with them.”

Corsac held his hand out in front of Ilia. “Do not concern yourself with past failures, Ilia. Focus on the future. We have an opportunity for redemption.” He lowered his hand.

Ilia was determined to see this through to the very end. “What do you need me to do?”

“The Belladonnas are the only remaining threat to Adam’s assault on Haven Academy.” Fennec began again.

“And so, they must be silenced.”

Ilia couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She hesitated to speak to her superiors. “S-Silenced?”

“Like Sienna, they stand in the way of true progress of our people.”

“We would never put such a burden of you alone, of course. Your brothers and sisters will be at your side. But your relationship with their daughter makes you an integral part of this operation.”

She stared at her superiors with uncertainty in her eyes. “Blake?”

“We know how close you were with young Blake. Rest assured, High Leader Taurus has requested she be taken alive. But we cannot risk having her present to defend her family.”

“But the people of Menagerie-”

“Will come to understand what happens to those who speak out against the White Fang. That will include the Faunus Traitor as well.”

“And will be left without a leader until our victory is complete.”

Corsac approached Ilia and placed his hand on her shoulder. “A necessary sacrifice, sister Ilia.”

Ilia didn’t say a word back and left the room. Once she was gone, Fennec and Corsac turned around. “She’s right to worry about the citizens. It’s possible they may come to see Ghira as a martyr.”

Corsac wasn’t the least bit worried about that small detail. “It is a risk we must take for our High Leader.” He pressed the play button on the message Adam had sent them earlier.

_“I will not allow them to ruin this! The Belladonna name has brought me nothing but grief! You’ve done well in finding the deserter. Bring her to me, alive. But not before you’ve slaughtered her family. I have a promise to keep. As for the Faunus Traitor…do whatever it takes to put her down for good. By any means necessary.”_

Seeing the message a second time didn’t make Fennec feel any easier. “He seems…unwell.”

His brother didn’t blame him for saying such a thing. “He carries with him a tremendous burden.”

Fennec turned to the other member. “Are we sure is the one to lead us?”

“For now. We must do what is best for the Faunus.” Fennec couldn’t help but sigh. They then heard a second knocking and turned to face the door again. “Yes?” The door opened another Faunus approached them. “Brother Yuma. Did you see to Ghira’s messenger?”

Yuma nodded at them. “He rests beneath the waves. Along with his warning.”

That was exactly what Corsac and Fennec hoped for. “Then all is well.”

 


	65. The Second Hug(s)

**A/N: Good news, everyone! I have planned out this entire volume all the way to the end. And goddamn, it was a pain.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Five: The Second Hug(s)

Rain quietly fell to the ground in the early morning. Qrow was in a rural part of Mistral as he continued his mission to find other huntsmen to help him. So far, none have been found. He made his way to his next destination which was a small dive. Qrow approached the building and slide the door open. What the huntsman saw wasn’t much.  It was mostly empty, save for a passed out on a table and who seemed to be the owner working on a wooden sculpture with his knife. Qrow walked up to the owner who paid little attention to him. “Regular? Or the special?”

It was neither for Qrow. “I’m actually looking for someone. Goes by the name of Shiro Wan. Ever heard of him? I heard he’s a regular around here.”

The owner kept working on his sculpture. “Who’s asking?”

Qrow knew the owner was being careful with his answers. Of course, who wouldn’t when a random stranger asks a question like that? “Hey, I’m not some cop if that’s what you mean. I need Shiro for a gig. We go way back.”

“Way back, huh?” The owner finally looked at Qrow. “So, he’s a friend of yours.”

He wasn’t exactly wrong there as Qrow rubbed his chin. “Hm, yeah, I’d say so. He’s a pretty alright guy.”

“Well, in that case…” The owner pointed his knife at Qrow and seemed very angry. “You tell that jerk that he better not show his ugly face in here until he pays me the Lien he owes me!”

It seemed whatever Shiro did, it wasn’t good. And Qrow was getting the brunt of it. He chuckled nervously as he backed away and held his arms up slightly. “Uh, did I say friend? I, uh…I meant acquaintance.” The owner stabbed his knife into the table. Qrow took that a sign to leave now. “Really, we’re just colleagues.” He backed away towards the exit. “Anyways, thanks for your time, buddy. I’ll be taking off now.” Once Qrow was through, he slid the door closed. He pressed his back against the door and sighed. The huntsmen then took out his flask and drank from it. Once Qrow was done, he put away the flask in his coat and brought out his scroll. On it was a list of contacts that he knew, and he crossed out Shiro's name. He sighed again as the Huntsman struck out again. "Great." Then the knife from before appeared through the door next to his head and took that as a sign to go.

Qrow continued his search in the small village. He asked several of the residents about his friends, but they knew nothing about them, much to Qrow’s frustration. He finally arrived at a small home with its windows boarded up. He checked his scroll to see the last name on the list. “Heather Shields.” Qrow put the scroll away and knocked on the door a few times. There was no reply at first, so he banged on the door harder this time. When there was no response a second time, the Huntsman was going to knock again until the door opened. “Oh, uh, hey there. I’m looking for Heather?”

The man who answered eyed Qrow suspiciously. Qrow’s seen that look before and was getting tired of it. “Look, pal, I’ve had a rough day. Do you know where she is or not?”

“Daddy?” He saw a small girl walking to her father and stood beside him. She looked at her father with innocent eyes. “Does he know where mommy is?”

With her appearance, things suddenly became awkward all around for Qrow. "I, uh…" He sighed once again. The Huntsman looked at the father. "I'm sorry to bother you." The young girl seemed to be disappointed and left. Along with the father and the door closed. Qrow rubbed the back of his head and walked away. It had become midday when Qrow stood in front of a large holographic screen displaying names and mission statues. He compared notes between his scroll and the screen and saw that some of the huntsmen he was looking for…were terminated. Others, still in progress for an unusually long time. Qrow sighed in defeat as this only meant one thing. His search was entirely fruitless. He felt defeated since none of the contacts he knew were completely unavailable. And most likely will ever be.

“Well, well. What a surprise seeing you here of all places.”

Qrow gasped and immediately stood up. He recognized the voice talking to him and turned around. Sure enough, it was who he thought it was. “You? What are you doing here?”

**B**

It was almost the end of the day as the sun setting signified it. It also meant the end of Wave’s training regime was near. He was standing across from Ruby and Oscar who seemed weary from the training they had done all day. On the sidelines was the rest of RNJR, most of Night Raid, and Seryu. All of them were outside on the training grounds. The soldier held a strong stance with his arms crossed while staring intensely at his trainees. “Ruby, Oscar. Come at me with everything you have! Try to get one hit me!” Ruby and Oscar were feeling less than stellar right about now. Even with the new schedule, Wave’s training still wore them out considerably. However, even if they were feeling fatigued, they would see to this training through. Ruby glanced at Oscar and nudged her head at the solider. It took Oscar a few moments to realize that the young leader had a plan. He nodded back at her and they started to rush at him. "A frontal assault?" Once they were near Wave, they immediately separated. Ruby took on Wave’s left side while Oscar was on the right. The soldier had to admit he didn’t anticipate such a tactic. _“A pincer attack.”_ Ruby jumped and attempted to perform a jump kick. Oscar jumped as well but threw a punch instead. "Not bad…" Wave caught Ruby's leg and Oscar's fist simultaneously. "But not good enough!" He swung both younger combatants to his front and slammed their bodies together. He then turned his body and swung Ruby and Oscar with them. Wave threw them away and both crashed to the ground hard.

They groaned as Ruby as the first to stand up while Oscar was still recovering. “I’m not done yet!” She ran toward Wave again. To Wave, this was an amateur move and rushed toward her halfway through. He pulled his arm back and thrust it forward at the young leader. Ruby may have hesitated at first but this time she was ready. She ducked below Wave’s attack delivered her own counterattack. However, Wave was quick enough to step back to avoid the swing but Ruby continued swinging her punches. The soldier deflected each of Ruby’s attacks with his palms easily, but he is noticing Ruby is adapting. After her last punch, Ruby ducked again and performed a sweeping kick. Wave jumped back to avoid the attack and was generally impressed. Ruby quickly stood up and came at Wave with an uppercut. Wave backed away again to avoid the attack. With this, Ruby had left herself wide open for Wave’s counterattack. He quickly kneed the young leader in the stomach. Ruby let out a pained gasp before Wave clasped his hands together. He raised them and struck down on the young leader right on her head. Ruby groaned in agony as she lied on the ground.

Speaking of lying on the ground, Oscar was starting to come around. _“You forgot to engage your aura again.”_

Oscar groaned at Ozpin. “Why didn’t you tell me!?”

_“Because this method makes you less likely to forget.”_

Oscar really couldn’t argue against that. He stood up and saw that Ruby was on the ground. “Ruby!” Wave looked at Oscar’s direction and rushed at him. Oscar managed to cross his arms in time to block Wave’s incoming attack. The soldier’s attack knocked the younger boy back a little but not far enough away from Wave. Wave attempted to kick Oscar from the right, but Oscar put his left arm up to guard. He put his other hand on his bicep to strengthen his guard. And he needed it because Oscar felt the power behind, but he stood his ground. He used his remaining strength to push Wave's attack away and immediately saw his opening. _“I got him now!”_ He pulled back his right arm and launched his punch at the soldier. Then Wave caught the attack with his left hand. Wave tightened his grip, forced Oscar’s attack away from him and delivered a swift low kick with his right leg at Oscar’s left calf. Oscar was brought to his knee and Wave raised his right hand and struck Oscar down.

The young boy groaned in pain while Wave sighed in relief. “Okay, I think that’ll be it for the day.” He offered a hand to Oscar and the younger of the two looked up before grabbing it.

Seryu was impressed with what she saw. Wave was much more than she originally thought. _“Even when he’s holding back, he still took them seriously. With the way Wave fights, I bet he could kick Syura’s ass easy. I’d love to see that, actually.”_

Ruby stood up still feeling a little out of it and walked up to Wave and Oscar. “How are you feeling, Oscar?”

Oscar rubbed his cheek in hopes to quell the pain. “I’ve been better.” He winced a little at the pain.

Wave chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry about that. I thought I held back more. Gotta say you two did well, considering.”

Oscar placed his hand in front of the soldier and shook it. “No, no. It’s fine and thank you. It’s a learning experience after all.” He sighed at his brief experience. “I’m just not used to this sort of thing.”

“Your body isn’t used to this kind of training.” Everyone turned to Ren who was the only one sitting. “Not to mention generating a defensive aura on your own. It takes intense concentration at first, but in time, it will become second nature, allowing you to deflect attacks gradually heal your wounds. After that, you can begin focusing on your semblance, whatever that may be.”

Chelsea whistled at Ren’s guidance. “Maybe he should be the one training you guys.”

Oscar’s heard the word a few times but never really understood it. “Semblance?”

Nora wasted no time being next to Oscar’s side. “You know! Like your very own superpower! Everybody’s got one. It’s just a matter of finding it and mastering. Ruby moves super fast, electricity makes me stronger, Ren can mask emotions, and Jaune…can, uh…” She was uncertain was Jaune’s semblance would be.

Jaune, unfortunately, had to admit he didn’t know. He rubbed the back of his head in shame. “I can’t do anyth-”

“Jaune’s like you!” Ruby grabbed Oscar’s hand and dragged him over to where Jaune is. “He hasn’t found his semblance yet, but we all know he will. And you will too.” She looked over at Wave. “And you too, Wave.” Wave was grateful for Ruby’s optimism. He did want to know more how semblances worked in this world. Ruby turned her attention back to Oscar and Jaune. “We all just have to try and help each other get stronger.”

Oscar liked the sound of the idea and nodded. “Cool.”

Ren had his own two cents to say about the conversation. “A common philosophy is that a warrior’s semblance is a part of who they are. Some say that your personality and character can define your semblance. While some claim that it is the other way around. Of course, there are still many who don’t see a connection at all.”

Nora wanted to add more to the conversation. "It's hard to know when you know sometimes. Ren's semblance was unlocked from intense stress."

“And mine kicked in during training one day.” Ruby explained.

Oscar turned to Nora. “What about you?”

“Oh, struck by lightning. Didn’t die. Crazy Thursday.” Nora replied nonchalantly. She turned to the remaining members of Night Raid. “What you guys? What crazy stories do you have when finding out your semblance?”

Cornelia giggled awkwardly as she lightly scratched her cheek. “Mine showed when I was getting frustrated on baking a cake for my papa. Every failure I had left me more frustrated. I was so angry, when I grabbed the next bag of flour, it exploded. It was fun and kind of a pain to clean up.”

Taeko remembered how her power had awakened. “My semblance was unlocked due to my grandmother’s training. Chelsea’s, however…” She glanced over at her childhood friend.

Chelsea groaned at where the other girl was going. “I tried to copy what Taeko did when she found her semblance. Eventually, I what she did, and it turned out I could it. The bad news was that I accidentally cut the couch in the living room and Granny worked me twice as hard. It was hell. Found out I could copy more when we went to school”

Since Rienna was working on her weapon, for the time being, Takeo thought to explain on her behalf. "Rienna once told us she discovered her semblance when she was at the circus one time.”

“I think that’s when her coulrophobia began.” Chelsea added. 

Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Coulo-what now?”

“She’s deathly afraid of clowns.” Chelsea explained. She turned to Kurome now. “How about you, Kurome?”

Kurome’s response was a huff as she looked away from the group. “Like Taeko and Ruby, I found mine through training. That’s all there is to it.” The explanation was a little too simple for Chelsea’s sake. She was hoping to know more about Kurome since she does keep her private life close to herself.

Finally, Ruby turned to Esdeath. “What about you, Esdeath? How did you unlock your semblance?”

Esdeath had an expression of uncertainty when asked. “I…don’t exactly remember.”

Now, everyone was confused by what Esdeath said. “What do you mean?” Jaune asked.

Esdeath tried to recollect what happened to her previously. “W-Well, I do remember what happened prior. I was young, five years old and my father took me out hunting.”

“He took you out hunting Grimm?” Cornelia inquired.

Her teammate shook her head. “No, no, not that kind of hunting. Hunting small game like rabbits and boar. Anyway, I went up ahead of my father to track a boar and I wanted to make him proud. I did find the boar but…I also found a Major Ursa. I was terrified since it was the first Grimm I ever saw. I tripped on the ground and saw the Ursa growling and coming near me. I was overcome with fear and the last thing I remember was me screaming and hearing my father calling out my name. After that, everything became white. The next thing I knew, I was at my home and in my bed. My father came in to check on me and I was so happy to see him. when we hugged, this blast of cold air happened. My father explained to me what happened was that my semblance awakened when I was being attacked. It completely froze that Ursa. After that…well…” Ruby knew what Esdeath was talking about. Esdeath’s semblance was powerful but it made her an outcast in other people’s eyes. A powerful semblance that was supposed to be a gift was instead treated as a curse. There was one part in her story Esdeath did leave out on purpose. _“Of course, my father also explained that I was asleep for a whole week when that happened. Also, when I was cleaning my room, I found something. It was small, like a pebble. An ice pebble and it was incredibly beautiful with its bright shiny blue hue. The strange thing is, I could never recreate that beautiful blue ice again.”_

With all the talk about semblances, a question came to Wave and turned to Seryu. “What about you, Seryu? Do you have a semblance?”

If it were anyone else, Seryu wouldn’t answer. But, since this was Wave asking, she’d give it a chance. Seryu lifted one of her arms in front of everyone. “I do. My semblance is reinforcement. What it does that anything I touch, I can strengthen its durability beyond its limits. Even a piece of wood can become stronger than steel.  This includes my arms.” She set her arm down. “As for how I awakened mine…” She blushed at the mere thought of it and turned away from the group. “Never mind. Just forget it.”

Saying that only made Wave more curious. “What? Come on. What was it?”

Seryu gritted her teeth and growled. “I can’t! It’s freaking embarrassing!”

“It can’t be more embarrassing than Chelsea slicing up a couch.” Nora commented.

Seryu groaned as she turned her back to everyone. She mumbled her answer to the rest of the group. Wave couldn’t quite catch what the Faunus girl said. “What was that?”

Seryu growled again but in frustration. She turned around to face the group looking embarrassed. “I pretended to be Azure Angel!” Everyone didn’t have a response to her outburst. She sighed in defeat as she crossed her arms. “Look, I…I used to pretend that I was Azure Angel and be a hero. One time I tried to do a pretend rescue mission with two of my plushies. I performed one of Azure Angel’s signature moves on one of them and…made a hold in the wall with the gloves I was wearing. My…dad wasn’t happy about it.”

After hearing that heartwarming story, Chelsea tried to hold in her laughter. Wave certainly wasn’t expecting something like that from Seryu. It’s also the second time he’s heard of the name “Azure Angel” but didn’t know who that was.

The name rang a bell for Jaune but thought now wasn’t the time to think about it. After hearing everyone’s stories of how they discovered their semblances, he couldn’t help but feel more distressed. “I just don’t understand what’s wrong with me. I trained. I meditated. But…”

Oscar’s eyes glowed and Ozpin took over. _“Don’t worry, Mr. Arc. Your journey is far from over. And the same might said for all of you.”_ He turned to Wave. _“Including you, Mr. Wave.”_ Ozpin looked back at his students and Seryu. _“Unlocking your semblance isn’t the end. It can still grow and evolve. Providing you’re willing to put in the work. Who knows what could happen.”_ Everyone nodded at their former headmaster.

Wave agreed as well and raised his hand to look at it. _“Semblances reflect who you are, huh? Akame’s semblance was obviously the sins she has carried. I wonder, what will be my semblance when I discover it? I suppose the only way I’ll find out is when it happens.”_

**B**

Tea was poured in a cup by Vernal. Once Vernal finished pouring into Raven’s cup, the leader turned to her. “You can wait outside.”

Vernal bowed to her and set the pot down. “Thank you.” She promptly left the tent, leaving all three alone.

Raven started to drink from her cup while Yang and Weiss just watched. Yang crossed her arms. “So, what’s the truth?”

Her mother ceased her drinking and ignored her daughter’s question. “You know, it’s better when it’s hot.”

Weiss has only met this woman for a few seconds and was already she was fed up with her. “You know, you’re really obnoxious.”

Again, Raven ignored the comment. “The truth is that truth is hard to come by. A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else.” She set her cup on the table. “By now, your uncle has surely told Ruby and her friends plenty of stories.”

Yang was confident in her uncle. “Well, he’s never given me a reason to doubt him before.”

Raven expected her daughter to say that about her twin brother. “That doesn’t mean those reasons don’t exist.” The blonde narrowed her eyes at the older woman. “You know, you and your teammates might as well be the poster children for the Huntsmen academies. Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a better place.” Raven leaned back on one arm. “It’s adorable.”

“It’s what huntsmen and huntresses do.” Yang responded.

“Not all of them.” Raven replied. “Some people are just in it for the money and the fame, but there’s even more that are just looking to grow stronger. Your uncle Qrow and I didn’t attend Beacon to become huntsmen. We did it to learn how to kill huntsmen." Yang and Weiss both gasped at the fact and glanced at each other. Raven expected their reaction to be like that. "Daddy and uncle left that part out, hm?” She sat back up again and started to pour another cup of tea. “Aside from the Grimm, huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce.” Raven finished pouring and took a quick sip. “And Qrow and I were the perfect age. The entrance exams were child’s play compared to what we’d already been through.” Raven stood up from her seat and looked down at the two girls. “We were good.” She turned away from them and took a few steps forward. “So good, that we caught the attention of Beacon’s very own headmaster. Professor Ozpin. Even after we were put on a team, I could tell he as keeping his eye on us. Back then, I thought it was because he knew, but it was team STRQ that he was interested in.”

Yang somehow didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean by that?”

Raven recalled everything Ozpin had to her and to her team. “Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules and get into more trouble than we should’ve.” She turned around to face the two girls. “Sound familiar?”

Both girls glanced each other quickly before looking back at Raven. “What’s your point?” Yang asked.

“How much do you know about Professor Ozpin? About his past? Raven asked back.

This time, Weiss was able to answer the question. “He was…a prodigy. One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school.”

Raven rolled her eyes as she expected answers like that. “Because that’s how he planned it. Because the man you know as Ozpin designed those schools and has followers inside every academy on Remnant that are loyal to him and no one else.”

Yang wasn’t quite following where her mother was going with this. “That doesn’t make any sense! How could he have-no, why would someone even do that?”

Her mother was hoping to ask that question. “Because old man Oz has a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world.” She turned to the map in her room. “One that he eventually entrusted to our team and once I knew, there was no going back. I needed to know more, but with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became.”

The blonde was growing tired of leading them on. She wanted to get to the point. “Okay, then tell us. What’s the big secret? What’s so crazy that the rest of us don’t know?”

Raven became silent as she closed her eyes. She reopened them a moment later to answer her daughter. “The creatures of Grimm…have a master named Salem. She can’t be stopped, she can’t be reasoned with, and she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet.”

Yang only had one response to Raven’s explanation. “What?”

The older woman turned around again to face the girls. “You know, you two haven’t even touched your tea.” She took another sip of her tea.

Yang had about enough and stood up from her seat. “Why should we believe any of this?”

That was another question Raven wanted to hear from her daughter. “Now you’re catching on.” She walked toward the blonde. “So far you’ve done nothing but accept what others tell you…” The older woman set her cup down. “But you need to question everything.” Both mother and daughter stared each other down before Raven walked away. “Otherwise, you’ll end up just as blind as Qrow.” Yang gritted her teeth in anger. Raven glanced back at her daughter. “And your fool of a father.” After that comment, Yang kicked the table over and everything on it crashed to the floor. Yang’s eyes became their crimson red yet again. “Don’t you dare talk about my family like that!”

“You need to calm down.” Yang and Weiss glanced over to Vernal who pointed her weapon at the blonde.

Weiss grabbed her teammate’s hand in hopes of calming her down. “Yang, please.”

Raven smiled at the former heiress’ plea. “Listen to your friend, Yang.” She turned around completely. “Your teammates never let you down before.”

“You don’t know the first thing about my teammates!” Yang retaliated. “About me! You were never there! You left us!” She lowered her head and closed her eyes. “Why?”

Raven was indifferent to her daughter’s reaction. “I know more than you realize. Not just about you, and not just what I’ve been told, but things I’ve seen with my own eyes. I know the Grimm have a leader, I know people who can come back from the dead, I know there’s an entity out there capable of traversing between worlds, I know magic is real, and I can prove it.” At this point, Yang’s eyes returned to their natural lilac color and Weiss stood up. “You said Tai told you all about my semblance.” Vernal lowered her weapon and Raven walked toward the exit of her tent. “Well, I doubt he ever told you what Oz did to my brother and me.” She left the tent.

For a third time, Yang and Weiss looked at each other in confusion. “Go see for yourself.” Vernal spoke before leaving.

Both girls ran out of the back of the tent and saw Raven was nowhere in sight. Yang looked around for her mother. “Mom?”

Weiss could tell her teammate was easily distressed by what happened briefly before. “Yang, are you okay?”

“No.” Yang replied. “I’ll be fine once we can get her to take us to Ruby.” She continued to search for her mother.

Now it wasn’t distress Weiss was seeing. She saw her teammate was agitated. “It’s okay if…you’re not okay.”

The blonde turned to her teammate. “You didn’t believe what she said, right?”

“I…of course not.” Even if that was her answer, Weiss’ face clearly showed she was having doubts about everything. “Well, not all of it. It was crazy. We have dust, sembalance, but…I mean, there’s no such thing as magic. At least that’s what I would say if we didn’t know two people that are from a completely different world.” They suddenly heard a bird caw. They looked up to see a bird flying around near them. “A raven?”

Yang immediately recognized it. “I’ve…seen that bird before.”

Weiss turned to her teammate. “Maybe it belongs to your mom?”

They saw the raven flying around before it made its way to them. It passed by several trees and rustled some leaves by doing so. When it passed by another tree, the raven disappeared and in its place was Yang’s mother. She landed on the ground right in front of the girls. They were absolutely flabbergasted at what they witnessed. “How…did you do that?”

Raven smiled at her daughter and her friend. “Well, I could explain it to you…” She gripped her sword and unsheathed it quickly to slice the space behind her. What resulted was her opening a portal. “Or you could ask your uncle.”

Yang could scarcely believe what her mother was doing. “You’re letting us go?”

Her mother turned to her. “I’m giving you a choice.” She sheathed her sword. “Stay here, with me, and I’ll answer all of your questions and more. We can have a fresh start.” Yang just glared at her mother. “Or…” She stepped aside and gestured at the portal. “You can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin’s impossible war against Salem. And meet the same fate as so many others. But can you really go back to trusting someone that’s kept so much from you?”

Weiss was uncertain at first until she looked at Yang. To her, she had already made up her mind. “All I care about is making sure my sister is safe.”

Raven narrowed her eyes at her daughter and scoffed. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Yang revved brought up Bumblebee and revved it. Weiss was riding on the back holding onto her teammate. “Yang.” The blonde stopped her motorcycle and both girls looked at the older woman. “If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet.”

Yang had already known that. “You weren’t kind this time either.” She looked away from her mother and drove through the portal.

Once they were through, the portal close. Raven lowered her head as she thought of Yang’s last words to her. “I know. To be honest, this isn’t how I envisioned our first meeting. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.”

**B**

Qrow was hanging out in a part of Mistral watching the sunset. He was still trying to get over that all of his contacts were gone now. However, he wasn’t alone. “I see. I’m sorry to hear that about your friends.”

His condolences were wasted but he did appreciate them a little. “Thanks, but…somehow this isn’t right. I could get one or two of them but all of them?” He sighed. His companion understood his frustrations but also found it strange his friends were all gone. All of them capable hunters and yet…

Before he could finish his thoughts, both of them heard a sound coming from behind. They turned around to see a familiar looking portal. At least to Qrow. His friend, however, didn’t know what he was seeing. “What in the world is that?”

“Raven?” Both of them heard a dull roar of an engine and finally saw who came out the other end. “Oh.”

His friend recognized them too. “Wait, I know you two. “

**B**

All of RNJR, Wave, and Seryu were working on preparing dinner while most of Night Raid was prepping the table. Wave saw that Ruby was going to add one of the ingredients to the pot of boiling water. “Uh, Seryu?” The Faunus girl stopped just before dropping the ingredient in. “The kale is supposed to be added last. If you add it first, it’ll spoil.”

Seryu realized her mistake and pulled the kale away. “Oh, sorry. I really haven’t cooked in a long time. I mostly ate military grade instant food when I joined the White Fang.” The soldier couldn't help but laugh. In fact, the conversation reminded him of when he cooked with Bols for the first time. “By the way, I…never did properly thank you for the leftovers you gave me. I know I left notes but…”

“It’s fine.” Wave interrupted her. “We look out for each other. That’s what comrades do.” Seryu couldn’t help but blush slightly at the word “comrade”. The soldier took a closer look at the pot. “Well, it seems to be coming along nicely. Just needs the last ingredients added, some time and then it’ll be ready.”

Ruby popped up from behind to see the pot. “Great! Now if it Qrow was here, everything would be just perfect.”

Now that she brought him up, Jaune had a question. “Come to think of it, he’s been gone for a while now.”

Nora ate one of the carrot pieces she chopped. “Well, if he’s been gone this long, you think he’s bringing that many people? Because if he is, we’re going to need a lot more food. We already have a large group as it is.” She ate another carrot piece.

Nora raised a good point for Wave. If there was going to be more people coming, it’ll be a hassle to feed all those mouths. And that wasn’t what he was worried about the most. “I’m just wondering when Akame is coming back. She’s been gone all day.” Everyone didn’t have an answer to that. All they knew was that Akame left early in the morning and hasn’t been heard since. Nora kinda figured the other team would know but would ask about it later.

Ruby had her own thoughts on the matter. “Well, we do need all the help we can get.”

“I’m back!”

The young leader gasped happily when she heard her uncle’s voice. “Qrow’s actually home now!” She grabbed the tea set and walked over to greet her uncle. Her eyes focused on the tea set momentarily. “I’m glad you’re back, Qrow. We didn’t know how many people were coming, so we cooked all of it.” She finally looked forward and gasped at who she saw and dropped the tea set. Ruby saw none other than her sister, Yang, and her teammate, Weiss, standing next to Qrow. It has been over six months since she had seen her older sister and was frightened. Ruby didn’t know what to say or what to do. Her mind was racing a million miles an hour. She saw her sister take a step toward her and seemed serious. Ruby just blurted the first thing she could think of. “Yang, I…I’m so sorry! I-I should’ve stayed, and I should’ve talked to you more! I’d-I just…I wasn’t sure if you wanted me around and-”

Yang immediately approached her little sister and hugged her. Tears were rolling out of Ruby’s eyes. Tears were coming out of Yang’s eyes as well and hugged Ruby closer to her. “I love you.”

Ruby’s eyes widened before she buried her face into her sister’s shoulder. “I love you too.” It was a heartwarming scene for everyone to see. It even brought a tear out of Weiss. “Weiss…” The former heiress looked at the sisters and opened their arm to her. She smiled at the offer and gladly ran over toward them where they all hugged together. Three out of the four members of team RWBY has finally been reunited.

“Uh...Ruby…” The three girls broke the hug and all of them turned to Wave who seemed slightly confused. “Not to ruin the moment but who are these girls?”

Yang raised an eyebrow at the person she had never seen before. “Who are you?”

Weiss was wondering the same thing, but a certain girl caught her eyes. She noticed the pair of dog ears on her head. _“A Faunus?”_

Seryu was practically speechless at the girl she was staring at. She knew all too well who she was and the family she belonged to. _“A Schnee!?”_

“Weiss!”

Weiss recognized the voice calling out to her and saw the last person she expected to see again. “Esdeat-mph!”

Esdeath gave Weiss a hug of her own and unknowingly shoved her face in-between her breasts. “Is it really you? Oh, I’m so happy to see you again!” Weiss’ response was muffled.

Yang shared her teammate’s reaction. “Hold on. You’re here? Then, does that mean-”

“Ha, ha! I can see the headlines now.” Chelsea and the others arrived at the scene and spread her hands apart. “C.O.D of Schnee heiress is suffocation via face in large breasts. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Taeko slightly elbowed her friend.

Cornelia waved at both girls. “Hi, Yang. Hi, Weiss. Fancy meeting you here, huh?”

Kurome smiled as she crossed her arms. “Well, this is a hell of a coincidence. Seeing you two here.”

It just wasn’t Esdeath. Mostly everyone from ALCE and even KRCT was here. Yang knew she had to find them for Leone’s sake, but this was not what she was expecting. “Wait, all of you are here too?”

Unbeknownst to everyone, the door from behind opened and walked in Qrow’s friend. “Now isn’t this just a happy family reunion.”

Esdeath gasped when she heard the voice and let go of Weiss. The other girl took in a deep breath of air. “Finally!” She looked up at Esdeath and saw she had a surprised expression. “Esdeath?”

Esdeath wasn’t the only one. Cornelia shared her teammate’s reaction at the man who arrived. “W-Wait. You’re…”

Esdeath couldn’t believe he was here. Having Yang and Weiss with them was unbelievable enough. However, the man standing before them was a larger surprise. She only uttered one word at the man standing before her. “F-Father?”

 


	66. No More Secrets

**A/N: At the time this chapter is posted, I’m playing Tales of Berseria for the first time. Does this mean I’ll return to working on Tales of a Raven? Well, I already said I haven’t given up it. Oh, and I guess the reveal of Vol 6.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Six: No More Secrets

There was joyous chatter in the air as everyone set several large cooking pots of noodles on the table. Some side dishes were also added as well. And with being such a large group, they had to use two tables for everyone to sit around. Everybody was enjoying the food and having the time of their lives. Well, almost everybody. Seryu mostly kept quiet and didn’t join any of the conversations. All she could think about is when she finally decides to eat with humans, a Schnee just happens to be there with her. Normally, Seryu would be seething with hatred and rage that she was in the same room with a Schnee. However, she felt none of those emotions presently. What would be getting angry accomplish? Besides, as she knows that any Schnee does not take kindly to the White Fang. As the saying goes; the enemy of my enemy is my ally. That is if she considered Weiss to be her enemy. On top of the that, the blonde girl who accompanied her looked strikingly similar to Leone to Seryu.

As the rest of the group were eating, they began to tell each other’s experience since the last time they saw each other. Yang laughed at one of Jaune’s moments. “How did you lose your map a time like that?”

Jaune was still feeling embarrassed about that mistake. “Believe me, I’ve asked myself the thing ever since.”

Yang and Weiss laughed and so did Jaune. “Hey, but you made up for it, Mister Muscles.” Nora complimented. “You should’ve seen this guy take a giant Grimm head on.”

It was obvious they were talking about their recent battle against the Nuckelavee. Jaune couldn’t take all the credit in that battle. “I couldn’t have done it without Ruby wearing it down.”

Ruby wasn’t so sure about that. “Uh, me?” She pointed her chopsticks over at Ren. “Did you see Ren during that fight? He was out of control!”

Ren couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed with how he acted. “I’m sorry. I may have lost my temper momentarily.”

The young leader knew he misunderstood what she meant. “No, no! Out of control as in awesome!”

Ren finally understood and smiled at her. “Thank you.” Almost everyone laughed.

Ruby was the first to laugh and turned to Esdeath. “Although, Esdeath was pretty awesome too. You should’ve seen how many Grimm she took down. It was really, really cool!” Yang was about to say something, but her sister interrupted her. “Not a pun, Yang. Anyway, and you should’ve seen how she took command. It was so…I don’t know.”

Yang smiled as she the exact word to use. “Hot?”

The younger sister chuckled as she blushed slightly. “That’s one way to put it.” Weiss felt like her heart stopped momentarily.

Esdeath couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and rubbed the back of her neck. “I…just did what I had to do. I’m sure anyone else could’ve done it too.”

Cornelia thought otherwise and giggled. “You’re too modest. I still think you’d make a great leader.”

Chelsea ate another slice of meat from her noodles. “Careful now. We don’t her to get a big head.” Mostly everybody laughed again.

More of the noodle soup was consumed as they finally heard what happened to Weiss. Needless to say, they were all shocked. Especially Seryu. Ruby gasped. “You did not!”

The former heiress buried her face with her hands in embarrassment. “Yeah, right in the middle of the party.”

Yang was very impressed by what her teammate had done. “Please tell me you let that lady have it.”

Weiss immediately straightened out. “Of course not!” She gave off a sly smile. “Even if I did really want to.”

Chelsea snickered at the other girl’s story. “I gotta say, your family is a bunch of assholes. Especially this younger brother of yours. Seriously, how many siblings do you have?” Weiss won’t argue against that. Well, except for her sister. Her father and brother, on the other hand, definitely.

After hearing Weiss’ story, Seryu had more to think about the former heiress’ tale. _“So…even when she was one of them, they still treated her like that? They’re own family?”_ It’d appeared that everything she knew and heard about the Schnee family was partly true but not in the sense she expected it to be.

Nora was still not convinced by one detail Weiss said before. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes.  “No way, I don’t believe it.” Nora opened her eyes when she heard a sound and turned to see an ice Boarbatusk. Naturally, she screamed out of surprise and everyone laughed.

_“No way. I only saw General Esdeath do that sort of thing. She can create living ice too?”_

Speaking of Esdeath, she had similar thoughts. _“Living ice. Then…is it possible for me to…”_

More of the soup was consumed and it was finally time to introduce Wave to Yang and Weiss. Their reactions were as expected. “He’s what/who now?!”

Ruby giggled awkwardly and thought to explain. “Yeah, like I said. This is Wave. The very same person Akame talked about before. He saved me back in Oniyuri from a guy called Tyrian and he’s really strong.”

Nora had more to say about what happened back then. “You have no idea! When Wave stabs the ground with that sword of his, a giant dragon comes out of the ground and it roars! It’s terrifying, actually. I mean it scared even me and I don’t scare easily. Oh, and he’s strong enough to obliterate a small town in one attack! Like the one we were in when we met him. Thankfully, that never happened but you should’ve seen it!”

Both girls continued to stare at Wave in disbelief. Not only they were meeting another person from Akame’s world, but he had also saved Ruby. Wave chuckled meekly and waved at them. “It’s nice to meet you both.” He turned his attention to Yang. She was not like anything Wave expected her to look like. So, you’re Ruby’s older sister. I hope I’m not rude for saying this but you two don’t actually look like you’re sisters.”

The blonde smiled at him. It came as no shock when he said that to her. “We have the same dad but different mothers.” That made more sense to Wave. “Anyway, thanks a lot for saving my sister. It means a lot.”

Wave smiled and nodded at her. “It was nothing. I saw she was in trouble and I acted. Just as anyone else would.” He turned to Weiss now. “And what’s your relationship with Ruby?”

Weiss acted like deer caught in the headlights. She wasn’t sure how to respond. “She…I…”

"We're teammates! And BFFs." Ruby answered for her. "In fact, Weiss was the first person I found when we were in the entrance exams."

Something seemed a little off to Weiss. Ruby answered almost too quickly for her. And then she remembered something important. _“Oh, crap! I think she still has the note I gave her!”_ Weiss was so caught up in catching up, she forgot all about the confession letter she left for Ruby before she left for Atlas.

“So…” Yang interrupted Weiss’ thoughts. “If you’re from Akame’s world…does that mean you have a-”

“An Imperial Arms?” Wave finished. “Yeah, I do. In fact, I’ll show you it.” He stood up and grabbed the handle of his weapon. The soldier slowly pulled it out before fully unsheathing it and presenting it to the two girls. “Here it is. My Imperial Arms. Carnage Incarnate: Grand Chariot.”

Yang and Weiss closely examined the weapon. It certainly was different compared to Akame’s sword. That didn’t make it seem less dangerous, though. Even with Nora’s description of what happens when he uses it. Seryu was more interested in the sword than the others. If what Nora said was true, it seemed almost unbelievable. _“His sword can summon a dragon?”_ That was something she wanted to see for herself.

Weiss had her own question for the soldier. "How did you come into our world? Did you wander into a forest and make a wish?"

Wave sheathed his weapon and sat back down. He was surprised she knew that. “Uh, yeah. I was going to rest for the night at the forest and I may have thought of wish. My wish was…to see Kurome again.” The soldier turned to said girl. Kurome just kinda glanced at him as she was struggling to eat her food. Wielding chopsticks in times four state wasn’t easy. “And it did come true.” Wave looked back at Weiss and Yang. “What I didn’t expect was to see Akame in this world.” They were pretty sure Akame thought the same.

“Tell the time you almost tried to kill Akame back at Kuroyuri.” Nora blurted out.

Her comment caught the Y and W of the team off guard. “WHAT?!”

Wave threw his hands up defensively. “I can explain! I can explain!” He set his hands down and cleared his throat. “Yes, it’s true I almost tried to kill Akame but we're on the same side now. Besides, she’s become a different person since the last time I saw her.”

Kurome scoffed at his words. “Yeah, you can say that again.”

Both girls seemed to be curious as to why Kurome would say such a thing. In fact, all of the members of Night Raid seemed to act a little strange. Yang would have to ask about it later. Right now, all that matter was catching up. Speaking of, she turned her attention to Seryu.  “By the way, who’s your friend sitting next to you?” Now everyone was clearing their throats and seemed uncertain. This was a reaction the blonde didn’t expect to see. “Uh…what’s up with everyone?”

Ruby knew this would be awkward when they reached to Seryu. Especially with Weiss in the same room. She had to find some way to let them know smoothly and gently. "Well, you see…uh…"

“I’ll tell them.” Seryu spoke calmly before picking up her bowl and drinking it. To her, there was no use in beating around the bush. It was better to get it over with. She finished drinking her bowl and set it down. Then she stared at both girls right in the air. “My name is Seryu Koro and the truth about me is…I was a member of the White Fang.”

Yang and Weiss were silent for moments on end. Them and everyone else at the table. Finally, Weiss was able to speak. “You’re from the White Fang?!” The former heiress should’ve suspected Seryu was from the White Fang. What she couldn’t wrap her mind was why she was here with her friends and just blatantly tell her that. What’s more was that Weiss heard of her name before. She heard it from Akame that Seryu was once a member of their rival force, the Jaegers.

Seryu expected her reaction and remained calm. “Surprising, isn’t it? However, you can relax. I’m not going to sneak into your room and slit your throat while you sleep if that’s what you’re thinking. I. Even if I did do it, I wouldn’t get anything out of it.”

Now Weiss was confused. A member of the White Fang was here before her and won't do anything to her? That's almost as believable as Whitley being a competent younger brother. She wasn't buying it and narrowed her eyes at the Faunus girl. "Yeah, I'm sure you turned over a new leaf quickly." Seryu was unfazed by the other girl's glare.

For Yang, she was trying her best to quell her anger. The most that showed was her gritting her teeth. _“So, this is the girl Leone fought before. She’s the one who separated her from everyone else.”_

She was about to say something, her sister interrupted. “It’s kinda true.” Her teammates turned her with shocked expressions.

Ren would also back her up. “She’s been through a lot.”

That wasn’t anywhere close enough to convince Yang. “Sure, my heart’s bleeding out for her.”

“Just let me explain.” Both girls turned back to Seryu.

Weiss and Yang glared at the Faunus girl before crossing their arms. “Go ahead then. Tell us your excuse.” Weiss commanded. And so Seryu did. She told them everything that had happened in the White Fang and how she ended up in this situation. During her whole telling, Weiss and Yang’s expressions changed. It was hard to believe at first, but apparently, what Seryu had was actually true. “So, what you’re saying is that Adam is planning a coup d'état on the leader of the White Fang and he’d become the new leader?”

Seryu nodded at her question. “That’s right. Adam himself told me this and offered me to join him. Obviously, I told him to shove his offer and his sword up his ass. The only leader I’d accept is Sienna Khan. Besides, I always thought of Adam as a bastard anyway. More so after what he did back at Beacon. After that, he wounded me and those I fought alongside turned against me. I managed to escape and somehow ran into your friends. Now, I want to make the White Fang pay for what they did to me and to Sienna. Therefore, I told the rest of your friends about their plan of attacking Haven.” She slightly turned away from both girls. “At this point, I don’t even know if Sienna is still alive.”

Weiss didn’t know what to think now. She knew the White Fang were a bunch of bastards, but do something like this to their own? It was no wonder when she said she had no grudge against her. That grudge was focused on Adam and the rest of the White Fang. In a way, they were in similar situations. Not to mention if Adam has become the new leader, it could only mean more bad news for them and everyone else. To Yang, she was indifferent after hearing Seryu’s story. To her, it was karma for what she did to Leone. However, there was one part she could sympathize with. They were both hurt by Adam and wanted to make him pay for what he did. That was the only common ground they had. If they weren’t having a happy reunion dinner, the blonde wouldn’t waste any time pummeling her. One detail she has noticed about Seryu was that both her arms were like her own. The only difference between them is that Seryu’s arms seemed to be an older model.

Seryu poured more of the soup into her bowl. “That’s my entire story. What you think of it is up to you two.” She stopped pouring and blew her soup to cool it off. “However, one fact that is true is that I’m no longer your enemy.” She began slurping her noodles. Weiss will give her some credit for revealing who she was in front of her. In front of a Schnee no less. However, she still won’t trust her as far as she could throw the Faunus girl. It was not the same as it was for Blake. Blake was her friend and teammate whilst Seryu was not. It would take a lot for Seryu to gain her trust. For Yang, it would be nigh impossible for her to trust Seryu. If at all.

Moving on and with most of the soup gone, it was finally time for Yang to tell about her escapades. Hers was the most outlandish out of the group. “You went to Menagerie?!” Weiss exclaimed. Everyone else shared her reaction.

The only who wasn’t shocked was Wave. He had a more puzzled expression. The soldier leaned over to Seryu. “What’s Menagerie?” He whispered to her.

The Faunus girl wasn’t surprised he hadn’t heard of Menagerie before. He was from a different world after all. “It’s an island that’s inhabited mostly by Faunus. It’s also where there’s a faction of the White Fang. They’re lead by Corsac and Fennec.”

Wave was impressed such a place existed. He was also a little worried. “How well did you know them?”

Seryu just shrugged. “I only met them a couple of times but they’re a little…culty. Kind of.” Still, a human going to Menagerie was not unheard of before. It just didn’t happen often since Faunus folk are a little cautious when it came to human visitors.

Yang smiled brightly and loved her friend’s reaction. “Yep. I went there with Blake because she had to deal with some personal issues. Oh, and get this. Blake is actually a princess over there! Well, technically, she’s the Chieftain’s daughter but same difference.”

Ruby had sparkles in her eyes when she heard that. “That’s so awesome! I never knew Blake was a princess.”

It was true what people say. Truth is stranger than fiction.

The blonde wasn’t done yet explaining her Menagerie adventure. “Oh, and Blake’s parents are really awesome. Her dad is really serious, but I think that’s because he’s the Chieftain. Her mom is a really sweet woman. I think Blake got her looks from her mom.”

There was one important question Weiss had to ask her blonde teammate. “Yang, did they happen to know your relationship with Blake?”

One of Seryu’s dog ears perked up when she heard that. Yang laughed embarrassedly at the question. “They do. It was kinda scary when they found out but they’re okay with their daughter going out with a human.”

Seryu silently gasped at the fact. _“A human and a Faunus, together? And two girls no less.”_ Seryu had rarely seen human/Faunus relationships but she did look down on them. Or at least, she used to. Before, the Faunus girl always assumed the human of the relationship was secretly abusing the Faunus for their own sick pleasure. Or just using the Faunus for their own sick gain and amusement. It made her blood boil just thinking about it. What’s changed was meeting Wave. Wave had shown and taught her that not all humans were bad. Not all of them were like the bastards that took her arms away. It also made her wonder what else she was wrong about. The Faunus girl wanted to ask how Yang treated Blake but she saw how Yang looked at her earlier. That told her now wasn’t the time to ask such questions.

Jaune had another question for Yang. “So, if you were in Menagerie, how did you end up in Mistral?”

Yang was glad he asked that. “Blake was the one who pushed me to do it. She knew how important it was to find my mom.”

Ruby was happy Yang decided to find her mom. If she’d stayed behind, this conversation wouldn’t be happening. It was a good thing too since she has been eyeing a certain piece of her sister. “Oh yeah, Yang, about your arm…”

The older sister looked at her robotic arm. “Oh, this?” She smiled and stood up and walked to the front of the table. Yang held up her robotic arms and flexed it a bit for everyone to see. Everyone was in awe with her new arm. “It’s no replacement for the real thing…” Showed it off a bit more. “But I’ll make sure to make good use of it.”

Ren and Jaune complimented Yang while Ruby was ecstatic seeing a new piece of weaponry. To Wave, the blonde was the third person to see someone with a robotic attachment. The first was Najenda and second was Seryu. Both of her. Speaking of, Seryu couldn’t take her eyes off of Yang’s arm. It was so brand new and shiny, unlike her own arms. She was curious as to how she lost her arm. Ruby wasted no time rushing over to her sister’s side and held her arm up. “And it’s just as strong?”

Yang wasn’t surprised her sister took an instant shine to her new arm. She was a weapons enthusiast after all. “Sure is.”

Everybody then heard a thud on the table and turned to see Nora with her elbow on the table. She had a determined expression. "Wanna bet?"

Weiss couldn’t believe what the other girl was doing. “Nora, please, now’s not the time-” And Yang and Nora were already arm wrestling. Everyone stood up and Jaune and Ruby were cheering the girls on.

Seryu was the only one confused as to what was going on. _“Is this regular a thing humans do?”_

Ruby continued to cheer her sister on. “Come on, Yang! You can’t lose to a girl in a skirt!”

The heiress saw the irony in Ruby’s comment. “You wear a skirt, Ruby.”

The younger girl ignored her and grabbed the former heiress by the shoulders. “Weiss, you’re not cheering loud enough!” It was at that point Weiss questioned why even fell for the girl.

Nora was impressed by the strength of Yang’s arm. “It definitely feels like the original, I’ll give you that.”

Yang was pleased to hear that from her. “Yep. But…it does have some new features.”

The other girl was interested in hearing that. “Heh, oh yeah?” She then heard something click and was thrust forward to the wall. What happened was that Yang ejected her arm. Nora groaned in pain as a result.

Although it was surprising, there was confusion everywhere. Jaune asked the question on everyone’s mind. “Did she…win?” Nora came around to and saw she was still holding Yang’s detached arm. Naturally, she screamed and tossed the arm back to Yang. The blonde laughed as she caught her arm.

With the food completely finished, Kurome and Jaune put the bowls in the two cooking pots. Jaune felt a little more full than he was used to. “I can’t believe we ate it all.” He picked up his cooking pot from the table. “Ugh, I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Suck it up.” Kurome lifted her cooking pot up but was more careful. “I could’ve eaten more but I’m not the only one here.”

“How much can you eat?”

Kurome ignored his question and huffed. “And how come I’m the one stuck carrying the pot and bowls?”

Chelsea waved her hand nonchalantly at her girlfriend. “What better way to better handle your times four state?”

Kurome hated that the other girl had a point. She said nothing and walked out of the room. Jaune followed her behind. “H-Hey! Wait up!”

Yang chuckled at Jaune. “Try not to lose your lunch Vomit Boy!”

Jaune still wasn’t amused with the nickname. “Nickname throwbacks. Nice one, Yang!”

Weiss couldn't help but giggle happily. Nora thought she'd never heard such a thing. "Ice Queen seems to like it." Yang and Ruby laughed at their teammate. She then realized what she said while Esdeath was in the room. "Whoops. I meant Weiss. Not you, Esdeath.”

Esdeath didn’t seem to be bothered by the nickname. “It’s fine as long as it’s not directed to me.”

The former heiress rolled eyes before smiling. “I so did not miss you people.”

Nora gasped in shock as both her hands were on her cheeks. “Oh my gosh, she really does like it!” Weiss rolled her eyes again but still kept her smile. “What went and warmed your heart while you were gone?”

Now Weiss’ smile was gone and seemed insulted. “Hey! You make it sound like I used to be terrible.”

Yang thought she was close to that fact. "Nah. Just a lot deal with at once.” Weiss glared at the blonde while the other girl stuck her tongue out.

Everything did feel like old times to them. “It’s been a long time.” Ren spoke. “We’ve all grown in our own ways.”

Ruby felt humbled when she heard that. “You really think so?”

Ren knew so as he recalled everything back in their Beacon days. "Well, think back to when we were all at Beacon. Would you say you did anything foolish or embarrassing? Or do you think you were perfect?"

That last part struck Weiss like lightning on a cord. She actually felt embarrassed now that she thought about it. She buried her face in her hands in an attempt to hide her same. "Oh, gosh." 

Yang had to admit she was kinda in the same boat. “I may have been a little too gung-ho time to time.”

Her sister giggled at that. “Hee, you?” She had something to top that. “I tried to 1v1 a Nevermore on the second day of school.” It may have seemed awesome the first time but now Ruby knew it was kinda stupid.

“Yeah, well…” Everyone saw Jaune who had come back leaning on the wall. Kurome stood next to him. “Don’t even get me started.”

Ren continued with his philosophy. “Well, that embarrassment, that desire to go back and tell yourself not to be so stupid, that just proves you’re not the same person you used to be. You’re smarter, or kinder, or stronger, and you’re not done growing yet. None of us are.”

It was surprising for everyone to hear Ren talk so much since he was the quietest out of the group. Ruby could confirm that. “Yeah, turns out Ren gets real deep when he feels like talking.” 

Then they heard Chelsea laugh for some reason and turned to her. “Yeah, well. Joke’s on you pal. I haven’t changed at all. Not one bit.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Chelsea.” Now all the attention was focused on Taeko. She took a small sip of her tea and set it down on the table. “Believe it or not, you change every day whether you notice it or not. Some of these can be large in some ways. Such as…” She looked at Esdeath. “To have finally met others who can accept you and your faults.” Then she turned to Cornelia. “Having to meet people for the first time and develop a powerful bond with them.” Cornelia blushed slightly as she knew what Taeko was talking about. Taeko looked at Kurome next. “And to have discovered that you never knew would’ve existed.” Taeko turned to the whole group. “There is a saying that goes: when every life meets another life, something will be born. I believe that saying applies to everyone here. Whether what emerges out of that something is dependent on the two lives meeting. It could be friendship, respect, love, acceptance, hatred, understanding, the possibilities are endless. And it is these possibilities that make it possible for change to happen.” Taeko then turned her attention to Chelsea. “Besides, I seem to recall how you and I first met, Chelsea and you certainly changed since then.”

Chelsea didn’t have a witty reply. She had a flashback to when she first met Taeko and Babara for the first time. When she was but a small child wearing ragged, tattered clothing and was filthy beyond recognition. When she saw Babara offering her hand to her with an equally young Taeko standing next to her. _“How would you like to escape this dreadful life?”_

Chelsea narrowed her eyes at her childhood friend. “Yeah, you don’t have to remind me of that.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised all of you are making so much noise eating dinner.” Qrow, Oscar, and Esren finally appeared next to Jaune and Kurome. All everyone did was just stare at them.

**B**

The clock’s ticking was the only sound heard in the living room. The remaining members of RWBY, JNPR, and Oscar were sitting on the couches and chair. The Night Raid members chose to stand up. The same for Esren, Wave, and Seryu. They were all gathered for Oscar, or rather Ozpin to explain everything to Weiss and Yang. Weiss thought just having people coming from another world was crazy enough. “So, the Maidens. Magic. Salem. It’s all true?”

“Uh-huh.” Qrow confirmed.

Ozpin turned his attention to Yang. _“Miss Xiao Long, is this more or less what your mother told you?”_

Yang remained silent so Weiss answered for her. “For the most part.”

“You forgot something.” Yang finally spoke. She turned to Ozpin. “You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother.”

Jaune and the others expressed confusion by her statement. “What is she talking about?”

“Oh, great.” Qrow already knew where this was headed.

Ozpin was quite surprised Raven would even say such a thing. “ _That’s not a secret I thought she would give up so easily.”_ He looked back at Yang. “ _Your mother must trust you a great deal.”_ The blonde didn’t think the same way. Ozpin turned away and sighed. _“My ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn’t without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens, I too possess a certain…magical power.”_ He stood up and began to walk around with his cane. _“Using this power, I able to gift the Branwen twins the ability to ‘see’ more. To move freely and be unburdened by their natural bodies.”_ Ozpin approached Qrow and stood next to him. _“I…well…gave them the ability to turn into birds.”_ He laughed now that he actually said it. _“Rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isn’t it?”_

Chelsea would have to agree. “Not to mention, and no offense, a little lame.” Taeko, again, elbowed her in the side. “Ow!” She turned to the other girl while rubbing her side gently.

Taeko sometimes can’t believe how blunt her teammate can be. “Read the room.”

Ruby and the others shared the same shocked expression learning about Qrow. “Uncle?”

Ren was having a hard time believing as well. “You turned them into birds?”

Nora could say the same. “Alright, now you’re just messing with us. And this is coming from a girl who knows three people from another world.”

Only Jaune seemed to get over his initial shock. “What else is new?”

“He’s telling the truth.” All of RNJR turned to Weiss. “We saw it. Yang’s mom…changed right in front of us.” Qrow and Ozpin briefly looked at each other.

Yang wanted to know more about her mother and uncle’s transformation. “Why would you do something like that? I mean, what is wrong with you?”

Qrow wasn’t going have any from his niece. “Yang, that’s enough. We made a choice. We wanted this.” His answer seemed to calm down the angry blonde.

Ozpin glanced over at Qrow. _“May I?”_ Qrow nodded and the former headmaster began to walk again. _“Granting this power to them was no trivial task and I can assure you it not done frivolously.”_ He stopped and turned to his student. _“I required assistance in gathering information on Salem’s plans as well as searching for the Maidens when their hosts became unclear.”_

Ruby seemed to be getting an idea about the whole thing. Still, she had some questions. “Okay, so, have you done this with others? Like General Ironwood or Professor Goodwitch?”

Ozpin walked over to Yang’s side now. _“As helpful as that might be, unfortunately, it is not that simple.”_ He stopped next to the brawler. _“My power is finite and if I’m being honest, dwindling._

Esdeath held back a gasp as she realized who Ozpin really was. _“I don’t believe it. Ozpin is… the old man from the story.”_

The former headmaster turned to Yang. _“Miss Xiao Long, it was never my intention to lie to you.”_ He looked at the rest of the group. _“To any of you. There are just matters that I prefer to…play close to the chest.”_ He turned to Qrow now. _“I believe that’s how you phrased it?”_

Qrow couldn’t help but laugh at the irony thrown at him. “Heh, yeah.”

Ozpin decided to wrap everything up now. _“Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties, in favor of her own self-interest. Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave, now is the time.”_ Ozpin turned away from the group. _“There’s no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat.”_

Everyone was silent as they all looked at each other. Qrow, however, looked at Esren. “What about you, Esren? What’s your choice?” The kids were one thing but Esren was a completely different matter. He was just someone who got rolled into the situation and been given a crash course.

Esren just sighed as he crossed his arms. “You know, when you said you needed my help, this isn’t what I exactly thought it would be.” He turned to his daughter. “Honestly, Esdeath, what have you gotten yourself into?” Esdeath looked away from her father as she couldn’t look at him in the eye. The other Huntsmen looked over at Ozpin. “I’m going to have to think this through a little more over this, Ozpin. Especially since my daughter is involved.”

Ozpin knew that not everyone would be on board. In fact, he was content with it. He turned back around. “Very well, then.”

Yang stood up from the couch which Ruby thought it was strange. “Yang?”

Yang had already made up her mind. “If Ruby sticks around, then I will too. If there’s one thing I know about her, it’s that she somehow always knows the right thing to do. But, if we’re going to help, if we’re going to keep risking our lives, no more lies. No more half-truths.”

Ozpin and Qrow looked at each other again before Ozpin looked away. He agreed with his student’s proposition. _“Understood.”_ With hearing that, Yang sat back down.

Now there was only one question remaining and Jaune was the one to ask it. “So…what now? I mean, what can we do?”

The former headmaster had to admit, he brought up a good question _. “That is a difficult question. One I believe is best answered tomorrow.”_

And Jaune was already confused. “What do you mean?”

_“The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with hardships and peril. However, it’s been far too long since you have all been together.”_ He placed a hang on Yang’s shoulder. _“Please, take tonight, enjoy this moment.”_ He smiled just before his eyes flashed. When Oscar came back, he realized he was touching Yang’s shoulder and immediately drew his hand back. Yang and Weiss chuckled at his scared reaction.

Nora finally realized something about Ruby’s uncle and Yang’s mom. “Oooh. Raven? Qrow?” She seemed quite happy to figure out what connected them. “They’re birds! Cracked it!”

Wave was the only one who understood. “I know. Weird, huh?”

Now that everything about Ozpin was cleared up, Kurome could ask her question about Esren. “Mr. Partas.” Esren turned to her. “Just how exactly did you end up here in Mistral?”

Qrow had the same question. He knew it was no coincidence that Esren was here in the same city as his daughter. Esren narrowed his eyes at her and everyone else in Night Raid. “I got a letter, from your headmistress. It told me that all of you were headed to Mistral. For what reason, she left out but now I know.”

Everyone in Night Raid was speechless. They never thought Najenda would do such a thing even after she let them go. Kurome gritted her teeth and growled in anger. _“Damn it, Najenda. What the hell were you thinking?! I thought…how could you do this!?”_

“And I’m not the only one.” Their attention went back to Esren. “I’m sure she’d sent the same kind of letters to the rest of your families.”

Hearing that scared Cornelia deeply. “Papa knows!?” She grabbed both sides of her head while freaking out. “This is bad, this is bad! He’s going to kill me!”

Chelsea shared her reaction. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! What the hell!? I don’t want to go back and face Granny’s punishment again! I’d rather take on that Grimm horde, no, that freaking horse Grimm again than face her punishment.” She turned to Taeko to see how she reacted, but she was surprisingly calm. With her eyes closed even. “How the hell are you keeping a straight face! Granny knows now and we’re screwed! You know as well as I do we’re going to the lion’s den when she gets here!”

Hearing that analogy reminded Yang something very important. “Oh, yeah, speaking of. Do you know where Akame is? I haven’t seen her at all since I got here. I gotta pass along a message to her from Leone.”

Her comment ceased all activity from Night Raid. They all stared at the blonde wide-eyed with disbelief. Even Taeko who opened her eyes upon hearing what Yang said. They were silent for what it seemed like an eternity for them. “WHAT?!”

Kurome instantly appeared in front of Yang and gripped the blonde’s shoulder. A little harder than what she’s used to because her grip was tremendously strong. Her face was also very uncomfortably close to her own. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY!”

Seryu was among them in being surprised in what she heard. She honestly thought she’d never hear those words. “WAIT, SHE’S ALIVE?!”

This wasn’t the kind of reaction Yang thought she would get. She thought best to explain the whole thing. “Uh…yeah. She’s back at Menagerie with Blake. Honestly. She even sought me off along with Blake and her parents.”

Now Seryu was confused as to how Leone ended up in Menagerie. _“How? How did she…arrive in Menagerie? The crash site wasn’t even near there. So, how did she…?”_ She figured to leave the questions out for the time being. If Leone was still alive, that meant they have an even better chance to stop the White Fang.

Chelsea forgot all her fear and was replaced by anger. “And you didn’t tell us about this at dinner because…?!”

“Because I thought she would show up during dinner. I’d hope to tell her Leone’s message in person.” Yang replied.

Esdeath was crying tears of joy knowing her friend was still alive. So was Cornelia but she kept it together enough to ask the other blonde a question. “So…” She sniffed and wiped some of the tears away from her eyes. “Can you tell us what Leone’s message is?”

Yang laughed as she had a mischievous smile. “The next time we see each other, we’re going to wreck so many beds together.”

Chelsea covered her mouth to quell her laughter. Everyone else just shook their head or rolled their eyes. Everyone except for Ruby who seemed confused. “Wait, I don’t get it. Why do they want to wreck beds?”

Chelsea managed to keep her laughter under control barely enough to respond. “Oh, Ruby. I forget you can be such an innocent cinnamon roll sometimes.” Ruby still didn’t understand what the older girl meant.

“Chelsea!” Chelsea turned to Kurome who released Yang from her grip. “Get my scroll and call Akame. She needs to know about this. Hopefully enough to come running back from that stupid date of her.”

“Date?” Weiss and Yang spoke at the same time.

changed from happiness to panic. She only whispered one word. “What…?”

This was not the look everyone expected her to have. It even worried them. Especially the members of Night Raid. Cornelia was the first to ask. “Kurom-”

“Call her scroll right now!”

They all recognized the fear in Kurome voice and they all pulled out their scrolls. Everyone in Night Raid called Akame’s number. They all had the same shocked expression as Kurome. Now they knew why she was in a panic.

Wave and the rest were confused as to why they were acting this way. “What, what’s going on? What’s happened?”

They couldn’t believe it and it made no sense but they kept hearing the same message over and over again from their scrolls. _“We’re sorry but the number you are calling is not in the available area. Please hang up and try again.”_

**B**

If Akame had to be honest, she felt guilty enjoying the date she had with Merraid. She knew she was doing this get the older woman off her back but Merraid had shown her a good time. Merraid had taken her to a nice breakfast, a lovely lunch, and a dinner at a restaurant that almost seem too fancy for Akame’s tastes. Akame was surprised that Merraid could afford all of this and the food Akame could eat. To pass the time in-between meals, Merraid showed the younger girl all the best sights in Mistral. She truly saw how hard Merraid wanted their last time to be. When the date was almost done, Akame was ready to leave but Merraid wanted to show her one more thing. And that’s where the alarms went off.

The first hint was when Merraid led her through a strange entrance. The second hint was how the hallway looked. They were made of black brick and stone and there were torches lit on the sides. The only sound that could be heard was the clacking of Merraid’s heels and the echo of Akame’s footsteps. Something wasn't right. “Where are you taking me?”

Merraid didn’t respond for the first few seconds. “Patience, Akame. You’ll know soon enough. We’re almost there anyway.” Akame didn’t trust her word. Now she knew something was definitely not right. She stopped walking completely and stood still. Merraid noticed and turned around. “Is something the matter?”

Akame glared at the older woman. “Who are you, really?”

Merraid just smiled innocently at her. “Whatever do you mean?”

That wasn’t the answer Akame wanted. So, she’ll just have to get it another way. She grabbed Yatsufusa’s handle and drew weapon out quickly. In the next moment, Akame dashed at the other woman and swung her sword from the right. A loud clang echoed through the hallway. Akame hissed through her teeth as she saw that Merraid blocked her attack with her open umbrella. The sound alone confirmed that her umbrella was actually made of steel. Akame jumped back to gain some distance between them. Merraid lifted her umbrella and set it on the right shoulder and twirled it. She feigned a hurt expression. “Akame. Why you would ever attack me?”

Akame wasn't in the mood for games. "Tell me who you are right now or I'll-"

“Or you’ll what?” Akame gasped as she heard a new voice. A new but very familiar voice. She turned around and jumped back to see two maids. Not any two maids, but maids she recognized. _“Gilberta…and Cassandra. Why am I not surprised they would be here with Merraid.”_

“Are you alright, Lady Mera?”

“Yeah, you’re not like, hurt or anything?”

Akame turned around to see two more maids and one she recognized. _“Shizuka of the Rakshasa Demons? And the other one is…”_ She had never met Mez before but she has read her profile before. Something about this whole thing didn’t make sense to her. _“Why didn’t I sense their aura earlier? They couldn’t have known to mask it.”_

Merraid tsked at her maids. “Now look at what you four have done. She’s agitated.”

Shizuka bowed to her mistress. “Apologies, Lady Mera but she did attack. If so does again, we will handle her.”

That was an outcome Merraid would like to avoid. She’s worked too hard for this chance to happen. “I must apologize for my maid’s behavior, Akame. They can be very protective of me, but you did attack me after all. Now then, you should listen carefully. If you do kill me here now, you’ll be forever lost in these passageways and you’ll never find your way back. It’s best if you’d follow me.”

Like she would oblige to her demands. She’d rather kill them all and take her chances. “Like I would do as you say.”

Shizuka sighed as she held out her hand. “Again, I apologize for doing this, Lady Mera.” A thin line of light shot out from her palm and stuck Akame at the top of her chest.

Akame took a step back and patted the stop where the light hit her. She looked directly at the maid. “What did you do?”

Shizuka set her hand down. “You and I share the same fate now. Should something ill happen to befall my Lady, you shall experience the same fate. And it’s just not me.” Several thin strings of light extended from her hand and they were all connected to everyone else in the hallway. “For example…” She pulled out a small needle in her right hand and poked her left index finger. Akame felt a slight prick and lifted her left hand to see there was a slight dot of blood coming out of her index finger. “Would you really risk your own life to just end it?” Akame growled at the situation she was. If she used Murasame on them, she’d receive the same effect. Shizuka turned to her mistress. “I know this isn’t how you exactly planned it, Lady Mera. I-”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re sorry. We get it all ready.” Mez interrupted.

Akame couldn't believe the situation she was in. It was a complete amateur mistake on her end. She could still make use of Shizuka's power. If they are connected, she could inflict injuries on them when she does them herself. Unfortunately for her, Shizuka thought ahead of that. "If you think give us injuries by self-harming yourself, it won't work. The effect is one way only. At least for the target.” In other words, they can inflict damage on her but not the other way around. It wasn’t exactly fair. Then again, this was Akame’s fault for being in such a trap.

“Akame...” The younger girl paid close attention to Merraid. “It’d be best if you’d cooperate. You are still a guest since you do have a choice. You can either come along and see what I have to show you. Or you can make this into to a lover’s death scene from a play.” It wasn’t much of a choice. Here Akame was, trapped and surrounded by enemies, and no way to contact her friends. Obviously, Akame wasn’t a fan of the second choice so she put her sword away. She could still have a chance of escaping after seeing what Merraid has to show her. Leone may be gone but Akame was still determined to see her goal to the end. It was a wise decision from Merraid’s point. “Good. Now then…” She lifted her umbrella and closed it. The older turned away from Akame. “Let’s continue, shall we?” Merraid began walking with Shizuka and Mez following her behind. Akame followed her with Gilberta and Cassandra behind her. After taking some turns here and there and what it seemed to be longer than ten minutes, they finally reached a set of imposing large black doors. Merraid and the others stopped in front of it. “And we’re here.” Akame looked up at the doors and felt some...presence emanating from the other side. Merraid placed both hands on the doors. “Behold, Akame.” She pushed the doors open and they a loud creaking noise.

As the doors opened wider, Akame saw what lied beyond them. It honestly wasn’t what Akame thought it would be. The area behind the doors seemed to be large and circular, like a training room of sorts. She walked passed the older woman and entered the room. She scanned it quickly and turned to Merraid. “Is this it?”

Merraid smirked as she walked into the room as well. “Not really. This is just one room in the castle. There's so much more for you to see."

A castle. Akame didn’t remember seeing a castle anywhere in Mistral. Just what was that entranceway Akame walked through. She was about to see something else when she gasped. Something was approaching them and that something felt very familiar to her. _“This aura. It can’t be.”_ Next, she heard the clacking of heels coming from the other side and turned to see the doorway. Soon, a figure emerged from out of the shadows and Akame could never forget her. For what she did. For ruining the possibility of living a new life. Anger surged and flared throughout out of Akame’s body and her markings appeared glowing bright red. Her eyes also changed color immediately and drew out Murasame. Her dark red power erupted out of her body in powerful waves and surrounded her Imperial Arms. Everyone in the room felt the overwhelming dread emitting from Akame “CIIINDEEER!” She vanished instantly with a small, powerful aftershock and left a small crater behind. It took everyone more than a second to register that Akame was already within range to kill Cinder. Akame drew back Murasame from the left side so she could cleave Cinder’s head off with one swift strike. She thought nothing else but to kill Cinder and make her pay for what she has done. Akame swung her sword and aimed at Cinder’s neck. Time seemed to have slowed down as Murasame came closer to Cinder’s jugular. Said Maiden couldn’t react in time and Shizuka couldn’t pull her dagger out fast enough to the raging girl.

Murasame just about reached Cinder’s neck when Akame felt a powerful force crashing on top of her. It was strong enough for her to stop her attack and Murasame was just a centimeter away from Cinder’s neck. The Maiden took this chance to leap away from the sword as she didn’t want to experience the poison effect again. Akame stood completely still and just as terrified. This sensation she was feeling was unlike anything Akame had felt before. It was different than Cinder’s aura. This aura was overwhelming, omnipotent, and malevolent. In short, this aura far surpassed Esdeath’s back in Akame’s world.  Only one thought ran through her mind. _“W-What is this?”_

“Enough.” Akame let out a shaky breath as she heard a new voice. She felt this wicked aura approaching her but couldn’t hear any footsteps. Akame was too petrified to move as this presence came closer. Finally, she saw the figure emerge from the shadows. It was a woman, but she was unlike any woman Akame had seen before. Ghostly white skin and hair, red and purple veins visible on her face, eyes similar to her own but more menacing, a black diamond-shaped marking in the middle of her forehead, and she was wearing a black robe with red designs. Akame was so focused on the woman in front of her, she didn’t notice Cinder, Merraid, and the maids kneeling before her. Her breathing became faster and more panicked with each breath. Akame didn’t know it but she was face to face with none other than Salem herself. Salem narrowed her eyes at the girl before here. “At last, we finally meet.” All Akame could do was stare into Salem’s eyes. It finally proved to be too much for her as Akame dropped Murasame and then finally blacked out.

 


	67. Unexpected Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Seven: Unexpected Confessions

Akame groaned groggily as she finally opened her eyes. The first thing she saw a pearl white ceiling and noticed she was laying on something soft. Akame sat up and saw she was resting an unusually large bed. The sheets on the bed were also white and the covers were of fuchsia color. The bed had a canopy as well with amethyst curtains all around. Akame felt a slight pain through her head and put her hand above her right eye. She could still feel that chilling sensation going down her spine and chances are Akame would continue to feel that. Then she remembered why she was feeling such a thing. _“That woman…what the hell was she?”_ Akame never thought she would see the day to sense an aura more dreadful than Esdeath’s. It wasn’t just that either. The woman from before was unlike anyone she had seen before. It was like she was a human Grimm and a very dangerous one at that. With most of her thoughts about the Grimm woman, Akame almost didn’t notice that she didn’t have two important items.

She realized this and searched the room she was in. All she found was a large table, two chairs on either end of the table, and an open door to reveal a bathroom. Finally, there was a closed door in front of her but Akame didn’t find what she was looking for. That could only mean one thing for the former assassin. _“They took both Murasame and Yatsufusa.”_ Akame figured it must’ve happened when she was unconscious. She found herself in the worst possible situation. Captured in the enemy base and she was without her weapons. The only thing was missing here was her being bound in chains and being tortured for information. Since Akame woke up on a soft bed instead of being bound in chains, she can rule out they wanted her as a prisoner. If they didn’t have her as a prisoner, there was only one other option for her being here.

Before Akame could complete her though, she heard a soft clack and turned her attention to the door in front of her. It opened and revealed Cassandra holding the doorknob and Merraid entering the room. Akame growled angrily and glared as such at the woman in front of her and. _“Merraid…”_

Merraid stopped walking halfway between the door and the bed. She waved her hand in a sweeping motion and her maid closed the door. The older woman saw the look Akame was giving her but ignored it. She crossed her arms and displayed a neutral expression. “I see you’re awake now. You must have questions about the situation you’re in.”

Akame snarled at Merraid. She could kill her right now, but the other woman was right. She needed some answers. “Who was that woman from before?”

Merraid wasn’t surprised the younger girl would ask that first. She’d gladly answer the question. “The woman you saw is known as Salem. She is the leader of all the Grimm and the master that I serve under.”

So, the woman Akame encountered from before was Salem. The very being Ozpin and Qrow spoke of before. In all honesty, their descriptions of her failed in comparison to actually meeting her. She was Akame’s target to kill. Now she wanted her answer that was the most important. “Why did you bring me here?”

The older woman didn’t respond for the first few seconds. “To answer that, you need to know something. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you.”

Slight confusion mixed in with Akame’s anger. “What do you mean?”

Merraid started to walk around the bed while maintaining eye contact with Akame. “The first time I saw you was when the Vytal Festival began through the TV. I was watching it simply because I wanted to see how Cinder and her team would. Just for the fun of it, actually. What I didn’t count on was seeing you. You immediately captured my interest at first sight. There was something about you that drew me in. That attraction became stronger when I saw what you did in the first round of the Vytal Festival finals. My first thought in seeing your transformation was ‘what a beautiful, deadly, flower'. I was in complete awe of you. Others might've thought you frightening but you were enrapturing to me. Your power, your ferocity, even your appearance. All of it was beautiful to me."

Akame didn't take her eyes off Merraid. She kept a menacing glare at the older woman. "If you saw the Vytal Festival, that means you already knew about Leone when we first met.”

Merraid almost completed a full lap around the bed. “I did, and I have to say, not a bad catch. You certainly know how to pick them. However, I was being honest when I said I was sorry for your loss. You don’t meet exotic looking women like that every day. Especially if she’s a Faunus.” She made her full lap and stopped in front of Akame. “But I digress. When I heard Cinder ‘talk’ about your power, about it can attract Grimm, I knew you would be a perfect addition for our side. I wanted to meet you badly, but I didn’t know where to look for you after the Fall of Beacon. You can imagine my surprise when I saw you in the streets of Mistral.”

So, it was her the first time Akame saw Merraid. She thought her eyes were playing tricks, but it really was her. “And you sought me out the first chance you’d get.”

The older woman nodded at Akame. “Yes, but everything that’d happen during our first encounter is what I said before. My hospitality to you back at my apartment was real. I truly did want to know you. Everything about you.”

Akame heard those words before. She was having a sense of déjà vu and that's what made her mad the most. Akame lowered her head just enough for her bangs to cover her eyes. "You haven't changed at all."

Merraid tilted her head in confusion. “Pardon me?”

The younger girl gritted her teeth and growled. “You were like this before when we first met." She lifted her head up and revealed that her eyes had changed. Akame pierced Merraid through with her threatening eyes. “You haven’t changed since then, Merraid Oarburgh!”

Merraid became further confused. It was almost as if Akame already knew her. “Akame…why do you sound like we’ve met before? I mean, yes I’ve seen you during the Vytal Festival, but you couldn’t have known about me.”

That’s where she was wrong. Akame blinked and her eyes returned to normal. "It's because I do know you. I know everything about you. At least back in my world. Merraid Oarburgh. The leader of the Oarburgh clan. Your age is your later twenties. You preferred women and have a great disdain toward men. You had the power to control Danger Beasts known as Wigglers in your shadow. You are escorted by two of your maids, Gilberta and Cassandra. Your weapon is an umbrella that can be used to hypnotize your enemies to make them weaker. You also had the ability to transform into a human/butterfly hybrid via Wiggler larva. And I was the one who killed you.”

actually have a few things common with this other Merraid. However, there are some differences. The first one is that I’m not affiliated with Oarburgh family in this world. The second is that I do not have these ‘Wigglers’ you speak of. I also can’t turn into a human/butterfly hybrid, though that does sound quite interesting. I wonder how I would look in such a state. Nor do I have the power to hypnotize others. Still…” She walked forward to the bed and crawled on top it on all fours. “Hearing you say all that to me, it makes me think that this must be fate’s hand at work. Perhaps we were destined to meet each other." She started to crawl slowly towards the younger girl. Akame wasn't sure about that but she could chalk that up in a meeting with other people in her past. "Tell me…" Merraid was just in front of Akame and displayed a sultry expression. Akame’s seen that expression before. “If you knew so much about this other Merraid, what was your relationship with her?” The question made Akame blush slightly and turned away from Merraid. The older woman gave a hearty chuckle. “Oh? Were you two perhaps lovers?”

“No, we were not!” Akame looked back at Merraid with a glaring expression. “She was my enemy! At least…” Her eyes waned and her expression turned somber. “At the time we were. She sought me out like you did. Tried to convince me to join the Revolutionary Army, showed me what the people thought of the Emperor and the Prime Minister. However, I could never forgive her for what she’d done to me.”

Hearing the tone in Akame’s voice made Merraid feel pity for her. She didn’t know what this other Merraid did to her, but it was apparently not with the younger girl’s consent. “It sounds like she was terrible to you.”

It was true, but there was something else Akame remembered about the past Merraid. “She was but…she also made me realize something. I thought what I was doing in the Empire was right, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The people were unhappy. Miserable even. How corrupted the Empire truly was. In truth, I believe Merraid was one of the stepping stones for me leaving the Empire.”

So, it seemed this other Merraid wasn’t as terrible as Merraid thought. Now she was curious about one more thing about her other self.  “One more question. Did she actually love you?”

Akame quietly gasped when she asked. Her eyes truly softened at the last words Merraid spoken to her. “Before I killed her, she confessed to me that she truly did love me. After her death, I built a grave for her, surrounded by lilies.” She realized what she said and shook her head. “Why am I telling you all of this?”

The older woman could wager a guess. “Maybe because I'm the only one that you can tell. Have you told your teammates about this? Your friends? Your former lover?” Akame didn't have an answer for that. The time she'd spent with Merraid was one of the few instances she wanted to keep for herself. To her, there were some things better left unsaid. That didn’t appear to be the case for Merraid, though. “Don’t you see, Akame? We’re destined to meet each other. It explains why I’m so drawn to you. We can be together again and start over." Merraid neared her face to Akame's and their lips inched closer to each other. The older woman's eyes half shut and were in a dream-like state. Akame felt she was entering a similar state. "All I ask of you to do is to be by my side.” Their lips came within centimeters within each other.

Akame snapped out of it and grabbed the older woman by the wrists tightly. She forcefully pushed Merraid on her back and pinned her down. Akame was outraged with what Merraid proposed to her. Her eyes returned to being demonic looking. “You’re asking me to betray my friends. You’re asking me to join the same side who has the very woman WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR RUINING MY LIFE HERE! WHO’S TAKEN IT AWAY FROM ME!” Her dark red power surrounded her hands and began to burn Merraid’s wrists.

The older woman winced at the burning pain, but she kept her composure. “I know that you’re mad and I can understand why. But should you really be defending the very same friends who thought negatively of you? You yourself said they were disappointed in you. Remember what I said to you before? Only a lover can carry you the distance. Only I can understand you. Your friends shunned you for finding someone you can love again.”

“THAT WAS BEFORE I KNEW YOU WERE THE ENEMY!” Akame gasped as she realized what she just said.

Merraid noticed the younger girl loosened her grip and took the opportunity. She broke out of Akame’s hold and flipped their positions. Now Merraid kept a tight grip on Akame’s wrists was determined not to let go of the dominant position. It appeared the older woman was much stronger than she appeared to be. Akame was going to blast Merraid off her using her semblance but then she saw the way the older woman was looking at her. Merraid’s eyes were soft and had a loving look within them. “So, it is true. You did have lingering feelings for me. Is it because I remind you so much of the Merraid you once knew?” The younger girl remained quiet. That was fine for Merraid since she had more to say. “Nevertheless, Akame…Cinder may have taken away your way of life in this world, but I can give it back to you. You don’t have to serve under Salem. You don’t even need to be faithful to her. You can just be with me. Once we achieve our goal, we can live happily and blissfully with each other. I can promise that no else can have you. Not Cinder, not Salem, not even my maids. You can be mine just as I can be yours. If not, then I can’t guarantee your safety. If we cannot be together in the present world, then Salem will make sure to give us a lover’s death to the world beyond. Think carefully and please consider. Should you choose to refuse then I will follow you into the next world. Please, Akame. Please.” Tears started to roll off Merraid’s eyes and dropped below Akame’s eyes.

To hear Merraid say she would be content on being killed if Akame would be killed alongside her would be maddening if she hadn’t seen the tears. She was afraid. The tears and the look in Merraid’s eyes told Akame everything how Merraid felt about this. Of course, Akame was already aware if she refused, Salem would kill her. She was already in this deep and there was no way out except for death. In this situation, Akame didn’t know what was worse. To betray her friends and fight on the enemy’s side or to die and never see her friends again. Akame had to choose one or the other but no matter which one she decides on, there will be no going back.

**B**

_“Should you walk down this path, you will leave unimaginable sorrow in your wake. Are you prepared to carry such a burden? One that is heavier than the all the sins that you carry within?”_ Her eyes widened as she sensed something inexplicable has happened. The being’s eyes returned to their calm state. _“I see. If that is the case, then I have no other choice. Even if it is against my own rules, I must bring in the final piece. When it’s in place, then I can focus on preparing my trump card. Until then…everyone, train hard for the upcoming battles. For they will be the most difficult you'll ever be in. Especially for you, the one whose power has yet to be_ _reawakened.”_ Spirit closed her eyes and vanished in a flash of light.

**B**

Blake was enjoying looking at the night sky from standing outside on the balcony. There was something watching the night sky that was always calming to her. She just wished she could enjoy it all night, but she and Leone still had business to do. “Blake! You ready to go? We gotta hit the nocturnal section soon!” And speaking of the devil coming from the house. Blake turned around to see the open door. "Be right there!"

She wanted to look at the night sky for one more brief time before her fingers slid on the side of the balcony bar. The Faunus girl then felt something strange. It felt different than the usual wood. Like it was a note taped. She looked around to see if anyone was around but no one in sight. Blake lifted the note off the wooden bar and opened it. _“B. Things going too far. Not sure what to do. Find a quiet spot. I’ll find you. Come alone. Please. I.”_

It was obvious the note was from Ilia. She suspected something was wrong and if Ilia needed to help, Blake would be there for her. "Blake! What's the holdup?" She quickly put the note away in her coat and turned to see Leone standing in the doorway. "Are we going or not?" She didn't hear a reply from the other Faunus girl. Leone thought it was a little strange. "What's up?"

Again, Blake hesitated to answer her supposed daughter. She had a slight glint of doubt in her eye before looking at the other Faunus girl. “You go on ahead. I have to take care of something first.” She started walking and passed by Leone without looking back. Leone turned in tandem to see Blake in the house. She narrowed her eyes at the other Faunus girl and began to follow her.

**B**

Blake arrived at an alleyway where she was supposed to meet Ilia. So far, she hasn't seen hide nor hair of her friend. "Ilia?"

“I’m here.” She heard Ilia’s voice and immediately drew out her sword.  The Faunus girl stood ready in case something went wrong in the meeting. Blake could hear Ilia but couldn’t see her. That is until she saw something approaching her from the shadows. The figure walking toward her turned out to be Ilia blending in with the darkness and made herself visible. She had her arms up to show Blake that she was unarmed.

Blake hoped there was still time to convince her friend. “Ilia, I know you’re scared, but you don’t have to be. My family and I, we can keep you safe.”

All Ilia did was look at Blake. “I’m sorry.” She turned her head away and closed her eyes.

Blake didn’t understand what the other girl was sorry for. “You can make it up to me by helping to stop Corsac and Fennec.”

“No.” Ilia opened her right eye to look at Blake. “I’m sorry.” She closed her right hand and Blake heard something coming at her. The Faunus girl had no time to react when something or someone got the drop on her. The force the attack caused her to drop Gambol Shroud in front of Ilia and had a boot firmly pinned on her back. Her assailant removed her boot and two more appeared beside him.

The Faunus girl panted heavily as she was able to stand up. She still hoped to talk to Ilia. “Wait-ah!” She was blasted by strong webbing. Blake landed on the ground with a thud and was tied up.

One of the Faunus behind her broke the strand connecting to Blake and held it. She was quite proud of her handiwork. “I’ve got her.”

Yuma, the Faunus who attacked Blake, was pleased by her handiwork. “Well done, Sister Tarifa.” He then turned to Ilia. “And to you, Ilia.” He grabbed Ilia’s weapon and tossed it overhead back to her.

“Ilia!” The chameleon Faunus looked back at Blake who was on her knees now. The other Faunus girl was in a panic now. “What are you doing?”

Ilia was unfazed by Blake’s predicament. “I tried to tell you, Blake. I’m sorry.”

An apology like that wasn’t going to be enough for Blake. And it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “Don’t tell me you’re sorry!”

“But I am.” Ilia responded. “I am sorry it has to be this way. But you, your family, and that Faunus Traitor you’re with are holding the Faunus back.”

Blake couldn’t believe how far Ilia was from saying that comment. “Because we’re trying to protect people? In what world do you live in where attacking the innocent is the right thing to do?”

Ilia took a step forward and glared at her former friend. “The same one as you! There is no such thing as innocent. There is no right thing to do; only what’s best for us.” She began to walk up to Blake. “There’s humans that still hate the Faunus, and there are others who stand by and let the hate happen! But do you know what snaps out hate?” Ilia pointed her weapon in front of Blake’s face. “Fear. I don’t like hurting people, but I’ll tell you this: It’s gotten us results.”

Blake didn’t waver with a weapon in her face and narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “Yeah, look where it’s gotten you.”

Her comment seemed to have gotten Ilia, but she shook it off. “We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good. No matter how much it hurts.”

The other Faunus girl saw the irony in her former friend’s words. “And you think killing me is really for the greater good?”

“No.” Ilia closed her eyes for a second before opening them again. “But getting rid of your family is.”

Blake’s eye went wide with fear and that same fear ran rampant through her body. “You wouldn’t. You can’t! I won’t let you!”

Ilia remained indifferent to Blake’s reaction. “I know. That’s why you’re being sent to Mistral. To Adam.”

That was the last thing Blake wanted to hear. Now panic was setting in within her. “Ilia, please! You don’t have to do this! This isn’t you!”

Ilia leaned in closer to the other Faunus girl. “Yes, it is. But I guess back then you just too busy falling for Adam to notice.” Blake didn’t have a reply at all for that because it was true. “I was always jealous of the way you looked at him.” Her freckles changed to a pink color. “I wanted you to look at me that way.” The pink in her freckles disappeared as she closed her eyes again. She reopened them again to reveal her eyes were now red and glared at Blake. “But we always can’t get what we want.” With one blink, her eyes returned to their normal color. She stepped back and Ilia looked at her allies. “Yuma, with me. You two, get her to the docks.” Ilia began to walk away and Yuma followed her.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” A large crash happened in front of Blake and everyone saw who it was.

Blake couldn't have been happier to see her daughter more now than ever. "Leon-" She gasped in shock once Blake saw the look in Leone's eyes. They were angry, of course. Furious even but there was something else. Leone's eyes seemed more feral and her pupils were slits. Her hair was standing on edge and snarled threateningly. Leone even bared her fangs which seemed sharper than usual. In short, it almost seemed like she was an actual animal. There was also something else Blake felt. Fear. It wasn't like the fear Blake felt before when Ilia told her the White Fang was going to kill her family. No, this was a very different kind of fear. It was the kind of fear where Blake felt like she was staring at overwhelming death itself. And if this was how she was feeling, Blake could only imagine how the other Faunus behind her and Ilia felt behind her.

It turns out she was right, but the fear had a greater effect on them. Ilia instantly went blue with fear and the same could be said for Yuma. “We need to leave. Now.”

Leone took a heavy step forward and everyone gasped. “What was that you said about fear?” She spoke in a low, dark voice. “That it gets you results?” She took another step forward which made Ilia and the other Faunus step back. “Let me tell you what I told this other bitch I know about fear. It may help what you want but it all ends the same. That very same fear you’re dependent on will bite you back in the ass. You can almost say it’s like karma.” The Faunus blonde took one more step toward everyone. “Let me show you what that’s like.”

Yuma immediately pushed Ilia back away from him. He turned to his companion. “Ilia, run no-” He sensed impending doom coming from behind. Duma couldn’t turn around in time since he felt a powerful grip on the back of his skull. The next thing that happened was Leone smashing his face into the ground. All Ilia could do was stare in horror at what she had just seen. Leone lifted her head up to glare angrily at the Faunus before her. Ilia couldn’t take her eyes off of Leone’s slit eyes. Ilia was beyond terrified. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t scream. She couldn’t even think right now. All the chameleon Faunus could do was follow her base instinct. Running away from imminent danger.  Ilia didn’t even think twice about leaving her allies behind. All that mattered was one thing to her: be as far away from the predator as possible. She ran fast as she could. Possibly faster than she has ever had in her life. But no matter how far she was away from Leone, Ilia could still feel that impending fear looming over her. She stopped briefly to catch her breath. Ilia was still shuddering in complete fear with what she saw.   _“She’s not a Faunus at all. She’s a monster!”_ She regained what little self-composure was left as Ilia returned to her normal skin color and looked ahead to see her target. _“I still have a mission to complete. As long as the Belladonna family is killed, we’ve won.”_ With that mindset, she made her way to the Belladonna household.

Back to where Leone was, she huffed as she stood up. The Faunus blonde turned around to face the two remaining members. It was obvious they were frightened beyond any measure they have felt before. It didn’t matter what they would do now. They both heard the stories about the infamous Faunus traitor and what she did to the other members. They had no chance against Leone. That is unless…the male of the two pushed Tarifa in front of him. “Take her first!”

Tarifa obviously wasn’t a big fan of being a sacrifice. She quickly glanced angrily at him. “You son of a-” Tarifa didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as Leone was already in front of her teammate. He screamed while taking a step back before Leone delivered a swift right kick at his right arm and side. He crashed through one of the houses and multiple sounds could be heard crashing along.

Leone turned around and focused her attention on the remaining member. Tarifa took a step back and turned around to run away. However, that was cut short when she was grabbed the neck from behind and was slammed to the ground. Leone wasted no time being on top of her and forcefully grabbed Tarifa’s head. The Faunus blonde lowered her head on the level as Tarifa’s and made her look directly into Leone’s eye. “Look at me. Look at me! Take a good look because it’ll be the last thing you’ll ever see of your sad, pathetic, miserable excuse you call a life!” At this point, Tarifa was hyperventilating. She was petrified and could do nothing about it. All she could do was stare into those murderous eyes. This was it for her. This was how she was going to die. Afraid and at the hands of the Faunus Traitor. Leone stared at Tarifa for a few seconds longer before delivering the final blow. “BOO!” At that moment, Tarifa fainted from shock.

Once she was out, Leone stood up again. All Blake could do was stare in horror at her daughter. This was the first time she'd ever seen Leone act this way. It was as if she appeared to be…a killer. Granted she did use to be an assassin but what she had witnessed was something else entirely. It was almost…animalistic.

Once Leone turned to face her supposed father, Blake gasped in shock at what she was seeing. Leone’s eyes returned to normal. The murderous anger that was in her eyes was gone and replacing it was worry. “You okay?” She quickly went behind Blake and activated the blades to appear in her gauntlet. She cut through the webbing and freed the other Faunus girl. Before Leone could get a word in, Blake turned around and hugged Leone close her. Leone wrapped her left arm around the other Faunus girl and her right hand was placed on Blake’s head. “You fucking idiot. I knew something was up with you. You’re damn lucky that I followed or else you would’ve had a one-way trip.”

Blake separated from the hug. It was clear she was deathly worried about her family. “Leone…my parents. They’re-”

“Yeah, I know.” She turned head and looked down to see Blake’s discarded weapon. She picked it up and she and Blake stood up together. “Hell of a thing Ilia did. Especially the way she confessed to you. I didn’t see that coming.” Blake wiped the remaining tears away from her eyes. She was in agreement with Leone.

Blake had no idea Ilia harbored feelings for her but now wasn’t the time to think about that. “Leone, about what you did to them…”

The Faunus blonde chuckled a little about that. “Don’t worry about it. Bat guy has a concussion at most, the second guy has a broken arm and couple of ribs, and the web chick fainted. None of them were killed. I’d like to but as long as I’m on this island, I have to follow your dad’s rule. Besides, I’m sure the authorities will do something about them.” Her happy demeanor was replaced with a serious one now. “Blake, do you remember what I said? If Ilia ever tries to do something to you, I’ll break her neck. I know you think of her as your friend, but she’s crossed a line. I will kill her the first chance I get!”

Blake won’t deny that. Ilia has certainly crossed a line by having her parents killed. However, she had a slight disagreement. “No.” The other Faunus girl regained a determined look in her eye. “Ilia is my problem! She’s my responsibility. Let me handle her instead.”

Leone wanted to argue but she saw the look in Blake’s eye. She had already made up her mind. The Faunus blonde sighed in defeat and pointed her finger at Blake. “Fine then but I’m not making any promises. I still aim to kill her.” That was good enough for Blake. Leone started to walk and ended up in the middle of the street. “Call the police and let them know what’s happening. I’ll go on ahead and drop by for a surprise visit.” Leone lifted her right leg and moved it around a little. Blake didn’t waste any time pulling out her scroll. “Catch up when you can.” Leone set her foot down and leaned forward. “I’ll show them what happens when they mess with a lion’s pride!” She immediately launched herself straight to the Belladonna estate.

Blake was in awe of the amount of force Leone gave in her take off. It even left a small hole from where the Faunus blonde once stood with visible surrounding it. But this was no time to be impressed. She started to run after Leone and started to call the police on her scroll. Even if Leone was going to reach her home in a short amount of time, she still worried about her parents. _“Mom, dad. Please be okay.”_

**B**

Multiple gunshots rang through one of the rooms Kali was in. Alongside those gunshots were also the sounds Syka and Kali fighting their intruders. “Fuck off, damnit!” Syka managed to avoid some of the gunshots and did a rising knee kick underneath one of the member’s chin. She heard another gun being pointed at her. The scorpion Faunus leaped to the left side and then jumped off the wall next. She sent out her tail first and the stinger struck him in the left pectoral. Naturally, he screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Syka landed and retracted her tail. She turned to face him. Albeit a little annoyed. “Oh, shut up you big baby. You’re lucky my venom only causes paralysis.”  

Kali performed a sweeping kick at one of the members. As the member fell to the floor, Kali kept her momentum as she spun around and raised her right leg. She then kicked down on the member’s solar plexus. He coughed out loudly and was out for a while. Now that one of the members was out, Kali could focus on the next closest one. Another gunshot was fired, and Kali felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder. She placed her right hand on her shoulder and removed it to see blood. Seeing such a sight proved one thing to Kali. The older Faunus groaned as she dropped to her knees while clutching her wound.

Syka heard more gunfire and turned to see the older Faunus woman on her legs. The White Fang member who shot Kali before was aiming at her head this time.  “Kali!” She rushed over to Kali’s aid quickly. The Scorpion Faunus thrust her tail first at the member first as it had a longer reach. Her stinger managed to strike the member in his right pectoral and fired random shots upward. Once he was done, Syka retracted her stinger and kneeled next to Kali. She was clearly worried about the older Faunus. "Kali, is it serious?"

Kali winced at the pain when she applied pressure to her wound. “Not really but it serves as a reminder why I’m not found fighting against gunfire.” Her hear twitched and looked at the entranceway. “More are coming.”

Syka looked at the entranceway as well before turning to the table. She went to it and flipped it on its side. The scorpion Faunus gave Kali a hand standing up and went behind the table. Just in time as well as three more White Fang members appeared and began shooting at the table. Syka wasn’t happy in the situation they were in. “Well, this is just freaking great!” She turned to one o of the downed members and saw his gun nearby. Syka used her tail to grab the gun through the trigger and brought it to her. She handed the gun over to Kali and the older Faunus woman caught it. “Think you can shoot?”

Kali took the gun and examined it with a confused expression. “I’ve…never fired a gun before.”

The gunshots continued to barrage the only protection they had. “No better time to learn! I just need to give me cover fire. Even a few random missed shots will work. Just aim and pull the trigger. Can you do that?”

The older Faunus didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. “I-I’ll try.”

It was good enough for Syka. “Alright, on my count. One…two…THREE!” Syka jumped out from behind the table with her spikes ready, screaming and Kali rose up from behind and began firing.

In another part of the house, Ghira, a few of his guards, and Sienna were handling another group of invading White Fang members. Sienna managed to block a kick from one of the members and pushed it away to deliver a counter force palm to his chest. As he was sent away, Siena heard someone was attacking her from behind and turned around. She another wielding duel daggers getting the jump on her. The tiger Faunus did a backflip to avoid the attack her assailant didn’t give up. The member swung his daggers at the former high leader a few times, but Sienna continued to avoid them. When the member swung his dagger outward with his left arm, Sienna took the chance to catch it. She managed to disarm the member and grab him by the uniform to throw him overhead straight to the ground. Sienna didn’t waste time punching him straight in the face that knocked him out. As soon as that member was out, another one appeared, and Sienna’s fight started all over again. “There’s no end to them!”

Ghira punched a member straight in the chest and grabbed his head only to slam it on the ground. He stood and looked at several of the guards who recently defeated their opponents. “Go find my wife!” Another member charged at him but Ghira just throat chopped him and tossed him aside. One of the guards saw something and jumped in front of Ghira to take a shot for the Chieftain. Ghira held him briefly and felt remorseful before dropping his body. He turned to the one responsible which were Corsac and Fennec holding their weapons.

Sienna jumped kicked another member to head before landing and saw them as well. “Corsac. Fennec.”

The two higher-ups pleasantly surprised seeing Sienna here of all places. Fennec smirked at their luck. “Well, how unexpected. We knew you’d escape Sienna, but to have taken up residency within the Belladonnas?”

Corsac shared the same thoughts and saw a golden opportunity. “It seems we’ll be able to fully accomplish the operation after all. Along with killing Ghira Belladonna.”

Ghira snarled at them while Sienna couldn’t believe how this was happening. Sienna almost couldn’t believe it. “Is this how low the White Fang has become? Attacking your own kind?”

Fennec didn’t seem to have a problem with what they’re doing. “It is the wish of High Leader Taurus. Those who are a threat to him must be dealt with accordingly.”

 “No matter who they are.” Corsac finished. "Now, I believe it's time for our dear Chieftain to step down. And for you, Sienna, to finally fulfill your last role.”

The former high leader gritted her teeth as she displayed an expression of remorse. _“And to think Ghira created the White Fang as a peaceful activist group first. Now look at what it’s become and it’s my fault it’s become this way. My fault and now Adam’s.”_ Sienna and Ghira snarled at the brothers. Ghira flexed his hands and his fingernails extended into claws. He took off coat leaving him bare-chested and roared at them. Sienna took up a stance and prepared herself for the inevitable fight ahead. The brothers were also ready on their end and complete their mission. Before anyone could make the first move, an unbelievable amount of pressure came on top of all them. It just wasn’t them either. Everyone in the room felt the pressure and stopped what they were doing. It was almost hard to breathe with the pressure Sienna and the others were sensing. _“W-What is this? It feels like…something powerful is coming toward us.”_

Part of the ceiling was suddenly destroyed, and something crashed in between the two opposing forces. Or rather someone. Both sides stared in fear and awe at the one Faunus who arrived in this desperate hour. They heard a low growl like that of a lion’s. The figure before them stood up and was astounded by who they saw. Leone finally arrived, and her eyes have returned to being slit once again. The dreadful feeling everyone had felt multiple a great deal and were speechless at what they were seeing. Leone slowly stood up and bared her fangs at her enemy. She inhaled deeply and let out an all-powerful and deafening roar throughout the estate like a beast unheard of in this world.

 


	68. Drastic Measures

**A/N: Well, I certainly raised the bar on this chapter, didn’t I? This is probably the most anticipated follow up I’ve done and that’s saying a lot coming a from a guy who can explode things way bigger than they should originally be. I did the best I could to match up the hype and hopefully fulfilled your expectations. Also…no, nevermind. Best for all of you to read the chapter and find out for yourselves. I will say, it’ll be epic.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Eight: Drastic Measures

Gunshots were fired in a new room Kali and Syka currently in. They managed to meet up with some of the guards who were having trouble handling with the White Fang members. They were obviously worried when they saw the wound on Kali's shoulder but didn't have much time to something about it. Despite her injury, Kali did her best to fire back but obviously was missing. That was fine, though since Syka was doing most of the fighting. Her stinger proved very useful in taking down the members as they down in a single hit. She managed to take another member with her stinger before turning around and slashing him across the chest with her right spike. The member screamed out in pain before falling to the floor on his back. Taking out the members seemed easy, but it was wearing the scorpion Faunus down. Syka lost count of how many members she took out by now and it didn’t seem to stop anytime soon.

In her moment of fatigue, Syka failed to notice another member sneaking up behind Kali. The member pointed his gun and smiled evilly at his opportunity. One of the guards managed to spot him and tried to warn the older Faunus woman. “Ma’am, watch out!”

Kali heard the warning and turned around to see the end of a barrel. Syka turned around and tried to reach out to the older Faunus. “Kali!” Kali couldn’t do anything but stare in fear at what would be her inevitable end. The member continued his evil grin and began to squeeze the trigger. Then everyone heard a terrifying roar echo throughout the room. Everyone in the room was frozen in fear upon hearing the most frightening sound any of them have ever heard. Everybody remained paralyzed for a few seconds before Kali was the first snap out of it. She used this chance to instinctively pointed her gun at the member and shot him point blank in the chest. The gunshot snapped everyone out of their brief chance and saw the member who was going to shoot Kali. He was lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood. The older Faunus was breathing faster than normal as she dropped the gun. She took a couple of steps back while looking in horror at her action. Syka managed to grab her from behind and set the older woman down on the floor. She tried to her best to reassure Kali. "Hey, hey. It's okay. You're okay. There was nothing you've couldn't do."

Her words did very little to calm Kali down. “I shot him. I shot and killed another person…”

Syka could understand why Kali would react this way. She was a kind and gentle woman and given the chance, could hold her own. However, she only fought in self-defense and her opponent would normally be still alive. This was not the case here. “It’s not your fault. You had no other choice. If he had pulled that trigger, it would’ve been you lying on the floor instead.”

The scorpion Faunus was right about that, but it didn't make Kali feel any better. She was responsible for taking a life. Even if that person did try to kill her. The older Faunus woman let out a shaky sigh. "I don't know how Leone can deal with something like this. I haven't given her enough credit for this.” Syka couldn’t agree more with that.

Several of the other guards walked around a bit and wondered what it was they heard earlier. “What was up with that roar? It didn’t sound like anything I’ve heard before.”

Syka set Kali behind one of the pillars so she could rest and regain herself. She stood up and walked to the guards. “I don’t know but let’s hope it’s on our side.” They heard more footsteps coming toward them and they readied themselves. “We’re not done yet! Protect Kali at all costs!” Several more White Fang members arrived and began firing at the other group. The guards returned fire and Syka charged head first at the enemy group.

**B**

Sienna and Ghira could not look away from Leone while she snarled angrily at Corsac and Fennec. The Chieftain had never seen his supposed granddaughter like this before and the roar he’d heard sent chills down his spine. The former high leader felt the same way. _“What kind of a roar was that? I know she’s a lion Faunus, but I’ve never heard such a roar before.”_ Her eyes accidentally wandered to Leone's new weapon and gasped in realization. _“Wait, that weapon she has. Is it…”_

The brothers managed to get over their initial shock and analyzed the situation before them. With Leone here now, it might be a stroke of bad luck, but they considered it a golden opportunity. “It appears all three targets have finally gathered.” Corsac spoke first. “Ghira Belladonna, the Chieftain of Menagerie and the first leader of the White Fang.”

Fennec continued where his brother left off. “Sienna Khan, the one who succeeded to lead the White Fang but ultimately failed.” Sienna grimaced when she heard that.

Corsac narrowed his eyes at Leone now. “And finally, the Faunus Traitor who’s responsible for murdering our brothers and sisters in cold blood and revealed herself as the monster she truly is.”

Leone bared her fangs at the brother. “Faunus Traitor, Faunus Traitor, Faunus Traitor. You have no idea how much I’m sick of tired being called that!”

Fennec’s thought it was right to brand her with such a title. “It’s the truth. How many of your own kind have you killed? Such an action will not be unanswered and unpunished. You will answer for your crimes.”

The Faunus blonde bared her fangs at the brothers. “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You lousy fucks are here doing the same thing!”

To Corsac, there was a slight difference in their actions. “Such things cannot be avoided. It is the benefit for all the Faunus. It is as High Leader Taurus commands that all who stands in the way of the White Fang. You have no justification for your actions.”

“You fuckers were attacking my friends!” Leone yelled. “Anyone who tries to harm the innocent, my friends, and my family, you’re damn right I’m going to murder their ass!”

Fennec saw the irony in Leone’s words. “Innocent you say? Does that include humans? If so, then you are blind to the truth.”

Leone could throw those words right back at them. “No, I’ve seen my fair share of assholes, but I’ve known a better share of people throughout my life.” She thought back to her days with Akame and the rest of Night Raid, the Revolutionary Army, Ruby and the others, and her team. “If you to think that every human is evil, are cold-blooded, or don’t care at all, that just proves how short-sighted you dumbasses really are. You and that jackass you call a leader.”

Her comment seemed to have gotten the brothers. “It seems the time for talk is over. Since all of you are here now, we can take you all out at once.” Corsac declared.

Leone raised an eyebrow at that. She knew she could kill these guys three times over before they made a move. “And how the hell are you going to do that?”

Corsac smirked as he raised his left hand and set it down. In the next moment, multiple gas grenades from behind were thrown into the air. The grenades bounced on the floor and landed in front of the three feline Faunus. Sienna had a bad feeling of what was to come. “What are they-”

The grenades began to spew out a light green gas and it slowly approached them. Ghira and Sienna covered their mouths and noses. “What kind of gas is that!?”

Leone sniffed a few times and gasped. She recognized the smell before and turned around to the former leaders. “Outta here now!” The Faunus blonde grabbed Sienna and Ghira by their waists in her arms and jumped through the hole in the ceiling she made. Fennec pointed at them and the other members began shooting through the roof. Luckily, Leone dropped the other two Fauna away from the hole, so they wouldn’t be shot. “That was too close. You two alright?”

Ghira turned to Leone as he stood up. “We are and thank you but what was it they threw? Poison gas?”

The Faunus blonde shook her head. “No, worse. Catnip gas. I recognized the smell immediately since Seryu used catnip to get that cheap win over me. If it was poison gas, they already would’ve used it on you two. I’m guessing they saved that just for me and since we were all in the same room and we all happen to be cat Faunus…” Sienna and Ghira could put two and two together.

“Dad!” All three Faunus heard Blake’s voice and turned to see her approaching them.

Ghira was relieved to see his daughter again. “Blake!”

His daughter stopped in front of them and quickly looked to see her mother was not among them. “Where’s mom?”

That was question Ghira wished he knew the answer. “I’m not sure. Sienna and I were ambushed right away.” That wasn’t the answer Blake hoped to hear.

Sienna may not know where Kali is currently, but she does know where a certain other Faunus might be. “The last I checked, Syka was with her. You can count on her keeping Kali safe.”

Blake nodded as she trusted the former high leader’s word. She saw the hole in the ceiling and began to walk toward it. "I wouldn't advise it." Blake stopped and turned to Leone. "Whole bottom floor is filled catnip gas. The last thing I want to happen to you is to be an easy gift to Adam stoned off your ass." 

Now Blake was glad her supposed daughter warned her. Still, they were at a disadvantage. “So, now what? They’re not going to stop the attack if we’re not there.”

She raised a good point. Leone tried to rack up her brain on what to do. Plans where never her forte but Akame, Kurome, or Taeko weren't here. So, she came up with the best plan she could make. "Okay, here's what we know so far. The White Fang wants Ghira, Sienna, and me dead. I know they have orders to off Ghira but I'm probably higher on the list. I am the ‘Faunus Traitor' after all. The bottom floor is filled with catnip gas, but I think I know how to clear it. It just depends on them if they can do it and if it works, we may take them out easy. Good thing you’re here now, Blake. And not only her. We’re going to need everyone here.”

Sienna and everyone else was game since they had no other plans to come up with. "What's your plan then?"

Back in the estate, the White Fang members continued firing until Fennec raised his hand. The gunfire stopped, and the brothers looked up at the ceiling. There were certainly many bullet holes surrounding the hole but knew it wouldn’t be enough. He and his brother turned to the other members. “Search for them now. End them on sight.” They understood and left the brothers quickly.

As they left, the brothers heard a window crash. They turned around and heard screams and more windows crash. They already knew who was doing it but Corsac couldn’t believe it. “But how? Wasn’t this the same method Seryu used to subdue her?”

There was only one way for the brothers to find out the answer. They pointed both their weapons at the gas. They pointed their weapons and glowed white. A strong funnel of wind appeared at the pointed end of their weapons and cleared the gas out through the windows. Once the gas was cleared, they saw Leone standing on the other side of the room. She smiled at the brothers before exhaling loudly. “Can’t be affected if I don’t breathe the gas in. Thanks for clearing out the room, guys. Also, now!" The brothers heard a click from behind and turned around. They pointed their weapons at a certain part of the upper balcony and Blake jumped right out of it. She managed to spin dodge their attacks and landed right behind them. They turned around again and wielded their weapons underhanded in an attempt to stab her. As they did, Blake made one of her shadow copies created out of ice and trapped them by the arms. Blake jumped away from them and landed next to Leone. “Awesome job, Blake. Now, go find Kali. I’m sure she’ll need the extra protection. You can leave Tweedle-dee and Tweddle-dumbass to me.”

Blake nodded at the other Faunus girl. “Understood.” She made a dash to the side door and left the room. The only Faunus remaining were Leone, Corsac, and Fennec. Both brothers were trying to melt the ice quickly as they could through their weapons. Leone wasn’t going to let them have the chance. She jumped into the air and was ready to deliver the killing blow. Or least close to a killing blow. “Say goodnight!” The Faunus blonde quickly descended upon them her left arm outstretched. Before Leone could reach the brothers, she caught a glimpse of something shiny from the side of her eye. In the next second, she was struck away in the side from the brothers by something sharp. Leone crashed on the floor but quickly stood back up. “The hell just-”

The Faunus blonde gasp as she noticed a giant shadow figure standing next to her. She had no time to react and felt a powerful punch delivered to the side of her face. The blow came at her stomach and the third sent her away from the figure. “Three-point combo!”

Leone slammed and bounced off the wall. She groaned in pain as she steadily stood up. _“What the hell just hit me?”_ The Faunus blonde shook her head and saw the ones responsible for attacking her. “Who the hell are you guys?”

Corsac and his brother smiled as they finally managed to break from Blake’s ice copy. They were grateful for their arrival. “How fortunate for all of you to come.”

“Hey!” The brothers looked at Leone. “You mind introducing your new friends to me?”

Fennec was more than happy to oblige her demand. He gestured at the group in front of him and his brother. “Behold, Faunus Traitor! This is a group from the White Fang specially selected to handle you. They will be the cause of your downfall.” He moved his arm to the first member. “Brother Rhamos. He is a rhinoceros Faunus.”

Rhamos slammed his fists together and a powerful pulse came out. He had a large muscular build and had a pair of rhino ears on the top of his bald head. He gave a cocky smile at his target. What he wore on his knuckles was some kind of high tech brass knuckles except they were white. “Ready and willing to take on this final boss!”

Corsac gestured at the next member. “Brother Rocker. He is an eel Faunus.”

Rocker let out a devious cackle. He had a lanky build and his uniform was more like an open vest and his hair was black, long, and spiky. His skin color was grey and had blue eyes. Attached to his arms were steel braces with coiled wires extended all the way to the floor. “Yeah! Let’s have a hell of a wild time!”

Fennec gestured to the first female of the group. “Sister Shrin. She may be a shrimp Faunus, but she does belong to a dangerous variety.”

Shrin seemed to the smallest of the group. She had long antenna coming out the top of her head and her hair was red with blue highlights at the end of the tips. She was holding to what it appeared to be some kind of gun, but Leone couldn’t recognize it. It was like a weapon was stacked on top of another weapon. “Target acquired.”

Corsac gestured at the second to last female of the group. “Sister Hennet. She is a hornet Faunus”

Hennet seemed to be a medium build with long brunette hair set up in a twin tail fashion. She had a pair of clear wings coming out of her back. Her weapon of choice seemed to be wielding duel white high-tech lances. “A pleasure to meet you. Too bad you have to die.”

Fennec turned his attention to the last male of the group. “Brother Marqua. He is a macaque monkey Faunus.”

Marqua seemed to be the oldest of the group. His skin was dark and his hair extended from his head to the side and the bottom which was his beard. His tail could be seen from behind and held to what it seemed to be some kind of long flexible sword. “Before you journey to the afterlife, you shall repent for your sins.” 

Corsac gestured at the last female member of the group. “And finally, Sister Kaitlyn. She is a kangaroo Faunus.”

Kaitlyn was the most radically different dressed member of the group. She wore a white vest with a black top showing her midriff and wore black shorts. She also had kangaroo ears perched on the top of her head and had dirty blonde shoulder length hair. It appeared her weapons of choice were a pair of white boxing gloves. Another detail about her was that she was metal braces on her elbows, knees, and heels. “Let’s see if you’re as tough as tough everyone says you are.”

The introductions were finally done now, and Fennec had full confidence in their chosen warriors. “They are the ones who will be your downfall. The group we have dubbed The Six Fangs.”

Leone wasn’t at all intimidated by her new six opponents. She even doubted their name. “The Six Fangs? Really? Well, call them whatever you want but in the next few seconds, they’ll be dead meat.”

Marqua glared at the Faunus blonde. “Your overconfidence shall be your own undoing.”

That wasn’t the first time Leone heard someone say that to you. “It’s not overconfidence when you know your enemy is already dead!”

**Insert Akame Ga Kill OST 33: Rasetsu Yonki**

“Good to know!” Rocker charged up his weapon and raised his right arm.

He lashed out his whip and Leone, but she jumped to avoid it. “Nice try!” While she was focused on the group below her, the Faunus noticed one of them was missing. Then there was an overshadow and looked in front to see Rhamos. He flashed a grin as he pulled back his right arm. "BOOM!" Rhamos punched forward straightforward right at the side of Leone’s face. The point of impact was tremendously strong and sent the Faunus blonde crashing into the ground.

Leone hated to admit it, but she definitely felt the full force of the attack. She tried to stand up while trying shake off her confusion. _“What the hell is this guy hitting me with me?”_

 Rhamos landed on the floor with a heavy thud and laughed triumphantly. He slammed his fists together and another powerful pulse occurred.  “Atlesian Magnum Knuckle Busters. These babies are strong enough to take down a Death Stalker in a few hits and they’ll do wonders for taking you down.”

That was good to know for Leone. As soon as she stood up, a whip wrapped around her around and felt powerful waves of electricity coursing through her body. The Faunus blonde screamed out in pain while Rocker was laughing his head off. "Yeah-ha ha! Scream for me, baby!" He lashed out his other electro whip at the Faunus blonde and she screamed louder.

Rocker decided she had enough and pulled his whips away. Leone was thankful for that but now her body felt numb. She dropped to her knees and knees while breathing heavily. _“Damn it. I feel like I got hit by one of Budo’s attacks.”_

Rocker cackled at his handiwork. “These high-voltage electro whips of mine are so strong, a Beringel wouldn’t last seconds! I wonder how long you can last before your body is deep fried!”

“My turn.” Shrin took a few steps forward and pointed her weapon at Leone. The top part of her gun began to charge, and it did in under a second. She fired her weapon and a blast of energy was shot out. Leone had no time to react as the shot struck her dead center and blasted her out of the room. Out of the debris, Leone crashed on the ground and rolled into the training ground she spent time on with Kali. Shrin pulled back the chamber and let some steam out from her weapon. “This was originally a tool to dig out Dust from the mines but now is repurposed as a powerful gun. The lower tool is much simpler.” She pointed at Leone again with her lower part of the gun which had three rotating canisters. “It’s a rocket launcher.” She fired a rocket and it traveled all the way as it whistled. Leone looked up to see where the whistling was coming from only to see the rocket heading her way. Once the rocket reached its target, an explosion occurred.

Marqua was pleased by what he saw. “Excellent job, Shrin.” He turned to the brothers. “You can leave the Faunus Traitor to us.”

Fennec and his brother were pleased to hear that. “Of course, Brother Marqua. May you be victorious.”

Marqua huffed at his choice of words. “You mean when we’re victorious.” He turned around away from them. “Hennet, Kaitlyn, with me. The rest of you follow.” He calmly made his way to where Leone currently was. Marqua knew it would take more to finally take down the bane of the White Fang. And of High Leader Adam.

Corsac and his brother had all the confidence their new group would handle their problem. There was only one more thing they can do. Corsac turned to Fennec. “Well, brother? Shall we locate Kali Belladonna then?”

Fennec nodded in agreement. “Of course, and while we’re at it, capture the deserter.” Corsac nodded back at him. They turned to the door where Blake had gone and started to walk toward it. They stopped when they heard the door behind them open. The brothers turned around to see who it was.

Over to Leone, a large scorch mark was left underneath her from when the blast struck her. She groaned out of pain and in frustration with what happened to her. “Jeez, they’re really not screwing around.” She heard a strange fizzing sound and Leone looked at her arm. The Faunus saw that her arm glowed a for a second before disappearing. Leone had seen this before and knew what it meant. “So, this is what it’s like to see your aura run out on you. Heh, that’s just great. Then again, I got blasted by some pretty heavy attacks, so I guess that’s expected.” She stood and looked at the direction she was blasted from. What Leone saw was all the members of the Six Fangs standing before her. The Faunus blonde couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Come on, is that all you lousy fucks got?! You’re going have to do a lot better to take me down!”

Marqua was happy to deliver that promise. “If you wish for death, then you shall have it. Hennet!”

Hennet charged in at Leone first with her right lance drawn inward towards her body. This time, Leone stood her ground and pulled her right arm back while making a fist. At least time she’ll be able to squash a bug instantly. When the hornet Faunus was in range, Hennet swung her lance at her target. Leone threw her punch at the same time and their attacks collided. However, a bright purple light emitted from the lances and Leone was blown away to the other side the training ground. She didn't expect something like that could happen and stood up. The surprising thing about what happened was that if felt like Leone attacked herself. The Faunus blonde turned to other Faunus girl.  “The hell did you do?”

All Hennet did was stare back at her target. She then displayed one of her lances in front of her. “Kinetic Ejector Lances. What they do as soon as they’re hit by an opposing force, it redirects that force to whence it came. No matter how powerful that force may be. When you struck my lance, you were attacking yourself.”

Leone growled as she knew what that meant. _“In other words, those freaking lances use my own strength against me. It’s like Kali’s fighting style but my attacks are bounced back at me rather than being redirected. Still…”_  She leaned forward and dashed right at Hennet. The hornet Faunus put up on of her lances to defend herself but as soon as Leone got in close, she disappeared. Leone prepared her next attack and delivered her punch but Hennet disappeared and her attack missed. “What the hell?!” She heard a buzzing sound and looked up to see Hennet flying just above her.

How high her enemy was flying didn’t matter to Leone since she could easily jump to her height. As she crouched to reach Hennet, The Faunus blonde felt something jolting and burning whip across her back. Leone went back on her knees and glanced back see Rocker still having that grin and his whips active. Beside him was Shrin who aimed her gun at the Faunus blonde. Leone gasped and tried to run in order to avoid the next shot. Unfortunately for her, Shrin’s gun was already charged and fired another powerful energy pulse shot. As Leone took off, the pulse shot blasted Leone just when she was about to run. The blast blew Leone away and rolled across the ground. The Fauns blonde managed to stop and managed to stand back up but then she was met with a punch in the face with something strong and made of some kind of metal. Then Leone felt another heavy blow delivered to her liver and felt the same amount of force applied. The next attack was a strong right elbow blow to the left side of Leone’s head. Finally, the Faunus blonde experienced a solid right heel kick to her left side. Leone was sent away and landed on the ground hard. She panted heavily as Leone propped herself up with her left arm while bleeding from the corner of her mouth. The Faunus blonde finally saw who it was that pummeled her. It was Kaitlyn who had a cocky smile. “So, you can bleed. If you can bleed, then you can be killed. How did it feel?" She put both her arms up and raised her right leg to display her braces and gloves. "These were made from one of those huge robots Atlas had and you can bet they hurt like a bitch. What's even better is that the braces I'm wearing make my fighting style more efficient.”

Leone didn't care about that. All she wanted to do was maul the kangaroo into the ground. As soon as she started to stand, the Faunus blonde felt a sharp slash run diagonally across her thigh. Leone dropped back down while being propped up using both of her arms and began to feel multiple slashes all over her body. Lacerations appeared in the areas where Leone was being attacked. One of the attacks even cut through her left boot and felt her tendon being severed. Leone howled in pain but as soon as she did, she felt another slash. Right through her left eye. The Faunus blonde shrieked in pain as she held her injured eye while still supporting herself with her right arm. The attacks stopped, and Leone turned to the one responsible for cutting her like a piece of meat, breathing heavily and was giving him a death glare.

**End OST**

Marqua flicked his weapon and it moved around just a little. “My Urumi is capable of moving around freely and can slash any part of your body. My Urumi is also made of a special steel capable of cutting through any material. The proof of it is when it cut through your boot to sever your tendon.” Leone growled at him defiantly. Marqua paid no attention to it, though. “So, this is how the infamous Faunus Traitor is reduced to. You cannot stand, lost sight in your right eye, suffered serious injuries all over your body. You’re more of a helpless kitten rather than a ferocious lion. You may have been powerful, but you still succumb to the weaknesses of everyone else in this world. A fatal blow to one of your vitals and you are no more. This is what happens to those who oppose the White Fang and High Leader Taurus. Any last words before we send you on your journey to the afterlife?” Leone gritted her teeth before her expression relaxed. She removed her hand from her eye and lowered her head until her bangs covered her eyes. Marqua took that as a no. He turned to Rhamos. “Brother Rhamos. Be the first to deliver a fatal blow. The rest of us will follow. It’s best to make thoroughly sure she will not survive.”

Rhamos breathed heavily through his nostrils. “With pleasure.” He walked over to where Leone was. Once he stood in front of her, Rhamos grabbed the Faunus blonde by the top her head with his left hand and lifted her to his level. The rhino Faunus pulled back his right arm and closed his fist. He laughed triumphally of their victory over the Faunus Traitor. “Nighty-night.” He yelled as he punched forward straight at Leone.

**…**

**…**

**…**

“What’s your plan then?”

Leone sighed as she was nervous. This was the first time she’d had done something like this, but she had to. “Okay, this is how it’ll go. We split up into two teams. Blake is with me and you two will go the long way around and get the jump on Corsac and Fennec. I’ll go down there first holding my breath and throw out any White Fang members out of the window. With any luck, Corsac and Fennec will clear out the room out. That’s when Blake will show and trap them simultaneously. You got something for that?”

Blake nodded at the other girl’s question. “Yeah, I can turn one my shadow copies into ice if I load Gambol Shroud.”

Leone was glad to hear that. “Great. As soon as you trap them, go find your mom and I’ll handle those two. Or rather, I’ll handle their bodyguards.”

Sienna raised an eyebrow when she heard Leone say that word. “Bodyguards?”

For the Faunus blonde, it was obvious. “If they’re attacking this place well knowing that I’m here, you can bet they would pack something heavy just for me. Hopefully, as soon as I draw them away, Corsac and Fennec will be on their own. You got to get to them as quickly as possible before they get away."

Ghira nodded as he understood the plan perfectly. “Fine then.” Everyone knew their parts and Blake and Leone approached the hole. The Chieftain had one more thing to say to his supposed granddaughter. “Be careful.”

Leone stopped in front of the hole and turned to Ghira. She flashed them a confident smile. “Hey, it’s me. How much damage could they do?” Those were the last words she said before taking in a deep breath and jumped back in the hole. Blake followed closely behind.

With them gone to do their part, Ghira and Sienna had to do there. Once Corsac and Fennec were detained, this whole situation would be over. The Chieftain turned to Sienna. “Let’s go.”

The former high leader nodded, and they ran toward the side of the estate. If what Leone said was true, these bodyguards she mentioned would be close by. If they were specially selected to handle someone like Leone, they would have more than their hands full. Both former leaders jumped off the roof and landed on the ground. As they did, they heard the sound of windows being broken. That meant Leone had already started her part of the plan. They had to work fast. Sienna and Ghira made a dash to the front of the estate where the brothers were. "There they are!" 

They were halted by the sight of a group of White Fang members armed with spears and guns. It seemed it’ll take some time for the former leaders to reach the brothers. The first wave of members charged at the former leaders and they, in turn, charged back at the group. Sienna and Ghira decided to take one side each of the group and defeat them accordingly. When the two sides converged, Ghira wasted no time in swiping one of the members with his right claw away from him. Another member tried to attack him overheard with a sword, but the Chieftain grabbed him by the arm and threw the member overhead. He slammed the member on the ground hard and quickly turned around see another member rushing at him. It wasn’t a smart decision for him since Ghira punched him straight in the gut. The member coughed before Ghira grabbed him by the head and threw him at the other members wielding their guns. Why they weren’t shooting at them, he could only guess they didn’t want to risk shooting their allies. The members from afar saw one of their own heading their way and scattered. Except for one since he couldn’t move in time and the flying member slammed into him.

Sienna managed to dodge to the side from her attacker’s sword and did a straight kick upward to disarm him. She then turned around and kicked him at the side of his head. As soon as she defeated them, another member, a female came at her with a spear ready. The female member swung her spear at the former high leader but Sienna managed to keep her distance away from her. The female member spun around while extending her weapon for a longer reach but that only created an opportunity for the tiger Faunus. She easily caught the handle and pulled in the member, only to kick her in the stomach and sent her away. The attack caused the female member to let go of her weapon while Sienna still held it. Now that she did have it, Sienna took a closer look at the weapon. The spear was most unusual to her. It was a double-edged spear with the blades overlapping each other once in a helix pattern, burgundy colored with golden colored markings that seemed to be tribal. There were also a few areas that were all the round black and that same black going along the outer edges of the blades. Sienna didn’t know why but she took an immediate liking to it. “Not a bad weapon at all.”

“Hey, give it back! That’s mine!”

Sienna looked over at the female member who stood up and didn’t seem too happy the former high leader took her weapon. The other Faunus woman didn’t care much as she spun her newly acquired weapon around and pointed it at her opponent. “You don’t deserve to wield such a weapon as this.” The female member growled at her and just charged at her without a plan. Sienna thought to meet her halfway through and dashed toward the member. The female member temporarily stopped which gave the former high leader the perfect chance. She swung her weapon and struck the member’s left leg first. This left her enemy momentarily stunned and used the chance to spin around and strike her right arm next. Sienna spun her body the opposite direction halfway to swing her weapon diagonally across the female member’s body. Her opponent let out a weak gasp of pain before falling back to the ground.

When she fell, another member rushed at Sienna with his sword ready to cut her down. The tiger Faunus held her spear horizontally to block the attack and pushed him back. She spun her weapon around her back and grabbed the other end of it. As she did, Sienna heard a click and unintentionally pulled the two blades away from the handle with chains connecting to it toward her. That’s when it hit her. Her weapon wasn’t a double-edged spear, but something called a sansetsukon. A three-part pole weapon. The member ran back to her and swung his sword overhead. Sienna reacted by thrusting the right blade at the sword and managed to deflect it down. At that moment, Sienna moved her left blade upward diagonally at his chest. Her enemy screamed in pain before doing a full-frontal kick to his chest. Sienna snapped the blades back to the handle and held it in her right hand.

Sienna and Ghira finally dealt with the first wave but the second wave began shooting at them. Since their allies were laying on the ground and unconscious, they could freely shoot their targets now. Thankfully, they had the accuracy of a typical movie soldier, so they could avoid the firing easily. They didn’t waste any time charging at the second group. When they finally approached them, all the members did was freak out while Ghira and Sienna made quick work with them. Ghira socked one of the down members to the head while he down just to make sure he’d stay down. The same with Sienna but with one of her boots. Now that they were done, Ghira turned to Sienna and saw her weapon she was holding. “I like your new weapon.”

Sienna looked back at him and smiled. “Thank you.” Their conversation was cut short when they heard an explosion coming from the estate. They turned to it and were reminded of what they were supposed to do. The former leaders ran to the front of the estate quickly as they could.

They finally arrived at the front doors and as they did, Ghira heard Corsac and Fennec talking to each other through the door. “Well, brother? Shall we locate Kali Belladonna then?”

“Of course, and while we’re at it, capture the deserter.”

Ghira growled angrily that they were going to kill his wife and capture his daughter. He was about to bust through the door when Sienna placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her and Sienna lightly pressed her right index finger on her lips. It obvious she wanted to get the jump on them. She grabbed the door handle and slowly opened the door. When the door was slightly open, then Sienna and Ghira rushed inside and quickly charged at the brothers. Ghira’s sights were on Fennec while Sienna took on Corsac. Fennec didn’t have time to put up a defense as Ghira slammed him by the neck with his arm. He roared as kept the momentum going and slammed Fennec to the floor.

Corsac had briefly more time and put his weapon up defend against Sienna’s attack. Neither of them backed off until Corsac’s weapon turned blue. The former high leader yelled as she felt a powerful shock go through her body. That gave Corsac enough time to kick Sienna in the stomach away from him. After that, he pointed his weapon at the tiger Faunus and fired another small blast of electricity. Sienna recovered quickly and sidestepped to avoid the attack. She then charged at Corsac directly with her weapon pointed at him. Sienna used her weapon’s reach to her advantage and managed to stab Corsac in his right shoulder. Or at least through the right shoulder of the cloth extending from his hood. She kept going and pushing Corsac back until the blade hit the wall.

Fennec briefly looked over to Corsac and gasped. “Brother!” He turned to Ghira who was approaching him and pointed his weapon at the Chieftain. His weapon glowed red and shot a small fireball at him. The fireball struck Ghira in the chest and blasted him away. Fennec managed to stand up and pointed his weapon again as it turned white. Now a funnel of wind came out of the tip and was headed straight toward Ghira. Ghira managed to recover from the previous blast but saw the next attack coming. He crossed his arms before the next attack struck him and pushed the Chieftain back.

Sienna briefly glanced over to other former leader and saw what was happening to him. “Ghira!” Corsac used this distraction to his advantage and struck Sienna with the other end of his weapon. The surprise attack made Sienna lose her grip on her weapon and then stabbed her in the left shoulder. He discharged a large amount of electricity into Sienna and she cried out in pain. Corsac then kicked Sienna in the stomach again away from him.

Ghira managed to see what happened to his former successor. “Sienna!” He tried to run over to Sienna's side, but a strong gust of wind struck him and knocked the Chieftain back. Ghira turned to Fennec and growled angrily at him.

Corsac struggled a little before tearing away from his hood and pointed his weapon at the former high leader. He discharged more electricity toward Sienna and the attack shocked her to her very core. Ghira tried to rush over to her aid but Fennec went in-between him and Sienna. He pointed his own weapon at him and shot another fireball at Ghira, but he dodged it to the side. That didn’t stop Fennec for continually shooting fireballs at the Chieftain. While his brother kept Ghira busy, Corsac increased the voltage of his attack. Hearing Sienna writhing on the floor screaming in pain was almost like music to him. “You should know by now, Sienna, you’ve failed the White Fang. You are not what we need. Only High Leader Taurus can lead us and our kind to their rightful place. Towering above the humans and make them learn their place. For that to happen, all who oppose us will be dealt with. You and everyone in this estate will serve as a message for all to see what happens when you challenge us!” Sienna’s only response shrieking loudly in pain.

**…**

**…**

**…**

“Brother Rhamos. Be the first to deliver a fatal blow. The rest of us will follow. It’s best to make thoroughly sure she will not survive.”

“With pleasure.” Rhamos walked over to where Leone was and stood in front of Leone. He grabbed her by the top her head with his left hand and lifted her to his level. The rhino Faunus pulled back his right arm and closed his fist. He laughed triumphally of their victory over the Faunus Traitor. “Nighty-night.” He yelled as he punched forward straight at Leone.

There was a loud boom, and everyone took that as a sign Rhamos’ attack struck Leone. Kaitlyn chuckled as she put her hands behind her back nonchalantly. “Great job there, Rhamos. It’s my turn next. I call dibs on bashing her face in.” She took a few steps forward until the kangaroo Faunus noticed something off. Rhamos wasn’t moving. Kaitlyn stopped and became curious. “Hey, Rhamos! Didn’t you hear? It’s my turn!” She didn’t hear a reply from her teammate and she and everyone became suspicious. They finally heard something from him, but it wasn’t what they expected. Rhamos was groaning for some reason and Kaitlyn lowered her arms. She somehow had a very bad feeling. “Rhamos?” Rhamos’ reply was his body swaying before falling backward.

**Insert RWBY Vol Five Opening**

 “No…way. That’s…not possi…ble.” Rhamos crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. The remaining members of the Six Fangs were dismayed at the sight of their teammate.  Before him was Leone on her knees and her bangs still covered her eyes.

Marqua didn’t know what was happening. “You couldn’t have defeated Rhamos in one blow. You should've been injured enough not to move!" Just when thought what he saw unbelievable before, what she did next was impossible. Leone beginning to stand up and managed to do so. Marqua didn't know what to think of now. “No, it can’t be. You shouldn’t be able to stand! I severed your tendon!”

Leone sighed calmly. “I think all of you had enough fun for tonight.” She raised her head slowly and revealed the eye Marqua had cut before returned. It just wasn’t the eye and tendon that healed. The Six Fang members saw all the injuries they inflicted on her healing quickly to the point where they didn’t happen in the first place. Leone glared at the remaining members with her slit eyes and all of them felt a great and dreadful pressure crashing upon them.

Marqua trembled at the sight of what he was seeing. Then he remembered what he learned about the Faunus blonde. _“We were told she had self-healing capabilities but to actually have the tendon and her eye already repaired.”_ It was then he realized something about Leone’s ability to heal. “ _No, what she has isn’t self-healing. She has-”_

“What the hell is this!?” Marqua turned his focus to Kaitlyn who shared his reaction. “You couldn’t heal yourself that fast! Not with everything we did you! No matter, we’ll just have to do it again and this time, harder!” She charged at the other Faunus girl recklessly.

Marqua knew what his teammate was doing was absolutely foolish. “You idiot! Don’t-”

His word didn’t reach Kaitlyn in time as she threw a right jab at Leone once she was in range. The Faunus blonde didn’t hesitate as she sidestepped to the left and grabbed Kaitlyn’s wrist with her left hand. She then pulled the other girl along and used the momentum to her advantage. Leone let go of her enemy's wrist and spun around to deliver a powerful kick to Kaitlyn's right leg. The amount of force applied to the kick was strong enough for Kaitlyn to hear something snap. She screamed loudly as she fell to the ground forward. Kaitlyn continued to wail as she felt an incredible amount of pain. “AHH, YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU BROKE MY LEG!”

Leone only stared indifferently at her enemy. “To be technical, I fractured your femur. Oh, and to make things even…” She hovered her boot over the kangaroo Faunus’ arm and stomped on it. Kaitlyn screamed louder since Leone broke her arm. “Now, shut up.” The Faunus blonde then kicked the side of Kaitlyn’s head and she screamed no longer.

With another of the Six Fangs out of commission, Leone turned her attention to her next prey. Hennet was frightened but she still had a mission to do. She raised her legs up and flew down where Leone was. The hornet Faunus thrust her lance forward at her enemy. She knew her lances could redirect Leone’s strength back at her and therein lies her advantage over her. Leone didn’t move and Hennet’s attack went through her. Or rather, Leone caught the lance in-between her left arm and her side. Hennet gasped as she couldn’t believe what happened. She had to quickly get over it and raised her other lance to thrust it through her enemy. However, Leone caught the tip easily. Now Hennet was worried and confused as to why her weapons weren’t working on her enemy now. “You said these lances counter my strength and use it against me when I attack, right? The funny thing is that my strength isn't solely used for attacking!" She lifted both lances up along with Hennet and slammed the other girl to the ground. The force of the impact made Hennet let go of her lances and groaned groggily. Leone tossed the lances aside and took a few steps toward Hennet before she stood above her.

Hennet was able to snap out of it, only to look up to see her enemy towering over her. She was frozen in fear when she looked into Leone’s beastly eyes. Just as Leone was going to curb-stomp her enemy, she noticed something coming at her at struck her in the face. Marqua whipped his sword at his enemy in order to save his ally. “Hennet, get away from her now!” Hennet didn’t need to be told twice and scrambled away from Leone. As soon as she did, Marque turned his attention to Leone and gasped at what he saw. He saw that Leone caught his blade with her teeth. Marqua didn’t know what to say and couldn’t since Leone grunted as she pulled her head away along with the sword. Marqua was pulled in with his sword and was headed toward Leone. The Faunus blonde spat the blade out and reached out with her right hand to grab Marqua’s face. Leone yelled as she slammed the monkey Faunus to the ground with a crash. He grunted while the pain was coursing rapidly through his body. "You are every bit of a monster they say you are."

Leone just stared at him with apathetic eyes. “A monster? No, you got that wrong pal. I’m not a monster. I’m what you call a Danger Beast.” Those were the last words Marqua heard from her before Leone punched him in the solar plexus and knocked him out.

Half of the Six Fangs were taken down, and only three remained. “I'm going to fry you, bitch!" And there was the fourth one. Leone saw Rocker charge up his weapon and threw one of his electro-whips at the Faunus blonde. She stood in place and put up her right arm up. The whip wrapped around her arm tightly and Leone felt the shock going through her body. It was powerful enough to bring her to a knee, but Leone still endured the pain. Rocker turned to Shrin. “Fucking blast her already!”

Shrin was unsure to use another of her rockets when one of their teammates were near but there wasn’t much choice. She pointed her weapon at Leone and fired another rocket at her. Leone lifted her head to see the rocket closing in fast toward her. Going through the pain, the Faunus blonde quickly stood up and kicked the rocket upward into the sky. Once it was high enough, the rocket exploded. Rocker and Shrin were briefly distracted by the explosion and Leone used the opportunity. She launched herself at the other two Six Fang members and appeared right in front of Shrin. Shrin barely noticed the other Faunus girl standing before her when Leone grabbed the top of her head with her right hand. The electricity that was running through Leone was also transferred to Shrin and she let out an ear-piercing shriek. Leone held onto the other girl for a few seconds before releasing her. Shrine gave a raspy groan before dropping her weapon and collapsed to the ground. Rocker noticed and snarled at Leone as he raised his other whip. He didn’t get a chance to attack since Leone rushed at him and pulled back her right arm. She punched Rocker in the stomach then pulled away. The Faunus blonde then turned her body around to deliver a powerful right kick at Rocker’s left side. The force of the impact sent Rocker away from Leone, along with the coiled whip wrapped around the Faunus blonde’s arm.

 As soon as the whip was released, Leone shuddered a little from her little electrotherapy session. She scanned area and saw five of the Six Fangs were dealt with. All that remained was the hornet girl who was nowhere to be seen. Leone could only guess one way she could’ve gone. She turned to the hole she was blasted out of and walked back in it. “One more to go and then it’s their turn next.”

  **…**

**…**

**…**

“You should know by now, Sienna, you’ve failed the White Fang. You are not what we need. Only High Leader Taurus can lead us and our kind to their rightful place. Towering above the humans and make them learn their place. For that to happen, all who oppose us will be dealt with. You and everyone in this estate will serve as a message for all to see what happens when you challenge us!”

Sienna could only scream in pain as the electricity was running through her body. She didn't know how much more her body could take it, but the pain wasn't the only thing going through her mind. _“Ghira…”_ During all the pain and shock, her mind began to wander back to when the White Fang was first created. She remembered how proudly Ghira waved their new flag symbolizing the group with Kali. She remembered how proud she was back then and how hard they worked to prove Faunus deserved to be equals to humans. Then Ghira stepped down and made Sienna his successor. It was at that point, Sienna began dragging the name Ghira had worked so hard through the mud. She still respected Ghira’s wish but she thought it would easier and faster to make humans fear the Faunus. To make them respect their kind.

It did yield results but then Sienna remembered what Leone said to her about that plan. _“It's ironic, actually. An organization that's trying to help Faunus is hurting them instead."_ And she was right. What Sienna thought she was doing for the greater good for Faunus everywhere was in turn, making it worse for her race. And Adam would further derogate the White Fang with his ideals. Sienna couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let what was once Ghira’s dream be turned into a nightmare. And Sienna would be damned if she allowed Adam to do whatever he deemed was necessary for their race.

Corsac ceased his attack and marveled at the damage he’d done to the former high leader. He then turned to his brother who was busy dealing with Ghira. Fennec may be keeping the Chieftain at bay, but he could only hold him off for so long. He pointed his weapon at Ghira and made sure it’ll hit. “I still…believe in the dream.” Corsac lowered his weapon and his focus turned to Sienna. He saw Sienna slowly standing up and panting heavily. She gave Corsac a fierce and determined glare at him. “I still believe in Ghira’s dream. For humans to see Faunus as their equals. But not through fear and not through terror. I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I will not let that hold me back. I will stop you and we will stop Adam!”

Corsac only had one response to Sienna’s speech. “Do not make such meaningless promises.” He pointed his weapon Sienna and discharged more lightning at the tigress. Electricity returned running through her body and dropped to his hands and knees. “You outlived your purpose long enough, Sienna. It’s time for you to rest…forever.”

Sienna groaned continually in pain. She didn’t know how much longer she could endure but Sienna had to fight back. Sienna had to fight back the pain, the guilt, of every mistake she had made. But most importantly, she had to fight for the future of Faunus everywhere. Emotions within her began to rise and rumble within as every memory she had being with the White Fang ran through her mind. She gritted her teeth and began to stand up again, much to Corsac’s surprise. _“No, how is she…”_

“It’s not a promise I’m making…”  Images flashed rapidly through Sienna's mind. They became faster and faster with each passing second. At this point, Sienna couldn't feel the electricity anymore. No, instead she was feeling something else. Something deep within her and bubbling, waiting to burst out spontaneously. No one didn't notice but the electricity surrounding Sienna began to act strangely. Now the images were whirling past Sienna’s mind at a breakneck pace. Her breathing became quick and heavy, her heartbeat increased, the images in her mind became a blur at this point. All of this combined into something powerful waiting to be unleashed. “This is…” The final trigger point was Sienna seeing a still image of her standing next to Ghira holding the original White Fang flag alongside Kali and many other Faunus. Everything within her stopped for one still second. “MY SOLEMN OATH!” The electricity surrounding and running through Sienna’s body was blasted outside of her.

Corsac, Fennec, and even Ghira were caught in the electrical blast. The brothers were blown back while Ghira was pushed back. The Chieftain felt a slight tingling sensation going through him and got a good look at Sienna. He saw lightning being emitted and sparking out of the tigress. Ghira had never seen such a sight before nor did he know Sienna could do such a thing. He could only come up with one possible explanation for Sienna's awakening. _“Is this…Sienna’s semblance?”_

The brothers shook off their shock and saw the newly awakened Sienna. They automatically knew she was currently the bigger threat now. “Brother!” Fennec and Corsac didn’t waste time approaching each other and pointed both their weapons at the former high leader. Corsac’s weapon glowed red while Fennec’s was white. They shot out both wind and fire together and spiraled around each other. As the combination attack approached her, Sienna extended her right forward and lightning sparked from her palm. She yelled as a large and powerful lightning blast shot out of her palm. Her attack easily overwhelmed the brothers’ and they were both enveloped by the lightning blast. Once it passed, the brothers groaned as they were both down on one knee.

They both lifted their heads and glared at the former high leader. Sienna responded by extending her right hand again them. This time, she sent out a lightning bolt but instead of striking the brothers, the bolt struck her weapon still embedded into the wall. As it did, the spear removed itself from the wall and was pulled back into the Sienna’s hand. Once the former high leader held her spear again, she twirled it around it a little before holding it still to her right side. Sienna glared fiercely at the brothers. “Fennec, Corsac, I believe it’s time for you two to learn a very important lesson tonight. I’ll show you what happens when you invoke a tigress’ wrath!”

**RWBY Vol 5 Opening End**

The brothers couldn’t believe how dire their situation had become. They knew killing Ghira and his family would be difficult but not to this scale. Having Sienna awaken a power within her was also unaccounted for. The only fault they could find was this operation took too long and got them in the position they’re currently in. The situation couldn’t be worse for the brothers.

“Brother Fennec! Brother Corsac!”

Fennec and his brother stood up and looked back at the hole where Leone was blasted through before. They saw one of the Six Fangs running back to them. The expression on her face told them something was wrong. “Sister Hennet?”

Hennet stopped in front of them while panting heavily. “It’s the others! The Faunus Traitor, she-” She didn’t finish her sentence as she was struck from behind. Hennet dropped to her knees first before falling forward on the ground. As she fell, it was revealed Leone was standing behind her.

The brothers, Sienna, and Ghira were surprised to see the Faunus blonde again. More so with Corsac and his brother. “No, it can’t be. The Six Fangs were defeated?”

Leone stared at Hennet for a second before turning her focus on the brothers. She stepped over the hornet Faunus and grinned at the brothers. “And that makes six. So much for your special team made for me. Now, how about we wrap this up?”

**…**

**…**

**…**

Blake pushed a pair of doors open and found herself in a hallway leading in two different directions. She didn’t have time to decide, so she chose to go left. Blake had to find her mother and quick before something happened to her. Yes, Syka was with Kali but who knows how long she’ll last. Especially with the amount the enemies that invaded her home. While running to the next room, Blake heard a loud boom and momentarily stopped. She looked at the hallway and immediately thought of Leone. Blake closed her eyes and shook her head. _“No, she’s okay. It’ll take a lot for her to be killed.”_ She stopped shaking her head and opened her eyes. Blake turned forward again and ran to continue looking for her mother. She soon saw another pair of doors and pushed them open as soon as she approached them. Blake took a quick look at the room she was now. It was something like a courtroom but that’s not what caught her attention. When Blake looked up, she finally saw her again. She saw Ilia squatting on the rail of the balcony. The two Faunus girls stared each other down before grabbing their weapons. Blake drew Gambol Shroud out as did Ilia with her weapon.

Ilia had a few words to say to Blake before they began fighting. “I told you. I didn’t want this.”

Blake could clearly see the irony in the other girl’s words. “But you’re still here.”

“I don’t have a choice!” Ilia retaliated.

“Of course, you do!” Blake responded. Ilia just turned her head away from her. Blake didn’t quite care much for that. “Just…stay out of my way.” She sheathed Gambol Shroud and started to walk away. Ilia wouldn't have that as she jumped from the railing and attacked Blake with her whip sword. As soon as she did, Blake mysteriously disappeared. It then revealed Blake used one of her shadow copies and appeared away from Ilia. She had Gambol Shroud out again and prepared herself for the fight up ahead. Ilia extended her whip sword at Blake, but the other Faunus girl leaped to the left behind one of the desks. She did a roll before standing up and jumped to the next desk. Ilia threw her whip sword again at Blake, but the other Faunus girl jumped again to avoid it. Blake jumped to another desk as Ilia continued to attack but kept hitting the chairs. Blake jumped off the last desk she was on and landed on the ground. She put Gambol Shroud up to defend against Ilia's attacks before jumping up into the air. She threw the ribbon at the end of her weapon at Ilia and wrapped around the other girl's arms. Blake then pulled on the ribbon to bring Ilia to her and vice versa for Blake. 

As the two girls met in the middle, Blake kicked Ilia away with both of her feet, with Ilia crashing on the floor and Blake landing on her feet. Ilia quickly stood up and put her weapon up defensively to block Blake’s attack. Blake still couldn’t understand Ilia’s way of thinking. “Why do you feel like we have to hurt people to get our way?!”

For Ilia, the answer was simple. “Because it works!”

Blake knew that was already wrong. “That doesn’t make it right!”

Ilia pressed a trigger on her weapon and delivered a small shock to Blake. It was enough to disarm Blake. Blake tried to reach for her weapon, but Ilia jumped on the desk and circled around the other girl. Blake turned around in time while grabbing her sheath, but Ilia did a jumping roundhouse kick to her head. Blake was sent away and struck one of the desks. She landed behind and let go of her sheath weapon. Ilia extended her whip sword at Blake while she was down. Blake created another shadow copy and dashed away to the next desk for safety. “Stop lecturing me!”

Blake peeked behind the desk and saw that Ilia’s mask was on the floor now along with Gambol Shroud. The next thing that happened was that the lights were turned off. It didn’t bother Blake too much since she could see clearly in the dark. She ran toward to her weapon and managed to pick it up. Blake had Gambol Shroud in gun form and looked carefully for Ilia. Yes, Blake could see in the dark, but Ilia could blend into the darkness. Seeing wouldn’t do much of anything now. Right now, she very envied Leone. _“Why didn’t I ask Leone to teach me how to sense aura?”_ Blake had to rely on her other senses to locate Ilia.

Blake carefully listened for the other Faunus girl and did hear something. Except that something was Ilia’s whip sword and Blake was stuck by it. She tumbled away from Ilia but managed to quickly stand up. At least the chameleon Faunus was able to reveal where she was, and Blake pointed her weapon at her. She fired several shots at Ilia, but the other girl circled around to avoid the fire. Blake didn’t know if she got the other girl. “Why couldn’t you just leave!?”

The other Faunus girl transformed Gambol Shroud back into its sword form. “Because I run away too much.” Blake paid close attention to where Ilia would attack next. She caught a slight glimpse of something bright from above and moved out of the way just in time. Blake ran to the nearest desk and jumped over it to take cover from the attacks. At least she knew Ilia was on the upper balcony, but Blake was still at a disadvantage. She checked what dust cartridges she had left and thought up a plan. It was stupid and dangerous but what other choice did she have? She loaded one of the cartridges into Gambol Shroud and transformed it into its gun form. Blake pointed her gun at the balcony and took aim. “Sorry, dad.” She fired a single shot at the balcony and it was set on fire.

The fire quickly spread and lit up the entire room. That light managed to reveal Ilia crouching next to a couch. With her cover blown, Ilia dashed toward Blake. She jumped forward on her hands and jumped over Blake while spinning around. The chameleon Faunus turned around and so did Blake for their weapons to clash one another. Blake momentarily lost Gambol Shroud but managed to grab the ribbon and turned around to attack Ilia. They swung their weapons at each other a few times before Ilia grabbed Blake’s right arm. She twisted Blake’s body around and swung her whip sword at the other Faunus girl. However, Blake used one of her shadow copies to move away and avoid the attack. Ilia didn’t relent and chased after Blake. She swung her weapon at the other Faunus girl, but Blake avoided it and retaliated by moving forward and grabbing Ilia’s weapon by the handle. Blake slammed the weapon down, along with her and Ilia and tried to punch the other Faunus girl.

Ilia moved back to avoid the punch and quickly stood up to attack Blake back with her whip sword. Blake jumped back but Ilia extended her weapons to reach the other Faunus girl. The second attack missed but Ilia spun around for another attack. Blake used another shadow copy and moved to the side. She stopped and aimed her gun at Ilia. Blake fired several rounds at the chameleon girl. Ilia swung her weapon to parry the bullets. “Quit taking potshots and fight me like you mean it!” After the last bullet, Ilia extended her weapon again at Blake. Blake jumped back into the air to avoid the attack. She then used her shadow copy ability to reach the upper balcony and landed. Blake took cover behind the railing. “You used to see things the way I did! The way Adam did! If no one’s going to do anything to stop the humans that attack us, then the only choice we have left…is to attack back!”

Blake loaded another cartridge into Gambol Shroud and stood up. She fired more rounds at Ilia, but the other Faunus girl parried them like before. When the firing was done, Ilia swung her sword again. Except that it didn’t extend and took a second look at her weapon. It turned out the bullets Blake fired were ice bullets and froze her weapon. Blake threw her weapon and it wrapped around Ilia’s. Blake pulled her weapon back and took Ilia’s weapon away. She then jumped from the railing and headed right toward Ilia. Blake jumped on the other Faunus girl and was on top. She pinned Ilia down and made sure she wouldn’t move at all. “You’re wrong. There’s always another choice.” Ilia struggled to break free, but Blake didn’t give her a chance. She looked at the chameleon girl straight in the eye. “Ilia…please. You’re a good person but you’re making all the wrong decisions!”

Ilia didn’t want to hear more from Blake. “SHUT UP!”

Blake continued to hold Ilia down. “Is this really what your parents would’ve wanted?!”

“I don’t know what else to do!” Ilia panted heavily before her expression changed from being angry to remorse. Tears started to swell up in her eyes. “I don’t know what else to do…” It seemed Blake was finally getting through to her friend. It gave her hope that Ilia could still make the right choice.

Then both girls heard a crash from behind. They looked back to see Corsac flying through the hole that was created. Ghira jumped through the hole and saw his daughter. “Blake?”

Before Blake could respond, Fennec came from behind and stabbed Ghira in the left shoulder. He immediately went down to his hands and knees. Blake became immediately worried about her father. "Dad!" 

Ilia took advantage of Blake’s distraction and kicked her off. Blake slammed into one of the chairs. Ghira attempted to grab Fennec off his back but Leone beat him to it. The Faunus blonde yelled as she pried Fennec off her grandfather. “Hey, that’s my grandpa you stabbed, asshole!” Leone tossed Fennec across the room and slammed into her brother just as he stood up.

Sienna arrived in the room in time for her to hear what Leone said. She didn’t quite fully understand what Leone had said. “Ghira’s your grandfather?”

Right, Leone temporarily forgot about the tigress. “Not the time, Sienna.”

Sienna gasped at what she heard from the other Faunus woman. _“She called me by my name.”_ Leone then glanced over to Ilia and saw Blake lying on the floor behind her. She immediately growled angrily at the chameleon girl. Corsac and Fennec managed to stand up and rushed at Ghira. Sienna saw them coming and warned him. “Ghira!” Ghira looked in front and ran at them as well. Sienna joined in, and they took on each of the brothers. The chieftain and Corsac threw punches at each other and traded blow to blow before grabbing each other.

While they were at a stalemate, Sienna and Fennec squared off with each other. Sienna swung her spear overhead at Fennec, but he raised his weapon to defend himself. That didn’t stop the tigress as she grabbed the lower side of the handle with her other hand. She pulled the end of the bottom blade and swiped down. The move broke Fennec’s defense and spun right around to slash the other Faunus across the chest. Fennec stumbled backward a little and pointed his weapon at Sienna to shoot a fireball at her. However, Sienna dodged to the side to avoid the attack. In doing so, the attack missed and instead struck Corsac away from Ghira. Corsac was immediately worried about him. “Brother!”

Before he could go to his Corsac’s aid, Sienna delivered a jump kick at him. Fennec recovered quickly and charged at the former high leader. He swung his weapon across at Sienna, but the tigress jumped into the air to avoid the attack. Sienna then looked down while twirling her weapon around while she charged it with electricity. The tigress came down at Fennec and swung her spear downward and struck his body. He screamed loudly in pain as blood spurted out of his chest. Fennec stumbled back a little before placing a hand his bleeding chest. He gave Siena one last look of disbelief before falling back to the floor. Fennec crashed on his back and didn't move anymore while more blood seeped out of his body. Sienna took in the sight before her. She had done what she thought was impossible for her to do; killing one of her kind.

With Corsac down and Fennec no more, only Ilia remained, and she was facing a very angry Leone. She was the last person the chameleon girl wanted to face but she didn’t have much of a choice. Even with her weapon frozen, Ilia raised it up against Leone. Before she could make the first move, however, Leone didn’t waste any time being up close and personal to her. She grabbed Ilia by the throat and pushed her against one of the supporting pillars hard enough for cracks to appear everywhere. Ilia dropped her weapon when Leone grabbed her and used bother hands in an attempt to break free from Leone's grip. It was a useless effort since Leone's grip was like a steel trap. Ilia struggled to breathe while looking into the Faunus blonde's slit eyes. Leone growled deeply and threateningly at the other girl. "I told her. I told Blake that if you did anything to her, I'll break your neck. Just so you know, this is all on you. This is what happens when you decide to ignore her help. Blake thought you could be saved but it seems you've made your choice. Now, you're going to have to live with it to your death." Leone tightened her grip further and Ilia found it almost impossible to breathe. Her grip on Leone began to weaken as everything around her was becoming dark. Ilia began to lose consciousness and slowly started to close her eyes.

 “Leone, stop!” Leone ceased her grip and turned to Blake who was awake again. The Faunus blonde saw Blake pleading to her not to kill Ilia with her eyes. She even tears rolling down her cheeks. “Please…”

Leone growled as she looked back at Ilia. She could see the life within the other girl was almost gone. The Faunus gritted her teeth and threw the other Faunus girl away from her while yelling in a frustrated way. Ilia slammed into the wall and coughed as oxygen returned to her body. As soon enough air went back into her system, Ilia saw Leone walked towards Blake. “You’re so freaking lucky I’m soft! Seriously, what do you see in that chick!? Why the hell is she worth this much to you?”

Blake narrowed her eyes at her supposed daughter while tears were still coming out of her eyes. “Didn’t you risk your life to save Tatsumi from being publicly executed? Wasn’t he worth it for you? For your team?”

Leone’s lion ears flattened and lowered her head. She hated to admit it, but Blake was right. However, she was wrong in one account. The Faunus blonde lifted her head to face her supposed father. “Yeah, expect Tatsumi wanted to be saved. Ilia already decided which team she’s playing for and I’m not talking about her damn crush on you!”

As soon as Leone said that, they heard something from behind and looked to see what it was. It turned out the pillar Leone slammed Ilia in was breaking apart fast and part of the balcony began to fall on top of Ilia. Ilia gasped and closed her eyes to await her inevitable end. She heard a crash but didn’t feel dead. Ilia opened her eyes and gasped again to see who saved her. Leone was standing in front of her, holding part of the balcony with her hands. All Ilia could do currently was stare at Leone wide-eyed and in disbelief. Leone snarled at the other Faunus girl. “You got two seconds to get out before I decide to drop this on you!” Ilia didn’t need to be told twice and scrambled out from underneath the pillar. As soon as she did, Leone threw the balcony part at the other side of the room and it landed with a heavy thud.

Leone sighed as that part of the ordeal was over. Now all that was left was to find Kali and hope she was safe. It was very easy since the doors opened, and Kali appeared along with Syka. Blake was beyond happy seeing her mother again. “Mom!” She ran over to her mother and hugged her. Kali hugged her daughter back as she was happy to see her too.

“What have you done!” Everyone turned Corsac who came around and was very angry at what happened. All of his anger was toward Sienna. “You killed him. You killed my brother!”

Sienna didn’t seem to be bothered by his rage. In fact, she glared back at him. “This is what happens when you fight for the future Adam wants. This is what it gets you. It’s filled with nothing but pain, misery, and death. Your brother paid for it with his life and it wasn’t even worth it.” 

Corsac was beyond furious at the people standing in front of him. Leone and everyone else prepared themselves for Corsac’s last stand. “You ruined everything. EVERYTHING!” He rushed at Sienna first but was instantly stopped when Ilia wrapped her whip sword around his body. Corsac was shocked to his core and collapsed to the floor. Ilia sighed before starting to cry and dropped to her hands and knees.

**B**

With all the explosions going on and the stack of smoke rising out of the Belladonna estate, the people of Menagerie gathered in front of the house to see what was going on. One of the officers stood in front and held her hands out to keep them at bay. “Back! Everyone, stay back! We’ve got people inside doing their best.”

One of the Faunus in crow saw something emerging out of the smoke and pointed. “Look!”

Everyone looked at the direction and they saw their Chieftain emerging from the smoke carrying one of the guards and a White Fang member. Behind him was Corsac being held by two of the guards. Kali, Blake, Sienna, and Syka were also behind. So was Leone but she was carrying all the members of the Six Fangs behind her back. How could she carry that many were beyond to some of the officers. Leone handed each other Six Fang members to the proper authorities. It took a couple to completely hold up Rhamos. “Here you and be careful with the kangaroo girl. She has a fractured femur and a broken arm.”

Ghira handed the injured members to two of the officers while the captain pointed to the inside of the house. “Get in there! Search for any stragglers!” He turned to the Chieftain. “We came as soon as we got the call.” They looked back to see more White Fang members being carried out of the house. There was only one that wasn’t accounted for. “And Fennec?”

“He’s no more.”

Ghira and the captain saw Sienna approach them. The captain gasped as he immediately recognized her. “Wait, you’re…”

“She fought with us.” The captain turned to Ghira. “Sienna Khan is no longer affiliated with the White Fang. She too was targeted by them. The same as my family and I.” The captain was a bit confused but rolled with what his Chieftain said.

The captain walked over to Corsac who was on his knees next to two of the guards. The captain lowered himself slightly at the other Faunus. “Was it worth it?” Corsac didn’t reply and looked away. The captain wasn’t going to get anything from him and moved away.

However, he wasn’t the only one that wanted a word with the surviving brother. Leone walked up to him next and Corsac refused to look at her. That was fine with the Faunus blonde since she only needed him to listen. “You know what’s the worst thing a soldier can do? Dying in vain and that's what exactly happened to him. His death is on you, not on Sienna and you’re going to have to live with that for the rest of your life.” Corsac remained silent which was fine with Leone.

Blake looked around at her surroundings and everyone who was involved in the ordeal. She even looked back at Ilia who just looked away. Blake sighed as she knew what to do. She began walking to the front of the crowd. Ghira and Leone saw where she was going. "Blake/What are you doing?" Before they could approach her, Kali stopped them both. They had no choice but to trust with what Blake was going to do.

Blake walked down halfway down the steps and stopped. She took in a deep breath and steeled herself. "Humans didn't do this." Blake pointed at her home. "We did this. Faunus.”  Blake lowered her arm and placed her hand on the top of her chest. “We did this to ourselves.” The entire crowd was silent as the continued to watch Blake. “We are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don’t think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So, why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place! And if we’re not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very a complicated problem. And I can’t give that to you. I don’t know how to make hate go away. I don’t! But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that to ask to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk…but that’s what’s at stake. So, I’m going, and I’ll stand by myself if I have to.”

“I’ll stand with you!” Blake turned around and saw Ilia standing up. Her and the crowd. Even though Ilia declared she would stand by with Blake, she still seemed uncertain. “If…you’d have me.”

One of the Faunus in the crowd recognized her. “Isn’t that the White Fang girl?”

“I thought she hated the Belladonnas.”

Ilia tried to walk over to Blake, but the captain grabbed her tightly by the arm. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Let her come.”

The captain turned to Blake and questioned her thinking. “You’re just going to forgive her? After everything she did?!”

Blake stared back at the captain with unwavering eyes. “I am.” The captain turned to Ghira and the Chieftain nodded. The captain had no choice but to release his grip on Ilia.

As he did, Ilia resumed walking toward Blake. The captain still didn’t understand what the younger Faunus girl was thinking. “What does she think she’s doing?”

Ghira knew and that’s why he was smiling at his daughter. “She’s learned a lesson that evaded me until I was much older.” Ilia stood next to Blake and they smiled at each other. “That there is strength in forgiveness.”

Sienna couldn’t help but smile as well at what Blake has done. “You’ve raised a strong and wonderful daughter, Ghira.”

Leone chuckled as she couldn’t agree more with her father. _“Blake just pretty much summed up what the Revolutionary Army was doing.”_

“I’ll go!” They all heard one of the Faunus from the crowd. They saw who it was and it was the Faunus Leone talked to earlier.

“I’ll go too!”

“I’ll stand with you!”

“I’ll go!”

“Yeah!”

“Me too!”

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

Even Omar raised his arm up. “Count me in!” He then felt a thwack from the back of his head from his sister. He groaned and turned to his sister while holding the back of his head. “What the hell Kay?”

Kay glared at her brother. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you do this!”

Omar couldn’t believe what her sister was saying. “But-”

“Let me finish.” Kay interrupted and pointed her finger at Omar. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you do this without me. We stick together.” She flashed her brother a smile. Omar smiled back and nodded at his sister.

It seemed everyone was willing to join in and to see such a sight made Leone happy. She walked down the steps next and stood next to Blake. "Well, it seems you have a lot a work to do."

Blake chuckled a little and smiled at the other Faunus girl. “Thank you.”

Leone smiled back before turning her focus to Ilia. She growled lightly at the chameleon girl which frightened Ilia a little. “You better prove yourself that you were worth all the trouble Blake went through.” Ilia looked slightly away from Leone. “You do that, and I might forgive you.” With that in mind, Ilia would make sure to do that.

Ghira and Kali walked down next to everyone else. They had dealt with one problem but there still was an even larger one at bay. Ghira looked over at his daughter. “We have less than a month before Adam attacks Haven. We’re going to need shields, training, whatever we can do to protect as many people as possible.”

There was another problem Kali needed to address. “We’ll need transportation too. For everyone.”

Blake had a confident smile as she had the perfect answer. “I think I know a ship captain who owes me a favor.”

This whole ordeal was over, and Leone looked up at the night sky. The Faunus blonde envisioned her team. She may be done here in Menagerie, but she had something else important to do. _“It won’t be much longer now. I’ll be back sooner than you know everyone.”_

**A/N: “Ahem” HOLY HELL THIS FRIGGING CHAPTER! Okay, forget what I said in a chapter in my Seven Heroines story. This is the longest chapters I’ve ever done! With that out, let me just say I want to give out a special thank you and shout out to fellow writer/great artist and a good friend of mine, sortacrazi, for helping me figure out** **what Sienna’s semblance would be. Also, while on the topic, I realized I made Sienna into an unintentional reference. What that reference is, I’ll give all of you a hint: She’s a freaking lightning tiger.**

 


	69. Mother's Treasure

**A/N: Leave it to me updating this story when Adam’s character trailer rolled around. Not only that but we get to see what kind of weapon Sienna uses. Oh well, I still stand by what I gave her. Plus, it really does fit her well.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about…you’ll all find out soon enough.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Sixty Nine: Mother’s Treasure

Kali sighed as she sat on the edge of her bed looking at the photo of her and her dear friend. After the events of what happened, the Belladonna family, Leone, Syka, and Sienna spent the night at a nearby hotel. Rebuilding part of the house Blake burned down would be quick but training the citizens would take more time. Ghira, Sienna, and Syka would oversee that. Leone, however, had something else to do. Now that most of the members in the White Fang were either arrested or killed, the Faunus blonde decided it was time for her to leave. She was set to leave Menagerie in the morning, but Kali wanted to talk to her. And this is why she was in her room now. Kali desperately wanted to know something important ever since she saw the younger Faunus. She wanted to confirm Leone was who Kali thought she was. A few knocks on the door snapped Kali out from her train of thought. She lifted her head to look at the door and set the photo down on her lap. “Yes? Come in.”

The door slid open to reveal Leone. “Hey, Kali!” She entered the room and slid the door shut from behind.

Kali smiled sweetly at her supposed granddaughter. Granddaughter. It was a strange word for her now, but Kali couldn’t think of that now for the moment. “Hello, Leone. I’m glad you could meet me before you left.”

Leone smiled back at the older Faunus woman. “It’s no problem. I have some time to spare. They do have to prepare the boat.” She took a closer look at Kali and her eyes traced her shoulder. “How’s your shoulder feeling?”

Kali placed a hand on her the shoulder she was shot at. She managed to get the wound treated but would have to take it easy for a few days. The older Faunus woman glanced at her shoulder before turning her attention to Leone. “It’s fine now. Although, I don’t think I’ll be using firearms anytime soon.”

The Faunus blonde couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Yeah, it may be a little out there for you.” Her laughing stopped and became a little more serious. “So, what was it that you wanted to talk about? It must be pretty important if you wanted to talk to me before I had to leave.” As soon as she mentioned that, Leone saw Kali’s cat ears flatten slightly and looked away. Seeing this questioned Leone. "What is it? It can't be that bad, right?" An idea crossed her mind. "Oh, is this about you…killing that White Fang member?" Leone knew it was a sensitive subject to the older Faunus. She heard of it from Syka and how much it had shaken her. "Look, it's not your fault it happened but you didn't have much of choice. I don't blame you for doing that. The same goes for Ghira, Blake, and even Sienna. Honestly, I'd be a bit worried if you enjoyed it."

Kali closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, it’s not about that.” She stopped and opened her eyes. The older Faunus stood up from the bed. “It’s…well…” Kali closed her eyes again and took in a deep breath. She steeled herself and opened her eyes. “I wanted to show you this." She presented the photo to the younger Faunus girl. "This is a photo of me and a close friend of mine when we were younger. When we were still in the White Fang before it turned the way, it did."

Leone didn’t know what a photo had to do with this, but she accepted it anyway. “Really? This I have to see.” She flipped the photo over and took a good look at it. The Faunus blonde laughed when she saw Kali. “Oh wow, Kali. Look at you. You must’ve had heads rolling after you. I guess Ghira was lucky to have you. Also, you looked great with long hair.” Kali was flattered to hear that. Then Leone turned her attention to the girl next to her. “And who’s your frien-” Leone’s eyes went wide with shock as she gasped. The girl next to Kali looked similar to Leone and her appearance struck a chord within the Faunus blonde.

Her breathing became deep and heavy as her mind remembered something from her past. _“Leone…my sweet strong little lion."_

Leone couldn’t tear her eyes off from the familiar Faunus. _“This woman…she…she can’t be…”_ She had to find out right now. “Kali, who is the girl next to you?”

Kali saw Leone’s reaction and knew this was going somewhere. “Her name is Leona and she was the closest friend I had. But over twenty years ago, she left the White Fang. Her reason for doing so was because she was pregnant. Leona told me not to tell anyone and I’ve kept that secret for all these years. That is until you arrived.”

Leone looked away from the photo briefly to turn her attention to Kali. “What do you mean?”

Kali could tell she was closer now. She started to believe what she had thought was true all along. “I’m sure you know by now the woman in the photo looks a lot like you. I will not lie in saying when I first saw you, you reminded me so much of her. Even more so when you put her weapon on. I’m not the only one who thinks so. Ghira believes this as well. However, I must know. I have to know if you’re her-”

“There’s no way in hell I am!” Leone interrupted Kali. The older Faunus saw the disbelief in the Faunus blonde’s eyes. Of course, Kali should’ve guessed Leone wasn’t Leona’s daughter. There was no way since her daughter would’ve been in her early twenties at least. Leone was around Blake’s age. That was the conclusion she had come to. That is until she heard Leone say more. “There’s just…no way…” The older Faunus woman saw Leone look back at the photo. “She can’t be. She couldn’t be. My mom…she was…I was…” Her expression became a mixture of anger and confusion. “I WAS BORN HUMAN DAMNIT!” Instead of crumbling the photo, Leone dropped it and it started to sway to the ground. Leone, who didn’t know what to believe now, dropped to her hands and knees. The photo landed in front of the Faunus blonde’s face and she was forced to look at the picture yet again. “She was human. I know it. I would’ve noticed those ears, but she didn’t have any. So, how…”

This was the reaction Kali was looking for. The way Leone acted was proof enough. She even heard the younger Faunus girl say ‘mom’ but that wasn’t the most shocking thing she’d heard. “You…were human?” Now all kinds of questions were popping up for Kali. She had never heard of Leone mention she was a human or that her friend was a human. Last time she checked, Leona was a Faunus so why did Leone say she was human? These questions would have to be answered a little later. For now, there was just one question Kali needed to know. She looked down at the shocked younger Faunus girl. “Leone…how old are you? Really. Please, tell me.”

Leone hesitated to answer the question. Her true age was her best-kept secret. To reveal it now was…she closed her eyes and sighed in defeat. “I’m…I’m…I’m in my early twenties.”

That was the final nail Kali needed to strike. She now knew without a fact who Leone truly was. “So, it is true then….” Leone lifted her head to look at Kali while tears started to roll down her cheeks. “You are Leona’s daughter.”

**B**

After some time has passed for Leone to recollect herself, she and Kali were sitting on the edge of the bed together. Leone’s nerves seemed to have calmed down, but she was still reeling in the truth she had learned about herself. She couldn’t help but chuckle. “So, this is…something I never expected to learn. I mean…”

Kali shared what Leone was feeling. Leone was indeed Leona’s daughter, but she had a couple of questions. “Leone, earlier you said you born a human but your appearance is-”

“I look like a Faunus, I know.” Leone interrupted. “Trust me, I am definitely a Faunus in this world, but I was a human back in the world I came from. The appearance you see before know is what I call a half-transformation. Meaning that I look similar to the beast form I took but not all the way. My full look is like this, ears and the hair but I also had beast claws and a tail. Also, in my human form, I had short hair.”

The older Faunus woman tried to picture what Leone would look like a human, given her description. She had a pretty good idea now and Leone did seem to be drastically different looking. “So, you were a human but could transform into something like a Faunus?”

Leone had to give Kali credit.  Her description was close to the mark.  “Yeah. You remember the Imperial Arms I told you guys before? Mine was known as The King of Beasts Transformation: Lionel. When I transform into beast mode, everything in me becomes amplified. My strength and my senses increase drastically. More so than any other animal out there. I’ve had it for a long time and I feel like it was a part of me. That is until that bastard minister destroyed it and shot me in the stomach a few times over.”

Kali had to admit the younger girl had a point. It wouldn’t have gone over well Ghira and Sienna. Especially with Sienna. The older Faunus woman had a question related to the topic. “Does anyone else know about this?”

The Faunus blonde nodded at the question. “Yeah, Blake knows about it. My team too and a close group of friends.”

At least there were others who knew about this. Including Blake but now Kali had to ask her next question. “I see. Do they know about your…age?”

This time, Leone shook her head. “No, you’re the first to know. Honestly, this was supposed to be secret.”

So, it was only Kali who knew about this. Knowing this led the older Faunus woman to the next question she wanted to ask. “If you’re the age you say you are then why…”

Leone laughed as Kali brought up a good point. “I know, it’s weird. I was surprised when I first woke up in this world looking like this. Trust me, I don’t actually look like this back in my world. I obviously looked older, but this is how I looked when I was seventeen at the time. Hell, I haven’t joined the Revolutionary Army at that age yet. I don’t know how it happened but it did. It just means I’ll have to wait a while before I look like myself originally again.” Kali still wanted to know how Leone appeared as she did but even the Faunus blonde didn't know. At least she could be at rest that Leone didn't exactly fight in a war as a teenager. Still, Leone was still young to be in that sort of thing, though. Now, it was Leone's turn to ask some questions, starting with the most prevalent one. "About the weapon you gave me…." She raised her gauntlet to her chest level and looked down on it. "This was my mother's, wasn't it?"

Kali looked at the weapon as well and nodded. “Yes. To be honest, since you looked so much like Leona, I thought it would be appropriate. You really do look like her when you have it.”

Hearing that brought so much joy to Leone. She never would’ve guessed her mother was part of something so big was a quite shock. Almost as big learning she was originally a Faunus. Leone thought of her next question as she put her arm down. “So, you and my mom were friends. Can you tell me what she was like?”

This time, Kali was the one to chuckle nostalgically. “Where do I even begin?” She lifted her head and stared at the ceiling. “Leona, your mother, was an incredible woman. She was strong and fierce yet gentle to those in need. She also had a bit of a teasing side. I can’t tell you how many times she nudged and hinted that I should get together with Ghira. It’s still funny how it eventually worked. However, her teasing reached a new level. She would constantly ask me questions like ‘when’s the wedding’ and ‘how many kids you think you’ll have’?”

 Leone couldn’t help but laugh. At least she knew where she got her sense of humor from. It also made her realize something "Wait if my mom is the reason you and Ghira are still together now, does that technically make her Blake's godmother or something?"

Kali looked back at the Faunus blonde and realized Leone did bring up a good point. “I’ve never thought of that. That’s a very good point. And she did allow me to use that lullaby for Blake when she was little.”

A lullaby. Leone remembered Blake singing a lullaby to her back at Beacon and it made her remember her mother. “Hey, Kali. Do you think you can sing me that lullaby? I want to hear it.” Kali saw no reason to deny her. This lullaby was the only other thing Leone could remember her by. The older Faunus woman looked away and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and began to sing the lullaby. Leone closed her eyes as well and listened closely to the melody. It was exactly like how Blake sang it to her. It was comforting and soothing. However, there was a slightly different. The way Kali was singing it made it sound softer. Almost as if…it was her mother singing. Her mind began to wander and envisioned seeing her younger self-laying her head on her mother's lap while singing this pleasant song and stroking her head gently. It was exactly how Leone remembered it. Kali had finally stopped singing and Leone opened her eyes. “Yeah, that was the same song my mom used to sing to me whenever I had a bad dream or when I was scared.”

Kali smiled at that fact. She could imagine Leona singing that song to her child. She opened her eyes and turned to Leone. The older Faunus woman gasped at what she saw next. “Leone, are you crying?”

Leone didn't understand at first before touching her right cheek. Sure enough, she was crying and wasn't aware it happened. The Faunus blonde sniffed as she rubbed the tears off with her right arm. “I guess I am. I think the song got to me more than I thought.” Leone lowered her arm and the tears were dried up. After hearing that lullaby, she remembered Kali asking about her mother and felt awful with her answer. “I’m sorry you had to learn what happened to my mom. I know she deserved better than living and dying in a shitty shack.”

Kali did feel sad in finally knowing what happened to her best friend, but it was alright now. She leaned in toward the younger Faunus girl and wrapped her arms around her body. Leone was caught off guard with the hug but greatly welcomed it. Kali closed her eyes again and smiled greatly. “It’s fine. At least I know what happened to her. I’m just happy a part of her came back to me. That’s all I could’ve asked for.”

They hugged for a minute longer before breaking the hug and opening their eyes to look at each other. The Faunus blonde smiled brightly at Kali at first but then her expression changed to confusion. “There’s one thing I still don’t get. Why was my mom human? I mean, she was clearly a Faunus in the picture, but I remember her looking like a human. Hell, like I said before, I was born human.”

Kali thought that was strange as well until she thought of a theory. “Maybe it’s somehow related to you? I mean, you were conceived in this world, but you were born in that other world.”

It wasn’t a bad explanation, but Leone still didn’t understand. That is until she thought of something. “Wait a minute.” She pondered at her own theory. “Maybe it was the same thing.” Kali seemed confused and the younger Faunus girl looked at her. “I’m here because Akame wished to start over somewhere else. After that night, we were here, and I became a Faunus. Like you said, I was conceived here in Remnant so that would explain why I am a Faunus here. I mean, it makes sense, but I was born human in the Capital. What I think happened was that my mom must’ve made a similar wish. Like how Akame’s wish sent us here and I became a Faunus, my mom must’ve become human when she arrived in my world. Along with me.” Now it made more sense to Kali. If this wish worked one way, then it could work the other way as well. At least for certain people. Meaning if Leone was originally a Faunus and became human, then she could revert into a Faunus upon reentering Remnant. Leone came to this conclusion as well and made another discovery. Remnant was the world she had come from. In other words, and in short, Leone had returned to what she was supposed to be. A Faunus. It was a little mind-blowing for her. Mind blowing and ironic where it got her mother. She let out a small sad laugh. “Some wish my mom made. All it did was kill her in the end and I ended up growing up in a sinking shithole of an Empire.”

While Leone may have a point, Kali saw a different side to it. “Perhaps but I believe your mother was happy.”

The younger Faunus girl had a hard time believing that. “And how so? We were poor, we lived in a shack with holes in the roof, we barely had enough to eat, and the winters were brutal. How was my mom happy going through that?”

“Because she had you.” Kali’s answer surprised Leone. “Leona loved you like the mother she was. I can only imagine how happy she was when you came into the world. She must’ve thought you were more precious, more important than anything else. Even if her new life was bad, even if she did die, I’m positive Leona loved you for every moment in her life until the end. If she were here now, Leona would be proud to see how much her daughter has grown. A proud, strong woman who’s willing to protect and fight for others and to those close to her.”

Kali’s words cut Leone deep. She’d had never thought of it that way before. Then she remembered some parts when she was with her mother. There wasn’t one time where she seemed sad or scared. She was always smiling, and it was always when Leone was with her mother. The tears started to form again in her eyes. The Faunus blonde rubbed her eyes with her arm again to stop herself from crying. However, the tears were already rolling down her cheeks again Despite the crying, Leone chuckled happily. “Jeez, Kali. That’s the third time you made me cry. Not even with all the batshit crazy people I had to fight did this to me. I think you’re more dangerous than you think.”

The older Faunus giggled as she would gladly take the compliment. “It’s because I know what Leona must’ve felt when she had you. I know it because that’s how I felt when I had Blake. The joy of seeing your child, wanting to protect her, it’s a memory worth treasuring. More so than any other valuable out there. To Leona, you were her most precious treasure and that alone must’ve been worth all the suffering she’d gone through. It’s because you were with her.”

The tears kept running but Leone was still smiling. “Okay, okay. You’re ruining my image now.” After a few seconds, the tears were finally wiped away again, but the Faunus blonde kept her smile. Kali smiled along with her. With all this talk about her mother, Leone had to know about another subject from Kali. “Since you knew my mom…do you know who my dad is? I mean you did ask about him. Did you know him?”

Honestly, Kali thought she’d never get the chance to explain. Leone deserved to know who her father was. “I do. Your father’s name is Raus. Raus Vermillion. He and Leona first met when we had a party one time. Raus bragged how no man could outdrink him but then Leona challenged him. What happened after that is what I’d consider adorable. They were both clearly drunk, but I saw how they looked at each other. I remember Raus saying to her ‘you know, you’re the most beautiful drunken woman I’ve ever laid my eyes upon’. We all laughed before he collapsed.” Leone laughed at how her parents first met. At least she knows where she got her drinking trait from. “The following morning after, they both had a bad hangover. It didn’t take long for Raus to properly ask Leona out. Like Ghira and I, they also made a cute couple.”

It was kind of a sweet story for Leone to know how her parents met. She wanted to learn more about her father. “What kind of person was Raus? I mean, my dad?”

and wanted us to defend ourselves if anything were to happen. I remember him saying ‘it’s not violence if it’s self-defense’.” Leone had heard that before. It sounded something similar Adam would say. Kali opened her eyes once again to look at Leone. “Of course, he wasn’t suggesting the kind of violence Adam would allow. He wouldn’t call attacking humans self-defense.” At least her father some decent common sense. “Then, there was that fateful night. When Leona told me, she was pregnant and had to leave.”

That was the burning question of all for Leone. If her mother and father had such a great relationship, why did she leave without telling him? “Why did she do it? I mean, I know I was part of it but…”

Kali knew that would come up and explain. “She was afraid. Leona feared what his reaction would be. As I’ve said before, Raus was dedicated to the White Fang and he’d never showed any interest in starting a family. On top of that, they were both around your current age when it happened. Another fact I think I know is that she really didn’t want to raise a child in the kind of environment we were in. To be honest, I think Leona had the right idea. Being in the White Fang was no place to raise a child. I should know because when Ghira and I were leaving, we wanted to take Blake with us, but she refused. The White Fang had become part of her life and I was afraid she could end the same as Adam. I was relieved when that fear didn’t come to pass.” Leone was glad that didn’t happen as well. She couldn’t imagine someone like Blake acting the way Adam did. “Of course, it’s not like you had a pleasant life either with everything you told us about what you went through.” Kali now saw the irony between Blake and Leone. “I never would’ve imagined our daughters would meet each other.”

Leone would have to agree with that. “That’s true but I managed to live through all of that. Not to mention I had good friends and allies to help me along the way. The same can be said for Blake when she left the White Fang. So, I guess you can say it kinda worked out for the both of us." She decided to get back on topic. "So, whatever happened to Raus after my mom left?"

The older Faunus remembered that moment all too well. “Raus, he…he didn’t take it very well. When Raus found out that Leona was gone, he became terribly worried. He was frantic in finding out what happened to her. Ultimately, he approached me and…became a little violent towards me. Raus grabbed me, shook me, had a threatening look in his eye, I was scared. He accused me of knowing what happened to Leona, but I wouldn’t say it. Ghira saw this and asked him to stand down but that only escalated into a fight between them. Ghira won but he didn’t tolerate Raus’ behavior. Especially toward me. After that, Raus packed up his belongings and left the White Fang to search for Leona. That was the last we've seen of him. I don’t where he is or if he’s still looking for Leona. Although, now that I know the truth about her, I’m afraid his searching all this time was pointless.”

“I don’t think so.” Kali was surprised when she heard Leone say that. “I’m here and he doesn’t know he has a daughter now. It’s just a matter of whether if we run into each other but I know chances of that are slim to none. Is there a way for him to identify that I am his daughter?”

Kali looked at her weapon and pointed at it. “He’ll be able to recognize the weapon you have now. That and you really do look similar to your mother. I’m sure he’ll be able to recognize you.” Leone hoped that would be enough. It was both funny and strange to the Faunus blonde. To think she had a father all this time.  She wished she could meet him someday but there was something else for Leone to do. Something important and couldn't wait anymore.

**B**

“Are you sure you won’t stay? There is a place for you here with us.”

“Positive. My time here’s done and I have to get back to my team. “Leone, Blake, Ghira, Kali, Sienna, Syka, and even Ilia were standing on the pier with the boat almost ready to go. The Faunus blonde wanted to say her goodbyes to the people she met during her time on Menagerie. “I will say thank you for everything you’ve done and for understanding me.” Ghira knew what Leone met by that. He then let out a grunt when Leone gave him a hug. A very tight hug at that. Thankfully, the Faunus blonde let go and moved on to Kali. She gave the older Faunus woman a much gentler hug. She leaned her mouth close to Kali’s ear. “Thank you for everything, Kali.”

Kali closed her eyes and smiled as she returned the hug. “You’re welcome, dear.”

Leone separated from the hug and approached Blake this time. She gave the other Faunus girl a soft and warming smile. "I have to say, Blake, I think you'd fit in pretty well with the Revolutionary Army.”

Blake smiled back and gladly took the compliment. “Thank you and I hope you find your team soon. And when you see Yang, tell her I said hi.”

The Faunus blonde gave Blake a hug next and it lasted a little longer. She broke the hug and then moved on to Sienna and Syka. Sienna smiled confidently at the Faunus girl before her. “I will say that it was an honor fighting beside you and…getting to know you, Leone. You are much more than I had originally thought and heard of.”

Leone could say the same to the tigress. “Yeah, you turned out not be so bad yourself, Sienn.” She briefly focused on Sienna’s weapon strapped to her back. “Have you decided what you’re going to name it?”

Sienna glanced back at her weapon and took it out to hold it. She continued to admire the spear. Leone also brought up a good question. Sienna had never thought of giving her new weapon a name. However, she had now thought of what to call it. “Oerba Fang. I believe that’s what’ll I call it. It’s a little childish but when I was young, I’ve heard stories about a great and powerful warrior who wielded a weapon like this similar to that name and I do think it’d be fitting.” She set the weapon upon her back again.

The Faunus blonde liked the idea behind that. “Yeah, that sounds pretty cool. It definitely suits you to a T.” She saw Sienna extend her hand toward the other Faunus woman. Leone thought it was Sienna wanting a handshake, but she thought of something better. “Aww, come here you!”  She wrapped her arms around Sienna and gave her a joyful hug. Sienna was certainly didn’t expect the hug but wouldn’t make it a big deal. This hug only proves that Leone sees her as a comrade she could rely on.

While Leone was hugging Sienna and laughing, Ilia observed the Faunus blonde closely. She was honestly surprised what Leone was really like. _“It’s strange. Just last night, she had the eyes of a killer and now…she’s like a different person now. Not to mention that roar I heard, I know it was from her. Just who is she?”_ She thought back to Adam and when he introduced the Grimm masks. _“Adam once said we wear these masks to make sure people don’t forget what we look like. So we can put fear in the humans who would dare cross us. However, she is entirely different. She doesn’t need a mask. She is beyond more frightening than any Grimm out there in the world. I’m beginning to understand now why Adam is-”_

“Hey!” Ilia’s train of thought was broken when she heard Leone calling out to her. She quickly discovered the Faunus blonde was standing in front of her. Ilia was taken aback a little by the sudden closeness. She saw the glare Leone was giving her and didn’t make her any less nervous. “I’ll tell you this again. You better make sure you were worth all the shit Blake had to go through. I don’t have to remind you if you don’t.”

Ilia gulped as she nodded her head in fear. “I-I won’t let her down.”

Leone smiled as she closed her eyes. “Atta girl!” She slapped Ilia’s back.

Obviously, it stung a little more than Ilia thought. “Ah-ow-ow!” She took a few steps forward while rubbing her back and groaned. _“I think she’s still trying to kill me!”_

“Hey! The boat’s ready to leave now! Just waiting for you to say the word!”

That was Leone’s cue. With all of the goodbyes said, the Faunus blonde made her way to the boat. Before Leone could board, Syka had one gift to give her. "Hey!" Leone turned to the scorpion girl who tossed her scroll. The Faunus blonde caught it easily and stared at it questioningly. “If you ever happen to run into Seryu, please give that to her before you maim her. There’s…something I want her to see.”

Leone still wanted to pummel Seryu for what she did. However, the Faunus blonde was now aware the situation Seryu was in. So, in respect for Syka, she would carry out the scorpion girl’s wish. “Fine, but I’m still pissed at what she did to me.” Leone put the scroll in her pocket.

Sienna also had more thing to say to the other Faunus girl. “Hold on.” The tigress approached the Faunus blonde. “Before you go, I want you to promise me something.”

She leaned her mouth close to Leone’s ear and whispered something to her. Leone groaned in a frustrated manner as Sienna pulled away. “Fine then but it does seem appropriate when you think about it.” With everything said and done, Leone finally boarded the boat and flashed everyone a joyful grin while she waved at them. “See all of ya in less than a month!”

**Insert Seven Deadly Sins Season One Opening 2**

The engine roared to life and the boat started to take off. Blake and everyone else on the pier waved goodbye back at Leone. It was a familiar sight for Blake but this time, she has the help of everyone in Menagerie. Like before, the boat picked up speed and soon enough, Leone was no longer in their sights. Everybody lowered their arms and stared at the horizon for a few moments. Blake, Syka, and Ilia began to walk away while Ghira, Kali, and Sienna remained. “She’s somehow related to Leona, isn’t she?”

Ghira and Kali were caught off guard by Sienna’s comment. “Why do you say that?” Ghira asked.

Sienna smiled as she remembered the moment Leone dropped in front of her and Ghira last night. “I recognized the weapon she wielded on her right arm. When I saw that, for a moment, I thought I saw Leona up until she did that roar. So, am I right somehow?”

Kali giggled as Sienna was right. “Leone is actually her daughter.”

Sienna thought as much but there was something a little off. “If that’s true, she’s so much younger than I thought she’d be.”

The other Faunus woman smiled as she had to drop a bomb on her and Ghira. “Actually…”

Blake and the others had reached the end of the pier. “SHE’S HOW OLD NOW!?” Then they stopped and turned around when they heard Sienna scream. Now that the tigress was over her initial shock, she couldn’t help but laugh now. “I never would’ve expected that. Now I can’t help but envy her.”

In all honesty, so did Kali. “I have to agree.”

Ghira was also surprised to know Leone’s true age. “Well, now that explains everything.” He still had some questions but for now, he was content with what he’d learned. Of course, he learned something else that was important. The Chieftain looked up at the sky. _“Raus, my old friend. You still have hope. Your daughter is here, and I wish the best of luck that you two somehow meet.”_

On the boat, Leone was leaning forward on the railing looking out in the sea. She reflected on her time on Menagerie and how much it impacted her. To think she ended up there from a crash nowhere near there and had discovered something extraordinary. The Faunus blonde looked down at Silver Saber and smiled. _"To think my mom was part of the White Fang. No, to think she was from Remnant. Remnant is my real home."_ Leone couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony that is her life. _“My parents were something like revolutionaries and I ended up fighting for the Revolutionary Army. Then I ended up here helping to take back the White Fang. Is this what they mean by the circle of life because that’s how I feel about this. My entire life basically went through a circle. Kinda funny when you think about it.”_ Leone then stared up at the sky. _“And I have a father out there somewhere, Raus Vermillion. I hope I can meet him one day and tell him the truth. About mom, about me, and what I’ve been through. I wonder how he’d react?”_ While being in though, Leone felt a strong gust of wind and the boat rocked a little. The Faunus blonde stumbled a little and turned to the officer. “Hey, what’s going on!?”

The officer gauged at what happened and pulled the sails down. “It seems we’re getting a pretty strong gust of wind. If it continues like this, we could make it to port sooner than expected.”

That great news for Leone to hear. “The sooner we get there, the better. Now, let’s go!” The boat sped up thanks to the wind. Leone walked up to the front of the boat and saw into the horizon. _“I’m on my way, everyone. It won’t be much longer now. I’m sorry to keep all of you waiting this long. I can’t wait to tell all of you what I’ve been through.”_ She giggled happily at the thought of seeing her team again. In fact, she looked forward to it. Especially seeing Akame again.

Behind the boat where the gust of wind came, that same spiritual figure stood above the water. She briefly saw the boat continue its voyage before vanishing once again in a flash of light.

 


	70. Shared Goals

**A/N: At the time this chapter is posted, I have enrolled into a university. Send thoughts and prayers to me and hope that I can still put out the remaining chapters without long breaks in-between.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Seventy: Shared Goals

_"We're sorry but the number you are calling is not in the available area. Please hang up and try again.”_

_“We're sorry but the number you are calling is not in the available area. Please hang up and try again."_

_"We're sorry but the number you are calling is not in the available area. Please hang up and try again."_

That message kept replaying over and over in Taeko’s head. She could not figure out how their calls and messages couldn’t get through Akame’s scroll. Their leader should be in the same area but for whatever reason, Akame wasn’t. Kurome was sickeningly worried about her sister and as soon the morning came, she, Taeko, Cornelia, and Chelsea would head to the streets. They split up into two teams; Taeko with Chelsea and Cornelia with Kurome. Cornelia wondered why Taeko didn’t suggest they’d go with their significant others but Taeko explained she had her reason. Each team went their separate ways to cover more ground and ask the citizens if they’ve seen Akame. So far, they had no success. Akame’s disappearance wasn’t the only thing on Taeko’s mind. “Okay, thanks for your time.” Chelsea walked away from yet another civilian and approached Taeko who was sitting on a bench. Chelsea sighed in defeat. “Well, that was another dead end. What do you say we move on?” She didn’t hear a reply from the other girl. Chelsea took a double take and saw a very familiar sight. “Hey, Taeko!”

Chelsea managed to break Taeko’s train of thought and lifted her head up to face her. “Oh, you’re done.” She stood up from the bench and turned away from her childhood friend. “Let’s continue.” Taeko started to walk away from the other girl.

Chelsea leered at Taeko before walking closely behind her. Chelsea kept looking at her childhood friend suspiciously as she knew something was up. “Taeko…”

Taeko took a few moments to respond. “Yes?”

At least Chelsea had her attention. “I know that expression you had earlier. Come on, spill it. What were you thinking about?”

The other girl didn’t mind sharing her thoughts. In fact, this was the reason why Taeko wanted to pair up with Chelsea. “I was thinking about what Esdeath’s father had said to us last night.”

Chelsea knew what the other girl was talking about. “Oh, you mean how he told us that Najenda sent letters to our families? Yeah, I remember that.” She groaned in fear. “Granny is going to kill us when she finds out. The only bright side I can think of is that she could help us out when she does get here. After this is over, we’re going back and facing that damn scary punishment of her.” Chelsea shuddered in fear at the mere thought. “Just thinking about last time sends shivers down my spine.”

“I believe that’s not what he said.”

Now the other girl seemed confused. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Taeko thought deeply about what Esren said and compared it to her experience on the road. “You should’ve listened more carefully. Esdeath’s father didn’t say Najenda sent the letters to our families. He said he was sure those same letters were sent to our families. Meaning that he’d assumed.”

Chelsea seemed to be getting the idea now. “Huh, I guess that explains why you kept a cool head when he said that.”

“There’s more.” Taeko continued. “If my family had received such a letter, do you think we’d actually be here in Mistral now? Do you think we would’ve made it far in our journey? The answer is no. If my family knew what I was doing, they would make absolutely sure we wouldn’t get far by sending in operatives. Or worse, they’d send my uncle.”

Chelsea lowered her head and stared at the ground. “Your uncle, huh?” She stopped walking. Taeko noticed this and stopped as well. She turned to her childhood friend and knew she was troubled. “Your uncle is the last person I’d want to meet.”

Taeko could sense the disdain in Chelsea’s voice. “I know you and my uncle don’t exactly get along-”

“It’s just not him.” Chelsea interrupted. She lifted her head to face Taeko “He and almost everyone else in your family made it clear how they feel about me. You know what your uncle said to me. He said I was a mistake. Saying that I was nothing more than a filthy mutt who should've stayed in the streets, where I belong. No matter what I do and how well I do it, he'd never acknowledged me. The only reason he puts up with me, and pretty much most of your family, is because it was Granny's wish."

Taeko remembered that. She remembered well how they first met. A young girl almost the same age as her wearing dirty ragged clothing tried to steal from Babara. She didn’t get far and was afraid how Babara would do to her. Not only she was wearing dirty ragged clothing, she was also filthy and barefooted. It was as if she hadn't had a bath in months. The fear in her eyes told Babara that she must've been caught and beaten before. Babara held her hand out and the small girl flinched. She expected to be hit but it didn’t come. Instead, she saw Babara holding her hand out to her. Taeko could never forget the words her mother spoke to the frightened girl. _"How would you like to escape this dreadful life?"_ And that was the moment Chelsea had entered Taeko’s life.

Of course, when Babara introduced Chelsea to the family, the reactions were expected. Her family didn’t like how her grandmother brought an outsider into their home. However, Babara was quite clear that she would be part of the family now. Especially her uncle. They complied with it, but they would never see Chelsea as part of the family. However, Taeko knew Chelsea more than made up in defying them. “Grandmother knew what she saw in you that day. And she was right. You have proven yourself time and time again. My uncle and everyone else in my family fails to see what my grandmother saw in you. And what I see in you.”

Chelsea chuckled weakly and smiled. “Yeah, that’s pretty much true. But I do want to punch your uncle in the face sometimes.”

Taeko could understand that. “Never mind him. Just focus on what’s more important to you. More specifically, who’s more important to you.” The other girl nodded and seemed to cheer up a little more. Now that they’ve gotten that piece of history behind them, Taeko could focus on another point. “Speaking of what’s more important, if what I think is true, Najenda could’ve only sent the letter to Esdeath’s father.”

The other girl became confused again. “Wait, if what you’re saying is true, then why would she send the letter only to him?”

That was something Taeko wanted to know. “I’m not sure but whatever the reason, it must’ve been important.” She turned away from Chelsea and stared at the upcoming crowd. “We should keep moving now. We still need to ask questions about Akame’s whereabouts.”

Chelsea agreed strongly with the other girl. “Yeah, let’s keep asking around. We gotta turn up a lead somehow.” They resumed walking and their search for their missing leader.

**B**

“Have you seen her?”

“No.”

“Have you seen this girl before?”

“Sorry.”

“Did you see this girl?”

“I’d think I’d remember seeing a girl cute as her.”

“Have you seen her?”

"You know, I think I might've had before." Kurome finally felt a sense of happiness within her when she heard the answer. "She was in the Vytal Festival some months back, right? Man, that was wild with what she did. Come to think of it, aren't you the girl she fought in the first round? Can I have your autograph!?”

Kurome screamed in frustration while walking in the crowd. Cornelia was walking closely behind her while slightly minding the stares they were getting. Kurome was still fuming from the last person she’d asked. “Seriously, that guy I swear…”

Cornelia could understand why the other girl was disappointed in their recent asking. “Don’t worry about it, Kurome. We just need to ask around more.”

Kurome stopped and quickly turned around. She had a rather furious expression. “Don’t worry?! I don’t know where the hell you’ve been in the past twenty-four hours but in case you forgot, Akame’s been kidnapped and we don’t know where the hell she is!” Kurome breathed slightly heavy before she recognized her outburst. Her expression changed from angry to resentful. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

The blonde didn’t blame her for acting like she did. “It’s alright. You’re just worried about your sister.”

The other girl just chuckled as she lowered her head. “Honestly, it’s more like I’m pissed and worried at the same time. I’m still mad at Akame for what she did, but at the same time, she really needs to know. We finally have some good news and Akame needs to know Leone is alive. Of all the times she’d disappears on us, and we have no way of knowing where she is.”

It really was unfortunate timing. The night Yang says Leone is alive is the same night Akame disappears. It just wasn’t Kurome who worried about Akame. It was Cornelia and everyone else. “Well, that’s why we need to keep on asking people. We’re bound to find something sooner or later.”

While Cornelia had a point, Kurome hoped it would be sooner. “Let’s hope you’re right.” They resumed walking through the streets. After a few more attempts of asking and no answers, Kurome spotted a place that seemed helpful. “How about we check this place out?” She pointed a ramen shop. Cornelia nodded, and the two girls walked up to the establishment. Kurome moved one of the hanging cloth out of the way and was the first to enter. “Hello-”

Confetti was blasted everywhere at and around Kurome and Cornelia when she entered. More of what it sounded to be like confetti poppers erupted and more confetti was scattered. The two girls didn’t know what was going on. “CONGRATULATIONS!” congratulations Kurome and Cornelia finally saw who was responsible for blasting those confetti poppers. It was three people in total behind the counter. One of which was an older man, a middle age man, and the last one being seeming around their age. “On behalf of Three Beast's Ramen, we would like to congratulate you on being our three hundredth customers! Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am known as Liver, the head of this ramen shop and one of the top tier ramen masters! And the two beside me are my apprentices. To my left is…”

The middle-aged man smiled at the girls. “You can call me Daidara.”

Liver turned to his other student. “And to my right is…”

The youngest of the three smiled cheerfully. “I’m Nyau.”

“And we are Master Liver’s devoted students!” They both kneeled and extended their arms toward Liver.

Kurome and Cornelia had nothing to say with what they were seeing in front of them. Liver cleared his throat and his two students stood up. “As our three hundredth customer, anything you order is free of charge, no matter how much you order. Quite a deal, don’t you think? In other words, it’s all you can eat for free!”

“For free!” Daidara and Nyau extended their arms upward to emphasize their master’s word.

While eating all you can eat ramen for free sounded enticing to Kurome, she, unfortunately, would have to decline. "As much as I’d like to take the offer, we’re not here to eat.” Liver and his protégés were beyond surprised to hear a customer pass up on such an offer. “We’re here because we’re wondering if you’d seen this girl.” Kurome gestured the blonde and she presented her scroll to them with Akame’s picture.

The three leaned in to observed the picture closer. Liver narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I do believe I've seen this girl. She was here two nights ago."

It was the first bit of good news the girls have heard. “What can you tell us? Anything will help. Anything!”

Liver could see how desperate Kurome was in wanting answers. He thought it’d be best to answer. “Let’s see. She was here with another woman who was quite ravishing. They both came here and ordered some ramen. This younger girl seemed quite defeated, almost as if she had lost something important. It must’ve been quite heavy since she had finished the most ramen bowls I have seen in my entire career.”

That was Akame alright. This woman he mentioned also grabbed Cornelia’s interest. “You said she was with a woman. Can you tell us more about her?”

Liver thought back to the woman Akame was with. “As I’ve said, the woman was quite a beauty. Long raven black hair, wore a deep purple lilane dress, and she had a birthmark under her left eye. While she was easy on the eyes, there was something…off-putting about her."

Kurome raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

Nyau put his hands behind his head. “He means when Daidara tried flirting with her, she gave him this really cold glare. When the master served her ramen, she gently smiled at him. I thought it was because she was into older men.”

“You are close but far Nyau.” Liver responded. “It’s true she gave me quite a pleasant smile but something within me said something else. From that smile and the way she closed her eyes, I could tell that woman was tolerating me at best. I’ve lived for a long time and I could tell there was something else about that woman.” Now Kurome and Cornelia were suspicious about this woman now. “After that, the woman paid for the ramen and they left. That was the last I’ve seen this girl.” 

This was the most information they’ve received and Kurome was grateful for it. “I see. Thank you for helping us. You’ve been a big help.”

Liver was delighted to hear that. “You’re welcome, young miss. The fact you’re here and carrying a picture, I assume this girl means a great deal to you. She’s not in any trouble now, is she?”

He was right on the money right there but Kurome knew better than to involve citizens. “The only trouble she’s in is making her younger sister and friends worry about her so much. Again, thank you for your time.” Kurome gave them a smile and bowed to them. After that, she left.

Cornelia was about to as well but then thought of something. “Do you think you can hold that special offer for us later? My friends and I would appreciate it if we ate here for lunch.”

Liver nodded at the young blonde. “But, of course. We’ll do it just for you.”

Cornelia smiled at them and waved goodbye before leaving. Daidara still had questions about what happened. "What do you think? Did something really happen to that girl?"

Liver had similar thoughts. “The girl did not show it, but she was clearly worried about her. I suppose it has to do with the woman she was with on that night. I don’t know what happened but I’m certain it must’ve been terrible.” Daidara and Nyau were in awe of their master’s perspective. “Okay, now that’s enough. Clean this confetti up and cook up some ramen like your life depends on it! We’ll have customers soon!”

Daidara and Nyau saluted to their master. "Yes, sir!"

Outside, Kurome and Cornelia assessed with what they heard from the ramen shop owner. “What do you think, Kurome? Do you think this is the same woman that called Akame’s scroll?”

The other girl had no room for doubt with what she heard. “I know so. Who else was with Akame that night and called her the following day? Still, what that ramen shop owner said about that woman is concerning. There may be more to this Merraid woman than we thought and it’s not anything good.” Kurome became slightly more worried about her sister. _“Akame, just who exactly did you run into?”_

**B**

“And…there we go. All done.” Weiss turned her body around to see if there were any imperfections with her current state of dress. As the former heiress was done checking, she stared at her reflection a little longer than usual. If she had to be honest, the night she’d spent in this room was leagues beyond better than all those nights she slept in her own room. It would’ve been perfect if not for the fact she and everyone else had not discovered that Akame was not receiving her team’s calls by some mysterious means. Even so, it was nice to catch up with almost everyone. Weiss then heard a few knocks on her door and turned to it. “You can come in.” The door opened, and the former heiress saw Ruby standing before the entranceway. “Ruby…”

Ruby stared at the other girl with uncertainty in her eyes. “Hi, Weiss.” She took a few steps into Weiss’ room. Weiss wasn’t surprised Ruby was here. In fact, she knew exactly why Ruby was here. The young leader stopped just a few more steps away from the other girl and looked at her in the eye. “Weiss, I…well…you see…” The former heiress could tell how nervous Ruby was in trying what to say. It was ironic, actually since she was a girl who jumps headfirst into danger while wielding a sniper/scythe combo weapon that was twice her size. Ruby sighed as she gave up on trying what to say and instead pulled out a note out of her skirt pocket. She unfolded the paper and presented it to the other girl. “Can you please explain this?”

Weiss sighed as she closed her eyes. She opened them and walked over to her bed. The former heiress sat on the edge in the center and laughed weakly a little. “I see you got my note then.”

Seeing Weiss as she is now, looking calm yet sad at the same time. It was a strange sight for Ruby. "Yeah…I did." She folded the paper and put it back in her skirt pocket. “Weiss…did you mean all things you said in the note? Are you really…”

“Everything I wrote in that note is true, Ruby. All of it.”

That was all the confirmation Ruby needed. “So, you’re in love with me? Like, for real?”

The former heiress nodded. “Yes, Ruby. I am. Is it strange for you?”

Ruby felt honestly embarrassed. “Uh…not really. I mean…someone like you and someone like me…” She paused for a moment before recollecting her thoughts. “It just…I’m not used to having two girls being interested in me in that way.” That was understandable to Weiss. If she and Esdeath were males, the situation would be considered normal. However, that wasn’t the case here and it’s not like Ruby said she was uncomfortable with the idea. “Especially with what I am and what I’m supposed to do.”

This time, Weiss lifted her head and turned to Ruby. She also knew what the younger girl was referring to. “You mean what your silver eyes can do?” The former heiress was still astounded to learn Ruby was part of a powerful race of warriors. It certainly did explain why that giant Grimm Dragon was frozen solid back at Beacon. A power like that would certainly be useful in the upcoming fight.

Ruby nodded at the other girl’s question. “Yeah…. but….” Ruby was the one to lower her head this time around.

Weiss knew this was bothering the younger girl more than she thought. “Have you been able to use that power again?”

The younger closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, I haven’t.” She stopped and opened her eyes. “And the truth is I don’t know if I could do it again. Ever since I learned I could do this sort of thing, I’ve been trying to figure out how I did it on my own. So far, I have nothing. Jaune may be struggling to find his semblance but I'm struggling with how to use this power. Over the last six months, I’ve tried, Weiss. I tried, and I still don’t get how this power works. I’m not any closer than when I started. I don’t know what to do.” Ruby closed her eyes again and felt ashamed. Ruby had this great power within her that could be the deciding factor in the battle against Salem. However, she doesn’t know the first thing about her power other than what she was told. It’s not like she could crack open a history book and learn more about the Silver-Eyed Warriors. No, she was on her own in this endeavor.

Ruby was so focused on her own self-doubt, she didn’t notice Weiss standing up and walked over to her. The former heiress then wrapped her arms around the other girl and gave her a heartwarming hug. The young leader opened her eyes in surprise and didn’t expect this to happen. Weiss chuckled softly as she smiled. “You know, it’s kinda strange hearing you talk so negatively about yourself. You're usually the girl who'd tackle their problems head-on while swinging that scythe of yours. You’ll figure out this power of yours someday and you’re not alone. Even if you don’t manage to know how to use your power, you have all of us to deal with Cinder, Salem, or whoever else confronts us. After all, they’re messing with us. That’s more than enough to send a message.” Weiss’ words were comforting to Ruby as she had a point. As long as Ruby has her team, friends, and family, they could handle any threat that comes their way.

The young leader smiled finally and snuggled her face deeper into Weiss’ neck. She wrapped her arms around the other girl. She “Thank you, Weiss.”

Weiss was very glad to hear that. She also had one more thing to say. “You’re welcome. Also, you don’t have to give me your answer now. I’m just content with you knowing how I feel for you. Just being with you, Yang, Blake, and everyone else is more than enough for me.” The former heiress also knew that this wasn’t exactly the best time for Ruby to choose between her and Esdeath. Not only this was a strange situation for her to be in, but they were also preparing to stop an incoming invasion on Haven. One thing was obviously more important than the other.

The two girls embraced each other for a few seconds more before Ruby spoke. “Weiss…”

“Yeah, Ruby?”

Ruby giggled happily a little. “You still owe me a present.”

Weiss couldn't help but giggle as well. As per her leader's fashion, she had to throw off their moment together. The former heiress removed herself from the hug and smiled sweetly at Ruby. “Sure thing.”

**B**

In another room, Esren was sitting on a bed as was Esdeath across from him. The father and daughter were staring at each other silently. The difference was that Esren’s was intensive and Esdeath’s was uncertain while slightly looking away. Esren finally decided to break the silence. “Are you sure you want to go through with this, Esdeath? Do you even know what you’re getting yourself into?”

Esdeath was finally able to look at her father in the eye and nodded. “I am and…I do. When my team and I left Shade, we knew what we’re getting ourselves into. We just didn’t expect-”

“To be up against an ancient evil deity who happens to control all the Grimm.” Esren interrupted. The father crossed his arms. “Esdeath, this is so much more than you can handle and much too dangerous for you and your friends.”

Esdeath scowled at her father for saying those words. “Hunting Grimm is an already dangerous job and we’ve handled ourselves outside just fine over the last six months. My team and Ruby’s. We just had a talk last night how her team had to fight against a dangerous horse Grimm while my team had a fend off a Grimm horde. A horde that I single-handily dealt with myself at one point. Yes, we may be up against a powerful force, but we don’t want a repeat of what happened back at Beacon and Vale. We can’t let Salem win this time. We know this is heavy for all of us, bigger than what we thought before. We all know the stakes in this and I know if you help us, I know better than anyone else it’ll be invaluable.”

After hearing all of that, Esren sighed tiredly. He uncrossed his arms and set his hands on top of his knees. The father also lowered his head. “It’s amazing to see how much you've grown since I've last seen you. You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

His daughter had no doubt in her mind. “I am, and we are.”

Esren sighed deeply this time and exhaled loudly. “I know Qrow Branwen isn’t some fool choosing children to fight this battle. The same can be said for Ozpin. Honestly, I’m still conflicted about this. My original plan was that when I found you, I’d take you back home. Not to Atlas, obviously, but one of the other homes I have and figure out our next move. Now, I can see how serious you are about this.” He lifted his head to look at his daughter again. “I made a promise to your mother, you know. I promised her that I would protect you from any harm. You meant everything to her when you were born and that’s still true to me today.”

Esdeath was surprised to hear about her mother coming from her father. Her expression softened a little. “You rarely speak of mother. The only thing I can remember her by is that picture of her you have in your room.” Esdeath knew little to nothing about her mother but she knew her mother must’ve meant a great deal to her father. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be here today. Still, whenever Esdeath asked questions about her mother, Esren would sometimes avoid the question or redirect into something else. The only detail she knows about her mother was that she was beautiful. Ethereally, really from the picture in her father’s room. Esdeath sighed and decided to ask the big question to her father. “Will you help us, father? I know better than anyone else you’ll be a great help.”

Esren stared intensely at his daughter. He’d made up his mind. “I still have a promise to keep. You won’t be fighting in this alone.”

Esdeath finally smiled brightly and giggled happily. She immediately stood and leaped over to her father for a hug. “Thank you, father! Thank you so much!”

Esren returned the hug but he still retained a slightly doubtful expression. _“Jackalyn…”_

**B**

After some time had passed, the door to Weiss’ room opened and the two girls finally left. At the same time, the door to Esdeath’s room opened and Esdeath and her father left. The two groups saw each other, and Ruby waved at Esdeath. “Morning, Esdeath.” The other girl waved back at the other girl. The young leader inched away from Weiss bit by bit slowly. “Well, I’d to stay and talk but I have to get to my training with Wave soon. I’ll talk to you later bye!” She quickly left Weiss to find Wave and Oscar.

Esren had a similar idea. “I’ll go find Qrow and let him know of my decision. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s at a bar right now.” He promptly left as well.

Now it was just Weiss and Esdeath, but this provided Esdeath a perfect opportunity. “Weiss, can I speak with you for a moment?” Apparently, Weiss became popular this morning. She nodded at the other girl’s request and the two girls made their way to the living room. As they did, there wasn’t anyone around, so they figured they were going to watch Ruby and Oscar’s training. It was fine with Esdeath since she wanted to speak to the former heiress alone.

Weiss took a seat on the center sofa while Esdeath sat on the side couch. The former heiress looked over at the other girl. “So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?”

This was a question Esdeath wanted to ask Weiss ever since last night. “Do you think you can teach me what you did last night? About how you made that living ice Boarbatusk to scare Nora?”

It was quite an expected request coming from Esdeath, but Weiss assumed she had a reason. “Why would you want to learn that?”

Esdeath remembered what Akame said about her otherworld half from before. “One of the things I’ve recently learned about what my other self could do was create living soldiers out of ice. An entire army, actually. I know I can’t do anything that grand of a scale but after seeing you do such a thing, I was hoping you could teach me how to do it. I think it would be helpful to me and to everyone else.”

Just when Weiss heard everything about the Esdeath from Akame and Leone’s world, she learns something new. She and her sister could create ice soldiers and ice Grimm, but the limit was only one. To hear someone who could do something similar on a grander scale was almost scary to the former heiress. However, she couldn’t comply with Esdeath’s request. “I’m sorry, Esdeath but I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want to, but there is a reason as to why I can’t. You see, my semblance is passed down genetically. My sister and I can do what we can do but no one else can. I’ve seen how powerful your semblance can be, but it can’t do like I can do with mine.”

Esdeath sighed in defeat and lowered her head. “I see. Thank you for at least telling me.” Honestly, she was disappointed. Esdeath had hoped she could at least scratch the surface of what her other self could do but it seemed to be forever out of her reach.

Weiss saw how saddened Esdeath and had to think quickly to cheer her up. “You’re still plenty powerful as it. Probably the strongest one out of all of us, currently.” The former heiress had to remember Ruby still hasn’t tapped in her power yet, so it was true for the time being. “Don’t beat yourself up too hard for not being able to learn to small trick like mine. I mean you can still cause an ice storm and technically freeze over an entire arena.”

The other girl giggled a little and lifted her head. She turned to the former heiress and smiled. “I kinda needed that. Thank you.” Weiss waved her hand nonchalantly at her. She was only doing what a friend would do. With her spirits lifted a little, Esdeath moved to her next question. “So, did you tell Ruby? You two leaving your room together kinda says something.”

The former heiress smiled at Esdeath and nodded. “I did, and she hasn’t given me her answer. I’m fine with it since this isn’t exactly a good time for romantic love confessions. Not to mention Ruby isn’t used to having two girls being interested in her.” Esdeath would have to agree with that. “Still, it’s kinda surprising you haven’t made a move on Ruby during the time I wasn’t around.”

This time, Esdeath gave the former heiress a sly smile. “Well, it wouldn’t be fair for my rival. I gotta at least give her an equal shot. Otherwise, it would not have been very sportsmanship-like.”

Weiss returned the other girl’s smile with a cocky smirk of her own. “How very polite of you.” The two girls giggled together happily.

**B**

After their brief bonding moment, Weiss and Esdeath were walking over to the training grounds. They figured the young leader started her training and the former heiress wanted to see what it was like. That and seeing Ruby actually fight hand-to-hand. When they did approach the training grounds, they saw a crowd of their friends, but Ruby was among them. Esdeath would’ve figured her training already started but she was standing next to Wave. Something was obviously up. “Ruby!”

The young leader and Wave looked back to see the two ice users approaching them. “Weiss, Esdeath.”

They finally caught up with the teacher/student duo. “What’s going on? I thought you were supposed to be training?” Weiss inquired.

Wave and Ruby looked at each other briefly before looking back at the two girls. “That was the plan but…” They moved away from each other to make room for Weiss and Esdeath. They approached their spot and saw what was going on.

It didn’t take long for them to see what was going on. “Wait, what?” They saw Yang and Seryu standing away from each other and were having a stare off. Already, Weiss was confused. “What exactly is going on here?”

 Wave studied the scene before him. “We were going to start but then Ruby’s sister challenged Seryu to a fight. I was going to intervene but then Seryu accepted. She seemed pretty adamant about it.” The soldier was worried about his ally, but he trusted in whatever. Still, he was curious as to why Seryu said to him “don’t get in the way” briefly before the fight would begin.

The two girls were staring each other off before Seryu spoke. “Before we begin, I want to ask you two questions. Why do you want to fight me and what’s the reason behind it?”

Yang’s response was narrowing her eyes angrily at the Faunus girl. “I heard about your fight from Leone. What you did to her, I won’t forgive you for it. You did more than separate her from her team. You’re responsible for all this commotion going on.” Seryu remained silent at the comment. Yang flicked her right wrist to activate Ember Celica. “Since Leone isn’t here, I’m just going to have to kick your ass in her place.”

Seryu glared back at the blonde. "If you're so confident, then try me." That was all the incentive the brawler needed. She raised her right hand and fired a shot to launch herself straight at the Faunus girl. As she neared the other girl, Yang pulled back her left arm and threw it forward. The Faunus girl was struck hard by the blow and stepped back a few steps. The blonde wasn’t done yet as she pulled back her right arm this time. She dealt a right cross this time at the other side of Seryu’s face. Yang then jumped to perform a spinning roundhouse kick to the right side of the Faunus girl’s face. Seryu was sent away and tumbled across the ground. Once she stopped, the blonde heard Seryu laugh a little. The former White Fang member pushed herself up from the ground and turned to the brawler while smiling. “Is that all you got? Your friend hits harder than you!" She stood up and gestured at the other girl. "Come on!"

Yang gladly took up the offer and launched herself at Seryu again. As she reached her again, the blonde started wailing on the Faunus girl. As it continued, Wave was having a hard time trying to stay still while seeing his comrade being beaten senseless. The only thing stopping him from intervening, despite Seryu’s wish, was that he noticed something strange. _“Seryu…what are you doing?”_

It wasn’t Wave who noticed it. Jaune noticed something was wrong as well. “Is it just me or is Seryu really not fighting back?”

Ren noticed it as well and something else. With one of the hits from Yang, he saw that Seryu spat out blood. “It’s just not that. She hasn’t activated her aura.”

Nora raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What? Why hasn’t she done it? Is she crazy or something?” Ironic for someone who is the definition of crazy to say that.

Oscar tried to figure out why Seryu would do such a thing. “Is it because she forgot?”

_“No.”_ Ozpin replied. _“She’s purposely not engaging her aura. As for her reason, it’s quite clear.”_ Oscar didn’t know what the former headmaster was talking about.

Even Yang started to see what was going wrong with the fight. _“What’s going on?”_ After one more hit to Seryu to the ground, the blonde stopped and stared at the other girl.

Seryu was breathing heavily as she was on her hands once again. “What’s…wrong? Why’d you…stop? I can do this…all day.”

Yang glared at the other girl. “Why aren’t you fighting back? You’re just letting me hit you over and over and not even defending yourself.”

The Faunus girl chuckled a little in a deranged way. “I thought this is what…you wanted. To teach me…a lesson. To get back at me for…your friend.”

She wasn’t wrong about that but even Yang had limits. “I do but this isn’t how it was supposed to go. With me just wailing on you, it’s not right. So, why?”

Seryu gritted her teeth and her fingers dug into the ground. “Because I deserve it. You were right. I am responsible for everything that’s happened recently to that red-eyed girl. Hell, you can blame her kidnapping on me if you want. All my life, I’ve known nothing but pain, misery, and betrayal. What’s one more beating, huh? For all the shit I’ve done in the past.” She raised her head and had a desperate expression. “What more do you want to add onto me!”

Weiss was beginning to understand Seryu a little more now and felt sorry for her. _“She’s treating this as a punishment for everything she’s done.”_

Seryu gave a defeated chuckled and lowered her head. “So, go ahead. Beat me until you feel satisfied or you can keep beating me to a pulp. Either way, I supposed it doesn’t matter. Adam and the White Fang have already caused more than enough pain to me.” The Faunus girl was ready to receive whatever Yang would do to her.

Or so she thought. Whatever anger Yang had toward the other girl faded away. It seemed they had one thing in common. “You know, you’re not the only one Adam had hurt.” Seryu lifted her head to look at the blonde again. “After all, he’s the one that did this to me.” Yang brought up her robotic arm up and presented it to the other girl. Seryu quietly gasped at the small truth. “That’s not all.” Yang set her arm down. “He’d hurt the girl I love, and I will make him pay for what he did. For what he did to me and to Blake. And I’ll make sure we all see to that.” She lowered herself and extended her robotic arm to Seryu. The Faunus girl could only stare in disbelief at what she was seeing in front of her. Here was a human who she let pummel her, only to set aside their differences to focus on a single goal. Seryu was prepared to accept her punishment but wasn’t expecting this turn of events. There was only one thing she could do now.

Seryu grabbed Yang’s hand and the blonde pulled the other girl up. Wave smiled as he was relieved this whole debacle was over. He hated seeing one of his allies being beaten without doing anything, even if it was at Seryu’s request. The two girls gripped each other’s hands for a few seconds more before letting go. Since Yang was willing to help her, it was only fair to let her know something important. “He’s afraid of her, you know.”

Yang seemed confused for a brief second. “Who is?”

“Adam.” Seryu’s replied. “He’s afraid of your friend and it’s just not him. Most of the White Fang is. They have never encountered someone like her before and to see Adam in the state he was after Beacon, well, that sent a message to everyone. Even Sienna. Hell, I was scared when I went up against her despite the bravado I put up. Hearing about her strength was nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand. Since you said she was alive, that just gives us another advantage over him.” She was right about that. And since Yang now knows Adam fears Leone, that would give them another edge in the upcoming fight. Yang hasn’t fully forgiven Seryu for

**B**

“Hey! We’re here!”

Leone sat up from the deck after taking a short nap and yawned loudly. She stood up and walked to the front of the boat to see the harbor ahead of them. The Faunus blonde smiled as she was now one step closer in reuniting with the team. The boat pulled up next to a pier and stopped. Leone didn’t waste any time jumping from the boat to the pier. She turned to the officer who sailed along with her and waved at him. “Thank you for bringing me here! Tell Ghira I said thanks too!” The officer waved back at her and prepared for the trip back.

Leone walked along the pier before finally setting foot on solid ground. She scanned the area and it seemed to be a bit of a tourist area. Faunus and humans were walking around and buying trinkets and whatnot to bring back home. The Faunus blonde spotted an informational booth and walked up to it. Leone approached the clerk behind the desk. “Excuse me.”

The clerk turned around and saw Leone looking at him. “Yes, can I help you?”

The Faunus blonde knew exactly what she wanted. “Can you tell me the fastest way to get to Mistral? I’m kinda in a hurry.”

It was a regular request the clerk often gets asked and looked off to the side. “If you’re in a hurry to get to Mistral, that path up ahead will take you straight to it. You can take a vehicle on the road and you’ll get there eventually. Of course, going on foot isn’t any less dangerous since there are bandits out there.”

Leone looked at the same direction and narrowed her eyes. “I see. Thanks a lot, pal.” She left the booth and headed to where the path to Mistral began. The Faunus blonde took a good long look at the road ahead and took in a deep breath. “Okay, time to cut loose now.” Leone took up a starting runner’s position. Several people around noticed what she was doing and wondered what she was doing. Some said she was going to run toward Mistral but thought she was crazy. Others offered Leone a ride, but she ignored them. Leone took in another deep breath and counted the seconds. “Five…” She also counted her heartbeat. “Four…three…two…” After the fourth heartbeat, Leone exhaled. “One.” At that exact moment. Leone launched herself at the path ahead. Her takeoff was rather thunderous and shook the very ground. Dust even kicked up from where the Faunus blonde once stood. It was as if a sonic boom had gone off in the area.

As it settled, the people who were looking at Leone quickly discovered she was gone. She left quite a large crater in place after her takeoff. The crowd looked inward at the path and saw that Leone was already gone from their sights. They had never seen such a thing before and kept on staring at the path Leone as running down. Leone was running down the path at a breakneck speed. The trees were shaken with several of their leaves falling off as the Faunus blonde passed them. Leone was more than determined to finally see her team again. _“I’m almost there everyone. I’ll make it to Mistral before all you of you know it. I just need to know to where to find you all first.”_ With that mindset, Leone increased her speed to reach Mistral as soon as possible.

 


	71. What Your Heart Says

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Seventy One: What Your Heart Says

“Hey!” The lowlife and his pals saw one of their own running up to them from up the road. “Something big is heading our way. At least that’s the size of the dust cloud it’s leaving behind is telling me!”

The lowlife smiled as this was just the break he needed. “How soon will it arrive?”

His ally stopped and tried to catch his breath. "A few minutes, actually. We need to act ASAP."

A smaller time window the lowlife was used to, but he could work with it. Everyone in the group took up their positions behind the trees. They kept a close eye on their future target and soon enough, they saw the huge dust cloud coming at them. The Lowlife thought it must’ve been something big carrying that was valuable. Probably a lot of valuables. Whatever it was, it was coming in fast. He and everyone in his group jumped out from the trees and pointed their weapons at what was approaching them. “Hand over your valuables no-”

He didn’t have to time to finish his threat as the Lowlife and his crew were run through and tossed into the air. They all screamed as they fell to the ground. Each of them crashed hard and groaned out of grogginess and pain. One of them asked the same questions they all had. “What the hell was that!?”

The Lowlife questioned that as well, but he only had one thing on his mind. “Things are really not going my way recently.”

Unknown to them, it was Leone trucking through the path. “What did I just hit? Eh, probably wasn’t important.” The Faunus blonde continued to run down the path that led toward Mistral. She had been running for some time since her leaving of the port. The Faunus blonde wondered how much longer it would take to reach Mistral. With her next step, Leone jumped high into the air to get a clear view of her surroundings. Apart from the forest being on all sides, she did see a large city up ahead in the far distance that reminded her a little of the Capital. She smiled as she knew what the city was. “That’s gotta be Mistral. Huh, kinda looks like the red-light district back at the Capital if it took over the Capital. Doesn’t it look too far.” Leone fell and landed on the ground. “It’s just a small hop, skip, and a jump away. So, let’s get to it!” The Faunus blonde crouched down and skyrocketed back into the air toward Mistral while leaving a large crater behind. Leone propelled straight at Mistral while closing the distance greatly. Already she could see her destination coming closer to her. The Faunus blonde couldn’t help but laugh. “This is awesome! How come I didn’t think of this before!?”

Leone began to descend and landed on her boots with a loud crash. She didn’t waste any time launching herself back up into the air. This time, the Faunus blonde put in more force into her jump and further than before. The distance between her and Mistral became even shorter. Leone fell again to the ground and landed on her feet. She took in a deep breath and crouched as low as she could. “Come on. One more and give it all you got!” Leone gave a loud roar as she put everything she had in her last jump. Her third takeoff not only left a huge crater but cracks outside of the rim of the crater as well. That last jump sent her high and long and each second brought Mistral closer and faster. Judging by the distance, the Faunus blonde predicted she’ll land just at the bottom outskirts of the city. Mistral became closer and closer to Leone until it was like she could touch the city with her hand. Finally, Leone began to descent as she neared the outskirts. Finally, Leone was able to reach her destination and landed at Mistral with a thunderous crash. Or at least a rural part of Mistral. Nevertheless, the Faunus blonde considered this to be a success. Her landing also seemed to attracted attention from some of the residents but didn’t mind them.

Leone briefly scanned the area. “Well, since I’m here, might as well find the nearest pub for information.” She glanced over at one of the residents who was looking at her. “Excuse me!”

The resident was surprised she spoke to him. “Uh, yes?”

“Do you know where the closest dive is?” Leone asked.

The resident paused for a few seconds before pointing at the direction behind her. "If you walk down there, you'll find a place like that but…they don't exactly serve Faunus. Also, I think you’re a little young.”

Leone didn’t care about that at all. “That’s fine. Thanks for the help.” She turned around and headed toward her destination.

As the Faunus blonde walked, she took a closer at the place she was at. It really did remind her of the area she and her mother used to live. Leone soon saw the dive she was looking for and saw the sign that said no Faunus allowed. She approached the building and slide the door open. It was sight Leone had not seen in a long time. The Faunus blonde could practically smell the booze in the air. There seemed to be a few people here and some were already passed out drunk. She also saw who seemed to be the owner craving a wood sculpture. The Faunus blonde walked up to him and stopped behind the counter. The owner stopped carving and looked up at her. He’d noticed her lion ears. “Didn’t you read the sign? We don’t serve Faunus here. On top of that, you’re a minor. Beat it.”

Leone chuckled as she grinned. “Well, that’s great since I’m not here for food. Also, I didn’t give a shit. I’m here for information.”

The owner glared at the Faunus girl before pointing his knife at her. “This is your last warning. Get out. Now.”

Leone’s grin faded and was replaced by a scowl. She glared back at the owner and pressed her right palm in front of the tip of the knife. “Go ahead. See if you got the balls to do it. I dare you.”

The owner wasn't expecting her to do this kind of thing. He thought the girl was crazy. A couple of people in the dive also saw what was going on and thought the same. The owner looked into Leone’s eyes and saw that she was serious. He also saw something else in her eyes as well. The owner hesitated a little before withdrawing his knife. “You have one minute ask your questions.”

Leone smiled as she was glad this didn’t take a violent turn as she set her hand down. “Plenty of time. What I have to ask is pretty basic. How does Mistral work and where I can find a hotel? One that a small group can spend some time here.”

If she was asking those questions, the owner figured she wasn’t around here. “If you’re asking about the hierarchy here, it’s simple. The higher you go, the nicer it gets. At the top is Haven Academy. Right now, you’re at the near bottom. You can reach all of them through an elevator in the middle of the city on a platform. There are also stone stairways that are the main routes in the city. As for the hotel, it’s the same thing. You’ll find the hotel you’re looking for at one of the higher levels. Probably near the top.”

That was all the information Leone needed and more. She smiled at the owner. “Thanks for the info. As promised, I’ll be outta your hair now. Later.” The Faunus blonde promptly left the dive while shutting the door behind her.

One of the customers approached the owner and laughed. “I think the kid was six kinds of crazy pulling that stunt off. These Faunus are crazier than I thought.”

“She wasn’t crazy.” The customer turned to the owner who looked at the door. “That look in her eyes told me she was dead serious. Not only that, but she had the same kind of look I’ve seen from the Huntsmen I’ve served here. I don’t know what kind of shit that kid went through, but it must’ve been severe. And I’m not talking about the usual problems Faunus have. No, it must’ve much more serious. Whatever the case, that’s one Faunus I don’t want to mess around with.”

Outside the dive, Leone was a few steps away and turned around to see the rest of Mistral. “So, the higher I go, the better it’ll be. Sounds easy enough. I could take the elevator to near the top but what's the fun in that? I think it'll be faster if I jump my way up. Once I'm close to the top, I should be able to find Akame and the others. They had to be bunking at a hotel or an inn somewhere up there." Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud growling sound coming from her stomach. Leone held her stomach and laughed awkwardly. "I guess all that running and jumping worked up an appetite. It’s a good thing Kali gave me some money for lunch. Maybe I’ll hit up a ramen shop at one of the upper levels. Well, better get going then.” Leone effortlessly jumped onto one of the houses and continued to do so toward near the top of Mistral.

Compared to her jumping those long distances, scaling up the city was much easier. And much more fun. Leone laughed every few minutes as she jumped from one building to the next without causing property damage. Before Leone knew it, she was about halfway up in Mistral. The Faunus blonde jumped to the next building and grabbed an open window and pulled herself up. Only for her to see she grabbed the window of the women's bathhouse and the women inside had no towels to cover them or did. Leone stared at them wide-eyed while the women did the same. They were in complete silence for a few moments until Leone spoke up. "Uh, don't mind me, girls. Just passing on through." With nothing else to say, the Faunus blonde continued her climb.

The women in the bathhouse had no idea what to think what just happened. One of them decided to speak up. “So…does it still count if the pervert is a girl?”

After that awkward moment of silence, Leone continued climbing upward the city. Once she got to a certain level, Leone did see another change. The Faunus now understood what the owner meant. The higher you go; the nicer Mistral becomes. Leone landed on the roof of the next house she climbed and looked up to see how much more she has to go. “Looks like I'm near the top. Just a few more jumps and I’m there.” She heard her stomach growl again and sighed. “I really need to eat first before I go off looking for the others.” Leone didn’t waste any more time jumping to her destination. A couple of more jumps and Leone managed to arrive near the top of Mistral. She jumped off one more house and landed in an ally. The Faunus blonde stepped out of the ally and saw the crowd walking around. She already could hear over multiple sounds everywhere and various scents. It seemed like she won’t be tracking her team down by those means. Her stomach growled again and was beginning to be annoyed. “Yeah, yeah. I get it already! Let’s just find a damn ramen shop already.” Leone walked into the crowd and went to search for the first ramen shop she could find.

**B**

At Three Beast’s Ramen, Kurome and the others were taking a much-deserved lunch break. Especially by asking all the questions about Akame's whereabouts. While they were enjoying their free ramen, Cornelia explained what they were told from Liver. As usual, Chelsea had some remarks. "Okay, so you're saying is that our only lead to Akame is this woman who is the same one that called her scroll and she may be the same person who took Akame. Is that right?” She slurped her next pile of ramen. “Damn, these guys know how to make ramen.”

Cornelia finished her pile to reply. “That about sums it up. I mean, who else was with Akame during that time? What worries me the most is what kind of a woman Akame encountered. She couldn’t be captured that easily if she was just an ordinary citizen.”

Chelsea finished slurping her ramen. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? That woman Akame slept with was the enemy. Therefore, the enemy has her.” Cornelia became immediately worried.

Taeko, however, had a differing thought. “We don’t know that for certain, Chelsea.” She quietly slurped her ramen.

Her childhood friend glared at the other girl. “Oh, so what you’re saying is that some random woman, who could be something like a yandere based on what Kurome and Cora told us, just so happened to kidnap Akame who was trained as an assassin.” Chelsea was lucky Liver and his apprentices were behind a soundproof wall making their next batch of ramen in their kitchen. Liver said something about keeping the privacy of their customers.

Taeko finished her ramen. “And what proof do you have of that claim?”

Now Chelsea was starting to become a little peeved. “Oh, come on! It’s kinda all there. We’re at where the bad guys are, Akame goes missing, therefore, they are responsible! That woman she slept with is with the enemy!”

Chelsea did have a point and Kurome agreed with her. “Chelsea’s right, Taeko. Sure, it may seem coincidental, but it fits too perfectly. Akame goes to meet this Merraid woman yesterday and it just so happens we couldn’t call her scroll the same day. In what place in Mistrial are our calls not getting through to her?" Kurome unintentionally broke her chopsticks. "Damn it."

Chelsea, like the good girlfriend she was, dipped her chopsticks and pulled out ramen for the other girl. “Here you go.” Kurome took up the offer and ate the ramen Chelsea offered.

Taeko knew when she was outnumbered. “I’ll concede. However, this does bring up new problems. If Akame has been taken prisoner, the enemy will no doubt try to get information out of her. By any means.”

Her comment got to Kurome and Cornelia became more worried. Chelsea thought otherwise. “I don’t think Akame would dish out everything to the enemy. She was an assassin so I’m guessing she was trained to withstand torture and not give out information. If she had, the enemy would’ve been knocking on our door. Unfortunately, we don’t know where she is. Much less a place where our calls can’t get through. Yeah, we have an idea what the woman looks like but that’s about it.”

“No, it’s not.” Chelsea turned her attention to Kurome now. “We know what the woman who took Akame looks like. That’s another lead for us. Even if it’s a slim chance, I’ll take whatever I can get. The only upside to all of this is that we now know Leone is still alive, but we don’t know when she’s leaving Menagerie and we don’t know when she’s is coming here!”

“Finally, a ramen shop. Hey! Can I get some ramen with pork here?”

Everyone in the group their attention to the new arrival and speak of the devil, Leone showed up. The Faunus blonde also turned her attention to them and they just stared each other wide-eyed in surprise. Everything became silent. Liver came out the door holding two more bowls of ramen in his hands. “And here are the next bowls. I hope you’re not done yet.” He was greeted the sight of his customers gone.

Daidara and Nyau also came out and were perplexed. “That’s weird. Where did they go?”

Nyau saw something on the counter and walked up to it. He recognized what was left on the counter. “It’s either they paid us regardless they had free ramen or left us a really big tip.”

**B**

“Next batch is up.”

“Thanks/Thank you, Wave.”

It was lunchtime for Ruby and group and Wave served the food he cooked up. It was much needed after the training Ruby and Oscar had to do after Yang and Seryu’s one-sided fight. Even Yang had to give props to the food she was eating. “Holy shit, you actually made this? Dude, the chick the ends up with you will be frigging happy is she could eat like this.”

Her comment made Seryu choke on her food for a few seconds before pounding her chest to force it down. Even Weiss was impressed by the food she was eating. “This is quite amazing. Where did you learn to cook like this?”

Wave chuckled awkwardly at the question. “Well, when I decided I wanted to be a soldier, I figured cooking would be beneficial. Honestly, I owe it all to my mother teaching me. That and I self-taught myself for a bit after I left home.” Apparently, Wave’s mother was the exact opposite of Weiss’.

“I did it! I finally did it!”

Everyone stopped eating when they heard a new voice. Esdeath easily recognized who the voice belonged to. "Was that Rienna?" She quickly left the table and went into the living room. 

Everybody else followed suit and saw Esdeath looking up at the second floor where Rienna was. She appeared to have dark circles around her eyes and seemed to be sleep deprived. However, the blonde had an accomplished smile on her face. “It’s finally fin…ished.”

Rienna collapsed on the floor which made Esdeath worried. “Rienna!” She quickly ran up the stairs to see if her teammate was alright. Esdeath reached the blonde and inspected her closely. “Rienna, are you okay?” Her response was hearing a growling sound coming from the blonde.

Rienna groaned weakly. “Food. I…really need to eat some…food.”

**B**

Sounds of food being scarfed down could be heard in the kitchen. Rienna was chowing down on the food like there was no tomorrow. It was quite a…sight to put in the least. However, that wasn’t what was on Weiss’ mind right now. “So, let me get this straight. You were in your room for more than twenty-four hours, without food or sleep?”

Rienna swallowed her food loudly before looking at the former heiress. “That’s pretty much it. I started working on my weapon right around when Akame left yesterday. Oh, and I’m sorry about what happened with your family, Weiss. Still, it’s surprising to see you and Yang here.”

Esdeath knew what that meant coming from the other girl. “So, you’re finished with Devil Incarnate?”

The blonde stopped eating momentarily and nodded. “Yep. It should perform better in the upcoming fights now. Of course, I had to lessen the damage output of my firepower to increase mobility, but I don’t think it’ll be that bad since-” Rienna stopped herself before she rambled on. “I’m sorry. I…kinda get passionate when it involves with Devil Incarnate.”

Ruby giggled as she understood the best out of all of them. “It’s alright. I'm the same when it comes to Crescent Rose. I’d like to hear more about what modifications you made when you have the time.”

Rienna nodded and would like to have that. She looked at her food and began eating again. In between bites, the blonde wanted to ask a very particular question for a while now. “By the way, Seryu, was it?” She swallowed another large portion of her meal. “You wouldn’t have happened to watch Azure Angel, would you?”

Seryu gasped as that as the first time anyone had said that title to her. Even Jaune was surprised to hear what he heard. “Wait, you watched Azure Angel?”

The Faunus girl was still in shock someone else knew about Azure Angel. “How did you…”

"Those who would commit acts of evil, to harm the innocent, and ensure chaos, I swear I'll bring down the hammer of absolute justice upon them all. It's different but I remember Azure Angel said something similar. Also, the pose you did also seems to resemble what Azure Angel did in certain episodes." Rienna explained.

Weiss, and mostly everyone else was confused as to what the blonde was talking about. "Okay, what's this Azure Angel stuff you're talking about?"

Jaune would be the one to explain to all of this. “Azure Angel was a successful superhero tv show. It was about a guy who took up the name of Azure Angel to deliver justice and protect the innocent. His mantra was ‘Those who would commit acts of evil, to harm the innocent, and ensure chaos, I swear I’ll bring down the hammer of rightful justice upon them all’.

Nora couldn’t help but snicker at his explanation. “Leave to the guy who likes to eat Pumpkin Pete cereal to know a superhero tv show.”

“Hey, Pumpkin Pete is awesome!” Jaune and Seryu spoke at the same time.

They both looked at each other and were surprised by what the other one said. “Hold on. You like Pumpkin Pete Cereal too?”

It was awkward for Seryu to admit it, but this was the only opportunity to come out with the truth. “Y-Yeah. It’s my favorite cereal.”

Jaune squealed loudly with joy and wanted to hug the Faunus girl. “Finally! I’m not the only one now!”

Ruby and the others couldn’t believe they met another person who had the same taste in cereal as Jaune. Even more unbelievable that it was Seryu of all people. Then an idea came to Ruby. “If you like Pumpkin Pete, then I’m sure Jaune wouldn’t mind showing you the shirt he’s wearing.”

Jaune knew exactly what the young leader was talking about. He started to take off his armor and when he did, it showed the Pumpkin Pet symbol on it. Already, Yang was stifling her laughter while Weiss groaned in disgust while shaking her head. Seryu, however, had a completely different reaction. “Oh, you lucky bastard! You have no idea how jealous I am right now.”

That comment stopped Yang from laughing and Weiss turning her attention to the Faunus girl now. The impossible finally happened. “Never thought we’d see the day someone would be envious of Jaune’s Pumpkin Pete shirt.”

During all this, Wave laughed at the different reactions Seryu was having. The Faunus girl turned to him. “What so funny to you?”

The soldier continued to laugh and looked at the former White Fang member. “It’s just…it’s really nice to see such a different side of you. You liking superheroes and…whatever this Pumpkin Pete guy is.”

“It’s a cereal brand.” Yang answered.

Wave was grateful for that and continued. “It’s…a nice change.”

Seryu was thankful to hear that, and now that she thought about it, it was nice to let all of all of this out. “Well, it just…no one in White Fang shared some of my more personal favorites. What would they think of me if they knew one of their higher-ups was into superheroes or liked a children’s cereal brand. Because of that, I had to keep it all to myself. At times I did miss it. Watching my favorite tv show, eating Pumpkin Pete while doing so, I missed it so much. By now, I'm sure the show is either finished or canceled." Seryu stopped talking and sighed heavily. “me is written out from my life.”

 Wave could see how saddened Seryu was when she mentioned her friend. However, he knew Seryu was wrong. “That’s not true. You have people here now who like the same things as you. Hopefully, you could consider them your friends. At least, eventually.”

First comrade, and now friend. After what happened with Syka all those years ago, Seryu never wanted to be friends with anyone else ever again. The only thing closest to that was the White Fang members she fought alongside with. However, Seryu really never felt that same feeling of kinship she had with Syka. Being friends with humans now would be the highest irony of her life. But Wave had done so much for her and The Faunus girl just now discovered one of them also watched Azure Angel and the other liking Pumpkin Pete cereal. Seryu chuckled at the idea. “I guess it wouldn’t be so bad. Even if there is a Schnee among you.”

Weiss didn’t take any offense to that. “Trust me, you wouldn’t be the first ex-White Fang member I’d be friends with.”

During this heartwarming scene, they heard the front door open. Or rather slammed wide open as Taeko and Chelsea immediately entered the living room. Both girls seemed like they had seen a ghost. Esdeath was the first approach them. “Chelsea, Taeko. What’s wrong? Did you find a lead on Akame?”

Chelsea responded with a creepy grin. “We found something just as good.”

Both her and Taeko moved away and everyone heard a scream from a very familiar voice. Esdeath and everybody saw Leone being thrown in the middle of the room face down. The Faunus blonde growled as she stood up and glanced at Kurome who threw her. "What the hell!? I know it's been a while since we've seen each other, but you didn't have to drag me away from the ramen shop!"

“Leone!”

Before Leone could react, she was pulled in by Esdeath for a hug. With her face buried into Esdeath’s cleavage. “You’re finally here! I’m so happy to see you again!” Leone’s response was muffled for obvious reasons.

The scene was humorous to Chelsea. “I think I’m starting to see a pattern when it comes to Esdeath and hugs.”

Leone forced herself out of the hug and breathed heavily. “I thought I was going die right there.”

“Are you okay, Leone?”

The Faunus blonde turned her attention to Ruby. “Yeah, I’m fine Ruby. She then quickly realized it was actually Ruby standing in front of her. “Wait, what the hell?! Why are you here?” Leone looked around the room and saw other familiar faces. “Jaune? Nora? Ren? You guys are here too?” She noticed Weiss next. “Hold on. Is that Weiss?! I thought your ass was being sent back home.” The former heiress didn’t know if she should be offended by hearing that.

Upon seeing her once thought dead teammate, Rienna left whatever food was left ran up to the rest of the group. She was shocked to see Leone again. “Wait, you’re alive!? I thought you were dead?”

Chelsea knew why Rienna would be confused about all of this. "Oh, yeah. You weren't here when Yang told us the truth about Leone. Come to think of it, you're actually out of your room now, Rienna? How long were you in there?”

Yang was just as surprised as everyone else but for a different reason. “You’re actually here now. Does that mean everything Menagerie is done?” 

Leone was about to answer until she saw yet another familiar face in the crowd. A face she couldn't ever forget. “YOU!” The Faunus blonde snarled angrily at Seryu and bared her fangs at her. “Why the hell are you here!”

Seryu became frightened as she understood why the other Faunus girl was pissed at her. She took a step back before Wave put his arm in front of her. “You leave her alone now!”

Leone anger was quickly replaced with shock. “What the…how of all people are you here?! I thought you stayed back at the Capital?”

Seryu looked back and forth between Leone and Wave. Now she was the one confused as her attention focused on Wave. “I thought you said you didn’t know her!”

Wave was in the same boat as her. “I don’t know her!”

The Faunus blonde to explain. “He’s telling the truth. We’ve never met before but Tatsumi did tell us all about you and the Jaegers.”

It finally hit Wave of who the girl in front of him really was. “Wait, you were a part of Night Raid?!”

Out of all this chaos, Oscar calmly walked up to Leone with Ozpin’s cane in hand. _“It brings me such joy in seeing you once again, Miss Wild.”_ Oscar, or rather Ozpin stopped in front of Leone and smiled at her.

Leone only stared at him in confusion. “Uh…who’s the kid here?”

**B**

Leone groaned as she sat on the main couch while rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. She'd only arrived in Mistral not too long ago and was already been given a huge info dump. Jaune was slightly worried about her. "Is she okay? Leone's been like that for a couple of minutes now."

Cornelia saw this kind of reaction before from her teammate. “She’s just trying to take in everything she was told. Leone really never was good with learning so much at once. It always happens whenever we had to study for a test.”

After a couple more seconds, Leone let out a deep sigh and removed her hands from her forehead. “Okay, let me see if I got this straight.” She turned to Ozpin who was sitting in his usual chair. “Not only you're alive, but you're also a self-reincarnating being who has lived for god knows how long and now you’re in the body of a kid. No offense but that’s kinda weird. You’re also the one who gave the Maidens their powers in the first place. And our actual enemy is some megalo-evil bitch called Salem who happens to be the leader of all the Grimm in the world who wants to bring the end of humanity. Oh, and Qrow can turn into a bird which makes sense but also a little lame. Did I get everything?”

Ren nodded at Leone’s question. “That would be about it.”

The Faunus blonde blew out some air as she tried to contemplate everything she’d heard of. “And just when I thought we had to worry about the White Fang attacking Haven and dealing with Cinder and her two stooges. Speaking of the White Fang…” She turned her attention to Seryu who was leaning against the wall. “How did you ever end up here and ran into my friends?” Leone already knew the White Fang backstabbed Seryu. However, she didn’t expect to run into her so soon. Much less in Mistral.

At least the other Faunus girl wasn’t to rip her head off from the get-go. Seryu could take solstice in that. “To make a long story short, I was betrayed by the White Fang and Adam stabbed me. I managed to get away by using a shuttle and crashed near here. When I went into Mistral, he…” She nodded toward Wave. “Recognized me and…now I’m here.”

Leone wasn’t surprised Wave would recognize Seryu since they were on the same team before back in their world. Speaking of the soldier, the Faunus blonde had another question for him. She turned her attention to him now. “And what about you? How’d you end up in Remnant? Did you walking into a forest and make a wish?”

Wave nodded at her question. “I did. I arrived in this world over six months ago. I was living with a Faunus woman called Armasu when we encountered Ruby’s group.” That was new info to hear for Seryu. “After saving Ruby, Armasu and I said our goodbyes and I traveled with them. It wasn’t long before I ran into your team. We then all headed to Mistral together.” Leone figured this must’ve happened after her fight with Seryu. If he’d ran into her team, that meant Wave also ran into Akame. The Faunus blonde could only imagine how that meeting went.

Since how Seryu and Wave met up with the others, it was Yang’s turn to ask questions. Primarily with why Leone was here. “Leone…” The other blonde turn to her. “Since you’re here now, does that mean everything in Menagerie is finished? Blake, her family, the White Fang over there?”

Leone chuckled as she couldn’t almost believe what happened last night. “Yeah, everything’s wrapped up over there. Corsac and mostly every White Fang member he was with, which I didn’t kill any by the way…” She briefly held up her right index finger at Seryu before setting it down. “Were arrested. After the shit they pulled last night, all of them deserve to rot in a jail cell.”

Yang was curious as to what Leone meant by that. “What exactly did happen last night?”

The Faunus blonde knew the other girl had the right to know. It would also be an eye-opener for Seryu. “They launched a full-scale attack on the house.”

“BLAKE’S FAMILY WAS ATTACKED?!” Yang couldn’t believe such a thing happened to Blake and her family. Ruby and Weiss also became very worried about their teammate.

Seryu shared the same reaction as Yang. “The White Fang...actually did such a thing?”

Leone nodded at the other Faunus girl. “Yeah, they did. All of them were on ordered to kill Blake’s family on sight. They were also ordered to kidnap Blake and bring her to Adam. In fact, he’s the one who came up with the whole thing. He saw what Blake and his family were doing and took it as a threat. That’s why he sent his goons after Blake’s family. Oh, and they brought in a sorta special force to deal with me but that didn’t end up working.”

This was a lot of information for Seryu to take. Faunus attacking other Faunus now? She only thought it would be just Leone involved but now it seemed the White Fang was doing it too now. There was also something else she noticed about what Leone said. “When you said Adam ordered the attack, does that mean-”

"Yeah, he's the leader of the White Fang now." Leone answered. She then turned her attention to Weiss. "Sorry to say this Weiss, but you and your family have a bigger target on your back now that he's the leader now. If the White Fang was a bunch of assholes before, they’ve become a lot worse now.” That wasn’t a pleasant thought for Weiss in the least. Her father and Whitley she could care less about, but her sister was another thing entirely.

Seryu was still in shock learning that Adam was the high leader of the White Fang now. What she had feared all along became a reality. _“Adam…he really did kill Sienna. He killed her and took her position as the high leader.”_ Seryu was angry, frustrated and saddened at the same time.

During Leone’s explanation, yang caught that her daughter left out two other certain Faunus. “What about Fennec and Ilia?”

The other blonde chuckled again. At least for Ilia. “Well, the funny thing about Ilia is that she’s into Blake. Way into Blake. I know because I heard her confession before they tried to take Blake back to Adam and me beating three of those goons unconsciously. However, I don’t know what Blake said to her, but Ilia is on our side now. Seriously, Ilia better prove she was worth all the shit Blake had to go through to her.”

That was something Yang didn’t expect to hear. Ilia being in love with Blake? That was a shocker. Even more so since she switched sides. The blonde could see that as a good thing. However, Yang’s other question remained unanswered. “And what about Fennec?”

Leone’s expression changed into being more serious. “He’s dead.  Plain and simple.”

Seryu gasped to learn that fact. She tried to wrap her mind around this development. “But I thought you said you didn’t kill any White Fang members?”

Leone scoffed at the other Faunus girl. “I didn’t say it was me. Someone else did it.”

Yang tried to think who could’ve done it. “It couldn’t have been Kali. She’s too nice to kill a person. I don’t think Blake can kill another person. Especially if that person is a Faunus. Ghira

And that’s where Leone decided to drop a very shocking bomb. “It wasn’t them. It was someone else. And here’s the good part. You see Yang, when you left Menagerie, someone else decided to drop by surprise not long after. She was an old friend of Ghira’s. You might know her as…Sienna Khan.”

Seryu heard the name loud and clear and those emotions she had was quickly replaced by confusion and hope. “Did you say…Sienna?”

The Fauns blonde knew that would grab Seryu’s attention. “Yeah, I was surprised too when I saw her. Me, Blake, and her family. It turned out she escaped when Adam was about to kill her. She and the Faunus who helped her came to Menagerie for Ghira’s help. And, because she had nowhere else to go. For what Adam tried to do, for almost killing Sienna and attack Blake’s family, I never hated a person as much as I hated that bastard Prime Minister.” For her to say that, Adam must’ve been placed pretty high in Leone’s to-kill list.

Ren had a question about the reason behind the White Fang’s attack. “Why did the White Fang attack? You said Blake’s family was a threat but what were they doing to be considered one in the first place?”

A good question coming from him. “We were planning to take back the White Fang.”

"WHAT!?" Everyone except Taeko shouted at the same time.

Leone enjoyed their reaction. “Yeah, and it was Blake’s idea. Ghira even went public with it. I’m surprised you didn’t tell them about this, Yang.”

All eyes turned to Yang now and she felt a little nervous. Kurome was the one to speak up. “You knew about this and you didn’t tell us because…”

The blonde chuckled nervously. “I was too caught up with the reunion. Sorry about that but it is true. Blake wants to take back the White Fang. Back to what it was before.”

It was one surprise after another for Seryu. First, she learned Leone was still alive, then she learned the White Fang attacked their own kind and were ordered to kill on sight, and now she learned there was a plan to take back the White Fang. She had never even thought or considered such a thing. However, she had some doubts. “Does anyone else support this idea? Any of the Faunus?”

That was another detail Leone wanted to explain excitedly. “Funny you should say that. After what happened at Blake's house, she gave a speech of how Faunus are capable of hate and violence and if we just remain silent, the White Fang will continue to speak and act for us. What the White Fang wants, to make humans fear the Faunus, isn't going to work and it never will. There is no such thing as an easy answer to a difficult question. If that were true, then no one on my team would've had to die for their cause." Everyone knew Leone was referring to her old team. "Everyone in Menagerie agreed with Blake and so did Sienna. If I were you all, I’d expect nothing less than a small army knocking on Haven’s door.”

That was great news for everyone to hear. They had everything could’ve asked for in stopping the White Fang’s attack. Almost everything. “Oh, and speaking of Sienna, she was the one who killed Fennec.”

Make that the fourth surprise for Seryu. Five if she could find out a particular answer. “Sienna…actually did that?”

The other Faunus girl nodded again. “Yeah, she did. Blake, Ghira, and myself saw it happen. It was either going to be her or Fennec and considering she was already a target, she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. So, are you going oust her as a Faunus Traitor too or is that just exclusive to me? Hell, with what the White Fang did, they should all be branded as Faunus Traitors. Which is ironic considering what they were supposed to be doing in the first place. Helping Faunus.” Seryu was very conflicted now. This was not how she envisioned the future of the Faunus would go to. Yes, there was some violence, but it had never reached this point. The future she’d once fought for was slowly being drenched with death and blood. “Oh, and speaking of Sienna, remember what I said about a Faunus helping her to escape? That Faunus is someone you once knew. A scorpion Faunus with a long braided grey hair called Syka.”

Seryu’s eyes became wide-eyed as she was speechless for a few seconds. Finally, she found the words to speak. “Syka? No, that can’t be. She couldn’t be in the White Fang. She’s supposed to be a Huntress right about now!”

Leone saw this reaction coming a long time ago. She took out the scroll Syka gave her and presented it to Seryu. “Syka wanted me to give this to you. It’s pretty much the only reason why I won’t kill you.” The Faunus blonde tossed the scroll to Seryu and the other girl caught. “My guess, Syka left a message for you to see. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know what it could be. However, I do know it must mean a lot. At least to Syka.” Seryu stared at the scroll given her. She had not heard anything about Syka or from her in such a long time. Several questions were running through her mind. Why was Syka in the White Fang? Why did she save Sienna? What was she thinking? Most importantly, why now?

Speaking of questions, Leone could finally ask her own now. One that she’s been meaning to ask ever since she arrived here. “Okay, so, now that we cleared everything on both sides, can any of you tell me where Akame is? I haven’t seen her all since coming here. Where is she?” Leone saw everyone look away from her seeming uncertain about something. Already the Faunus blonde didn’t like how this was going. “What’s up? Did something happen?”

Kurome took in a deep breath and took a few steps forward to her teammate. “About Akame…” Kurome told Leone what happened to Akame during her absence. Leone’s reaction began with disbelief and then turned into anger. When Kurome was done explaining, she took several more steps back when she saw the look in Leone’s eyes.

The Faunus blonde was silent as she stood up from the couch. “Weiss…make a glyph and make it as strong as you can.” The former heiress nervously nodded and did so in front of Leone. She gritted her teeth hard and growled. Leone pulled back her left arm back. Leone yelled as she punched the glyph. “Damn it!” She pulled back her arm and punched the glyph again. “Damn it!” Leone punched the glyph again. "Damn it!" The speed of her punches increased steadily and each of those attacks was becoming stronger with every punch. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Leone pulled her arm one last time and punched the glyph with all her strength. “DAMN IT!” Her punched sent out a powerful shockwave that everyone felt, and the glyph shattered. The Faunus blonde panted heavily and dropped to her hands and knees. This whole time Leone wanted to see Akame again. To see her face, her smile and now she feared she never would. “I should’ve gone with you when you left Menagerie, Yang. If I did, I could’ve hightailed it Mistral and I would’ve met up with Akame sooner. If I had, then none of this wouldn’t have happened.”

Yang could tell Leone blamed herself for not reaching Akame in time. She felt responsible for what happened to Akame. She honestly didn’t know what to say to comfort her daughter. However, Cornelia did. “We already have some information on the woman who took Akame. A woman in her late twenties, a birthmark under her left eye, wears a purple lilane dress, and she doesn’t seem to like men very much.”

Taeko had something else to add as well. “We also know that she’s being held in a location where our calls can’t get through. Which strange considering the CCT tower is functioning here in Mistral. Wherever they have her, it must be a place in Mistral where calls can't get through."

“It’s either or that they turned off her scroll.” Chelsea commented.

Taeko had thought of that but there was a hole in that theory. “If that were true, we wouldn’t have received that message when we tried to call her.”

Chelsea had to agree with that. She also had something else to say about Merraid. “Right. Well, we also know that this woman might be a yandere. It would partially explain the kidnapping.”

Yang raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What’s a yandere?”

“A person who’s crazily in love with another person and would murder anyone who she deems as a threat to her love.” Chelsea replied.

That explanation strangely got to Wave. _“Why does that describe General Esdeath so well?”_

“Aside from that…” Kurome continued. “We know this Merraid woman is connected to Akame’s kidnapping since Akame did leave to see and confront her yesterday morning. How and why we don't know. Not just anyone could pull that off, so she must be something else. Regardless, we know she’s responsible and we will find her. We find her, we find Akame, and maybe we’ll the enemy Merraid is with.”

Leone remained silent until she stood up. “You sure about that? What makes you think this Merraid woman is with the enemy?”

Chelsea already had an answer to that. “Well, who else would she be with? Who else would be capable of taking Akame in?”

While she may have a point, Leone saw something different. “Or she could be on her own. There could always be a third party involved. It doesn't matter either way because when I find this Merraid bitch, I'm going to tear her in half!" Her eyes became feral for a moment before returning to normal.

For some reason, Leone seemed more ferocious than usual. The attack done by the White Fang must’ve done something to her. Rienna wanted to ask her teammate another question. “Are you made at Akame for cheating on you? I mean…we thought you were dead when Seryu told us. I guess what I’m trying to say is that she did sleep with another woman.”

The other blonde turned to her with disgust. “Do you think I give a shit about that? I don’t care if Akame slept with another girl. Hell, I don’t blame her for it.” Her expression changed from disgust to somber. “Losing me must’ve been her breaking point.”

Cornelia didn’t understand what Leone meant by that. “But she had all of us. We could’ve helped her. I…could’ve helped her.” The blonde lowered her head slightly as she still felt responsible for what happened to Akame.

Leone sighed. While Cornelia wasn’t wrong, it was also not that simple. “Think about it. Akame had lost her entire team from before and most of Night Raid. Something like that, ever for her back then and now, does something to a person. I even overheard her and Tatsumi talking in the kitchen back our base about Sheele. Tatsumi was impressed that even when Sheele died, Akame still kept her emotions in check., but he was wrong. It tore Akame up for losing another friend and teammate and the same kept happening for most of our friends. This is just my own idea,everything Akame had left. All the good memories she had back in our world and when I was gone, all of that disappeared along with me. It’s true all of you are Akame’s friends but I’m the only one who truly knows what she went through and that’s only part of it. As soon as I was gone, everything else just fell apart for her. Akame may have been an assassin, fought for the Empire and the Revolutionary Army, and even a Huntress-in-training, she’s still human and humans have limits. I have limits and losing Akame is one of mine.”

It was a perspective none of them even thought about before. Leone was the only who what Akame went through and when she was gone, Akame had lost everything. Leone was more than comrade and girlfriend to Akame. She was a reminder of everything good in their past life. The only thread left connecting her to the rest of her allies. And that thread was severed when she learned Leone was gone for good. At least at the time before Yang explained she was still alive. As of now, that thread still holds with Leone, but it’s temporarily untied to Akame. Only when they see each other again, that thread will be tied once again. Before Leone could continue, everyone heard a loud growling noise. The Faunus blonde groaned exhaustedly as she clutched her stomach. “Before we continue this little chat of ours, do you think I can get some fucking food already!?”

Rienna loved the idea of eating together. “I still have a bunch of food leftover. You can have some of i…” Before she could finish her sentence, Rienna’s eyes half-closed and fell backward to the ground with a thud. Everyone wondered what happened before they heard light snoring from the blonde.

It was odd for Jaune and mostly everyone else. “Is she…sleeping?”

“Yeah, she is.” Kurome replied as she walked over to her teammate. She picked up Rienna and carried her over her shoulder. “I’m guessing since Rienna is out of her room, she finished modifying Devil Incarnate after more than twenty-four hours without sleep nonstop. Have to give it to ya, she’s dedicated to her weapon. I’ll take her back to her room and make sure Leone has some food in her stomach.” Kurome then carried Rienna back to her room.

Leone couldn't agree more with finally having some food. "Well, Rienna said I could have her leftovers but I wouldn't mind having more."

Yang smiled at the other blonde. “You’re going to love it. It’s really good and Wave’s a great cook.”

“She’s right. It’s some of the best I’ve had for a while.” The Faunus blonde turned to Oscar who returned to more. He chuckled nervously and waved at her. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve actually met. My name’s Oscar.”

Leone just smiled at him. “Glad to meet you too and welcome to the club.” Her stomach growled again and didn’t know how much longer she would last. “Okay, food now before I die of starvation.” Everyone agreed and moved Leone to the kitchen Almost everyone. Seryu stayed behind and stared at the scroll given to her. She left in a different direction to see what was in the scroll in private

**B**

Seryu was at the training grounds while leaning backward on the railings. She could’ve gone to her room, but she would’ve heard the chatter coming from the kitchen. This was the only place she could think of where the Faunus girl would have some peace and quiet. Seryu pulled up the scroll in front of her and stared at it. She had no idea what Syka wanted to tell her. The last she’d seen of Syka was when she yelled at her for betraying her. It seemed like it happened forever ago to her. Seryu could just chuck the scroll over the railing and be done with it but with everything that’d happen, she saw things a little differently now. Looking back at it now, Seryu felt guilty for what she did. She shut out the only friend she had. Of course, being friends with Wave and the others didn't sound bad to her. However, like Leone to Akame, Syka was the only one who truly understood her.

She took in a deep breath and steeled herself as she turned on the scroll. Seryu unlocked it and tapped the video app to see one video was recorded. It was titled, “For Seryu”. Seryu stared at the title before finally pressing play. In the first second of the video, she saw Syka and was astounded by how much she’d grown. Syka sighed deeply and heavily and smiled. _“Hi, Seryu. If you’re watching this, then I guess Leone found you and hasn’t already mauled you. It’s…been a long since we’ve talked. Not since I visited you at the hospital after…that happened. I’m sure you have a couple of questions. Before I get to the obvious one, I should explain why I saved Sienna. I knew how much she meant to you. Sienna would be the only one you’d follow to hell and back and I knew you wouldn’t follow Adam and his extremist ways.”._

For once, Seryu was thankful for Syka coming to Sienna’s hour of need. If it wasn’t for her, Sienna would’ve been dead by now. “ _Now for your other question; why I joined the White Fang instead of being a Huntress?”_ Syka sighed again as if she was preparing herself. _“I saw you, Seryu, on TV one time and learned that you were with the White Fang. I now knew where you were, and I wanted to make amends between us. You were right before. I shouldn’t have been that guy and because of my naïve stupidity, I’m the reason you lost your arms. I’m the reason why you’re in the White Fang in the first place. I wanted to apologize to you, set things straight between us. That’s why I joined the White Fang but if I confronted you from the get-go, I’m sure you would’ve branded me as an intruder and had me incarcerated or worse. I knew I had to take my time and wait for the right opportunity to talk to you. For years I was in the White Fang doing jobs all over until I was finally close enough to reach you. Unfortunately, Adam was also close to getting rid of you._ _I tried to warn you, I did, but when I confronted you, I froze. I had second doubts and thought you were still angry at me. It was because of me, you were chased out.”_

Seryu tried to recall any time Syka tried to warn her. Then she remembered that a White Fang member approached her and had trouble speaking to her. It finally made sense now that she saw the video. _“Syka, that was you?”_

Seryu paid back attention to the video. _“It’s…all my fault. It’s because of me you lost your arms. It’s because of me you became you who are you. It’s because of me you ended up with the White Fang. It’s because of me you were chased out. I’m nothing more than a coward who keeps letting her best friend down time after time after time.”_ Seryu saw tears rolling down off Syka’s cheeks. _“You remember what we said about Huntsmen and Huntresses being something like superheroes? How could I be a superhero if couldn’t save my best friend? The most important person to me? If I become a Huntress, that idea would haunt me for the rest of my life and_ _it would just drag me down. I know it has ever since you disappeared all those years ago. I couldn’t let things stay this way between us. I wanted to see my best friend again and hoped we can go back the way things were before. I can only hope you feel the same way after everything happened to you. Even if you don’t, I want to confront the very thing that has haunted me all this time.”_

Seryu was feeling a little choked up. She could tell the sincerity, the passion behind every word Syka had spoken. To Syka, Seryu was more important than what they had set their goals for. Becoming Huntresses to save lives. Just like how Azure Angel did. Seryu heard Syka sniff and wipe her tears away. She took another deep breath before continuing. _“Seryu, you should know by now what the White Fang is doing isn’t justice. It’s tyranny. They will not hesitate to kill anyone who stands in their way, no matter who they are. Human or Faunus. To put this in a better way, you remember that episode where Azure Angel encountered that villain? About his absolute justice? That’s the White Fang is doing.”_ Seryu quietly gasped at the description. _“_ _Azure Angel would do. Remember what he always said. ‘Those who would commit acts of evil, to harm the innocent, and ensure chaos, I swear I’ll bring down-”_

“The hammer of rightful justice upon them all _/The hammer of rightful justice upon them all._ ” Seryu spoke in unison with Syka.

She saw Syka sigh and smile somberly. _“That’s…all I wanted to say. I wanted to talk to you in person, but I don’t know where you ended up. Maybe Leone could take you Mistral and we could meet up there when the White Fang does attack. And when we do, we’ll show the White Fang, show Adam, what superheroes are capable of.”_ Syka’s somber smile was replaced by a confident and determined expression. _“I hope to see you soon, Seryu.”_ Syka became still as the video had finally ended.

Seryu stared at the video and processed everything Syka had told her. She couldn’t imagine how heavy the guilt the other Faunus girl had to carry throughout this whole time. Syka had abandoned her dream as a Huntress, infiltrated the White Fang at her own risk, and had fought her own kind to just see her best friend once again. It was almost funny to her. “You idiot. You haven’t changed at all.”

“Seryu?”

The Faunus girl lifted her head to see Wave approaching her. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to cooking your dish for her?”

Wave laughed a little as he stopped in front of Seryu. “I think I’ve done enough cooking for now. She was still eating last I checked.” He looked down and noticed the scroll then back to Seryu. He could tell what his comrade was doing all by herself. “If you’re busy with something, I can leave and come late-”

“It’s fine. I’m done with it anyway.” Seryu interrupted as she put the scroll away. She turned around and looked at the city over the railing. “You know, Azure Angel was my hero. He was someone I looked up and wanted to be. Ironically enough, he was the only human I liked, even if he was just a character. Syka and I thought becoming Huntresses would be the closest thing to being superheroes. They save people, protect lives, and keep the peace. That’s what I believed. That’s what I believed when I was in the White Fang. But then Syka brought up an episode we saw once. It was about the appearance of a new villain called Crimson Justice and what he’d done. Like Azure Angel, Crimson Justice targeted only criminals, but his way was more violent. More…permanent and it’d be more than criminals. He went after criminals that were reformed, who changed their ways, and their families, their friends. I could still remember how Azure Angel confronted Crimson Justice…” Seryu’s mind went back to the episode she watched and recalled what happened.

_F_

The moon shined brightly over the city as all was quiet in the night. That is until there was a scream coming from an abandoned clock tower. A bald-headed man with a grey goatee wearing priest clothing was running up the stairs for his life. He reached the top floor and hoped that he was safe. “Where do you think you’re going?” The priest gasped in fear as he turned to the large opening where the clock would be. He saw a man wearing a crimson colored bandana with white eye-holes covering the upper half of his face. His outfit was almost the same. The vest he wore was long sleeved and showed his bare chest in a V-formation. His pants were black with red stripes going down from the sides. He wore black gloves and black boots and had two swords hoisted behind his waist in a crossing pattern. The priest backed away from the stranger until he hit a wall behind him. The stranger hopped down from the opening and glared at his target. “Except for going down. Down from this tower and down to the pits of hell where you belong.”

The priest was hyperventilating at this point. “Please, you don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, but I do. You are nothing more than a criminal and always will be. In the name of absolute justice, your life ends here now!” He drew out his swords and rushed at the priest.

The priest closed his eyes and came up with the shortest prayer he could think of before his time had come. However, it wasn’t his time yet. “Stop this now!” The metallic sound of two weapons clashing could be heard and the priest opened his eyes. He saw a young man and with shoulder-long light blonde hair. His cape was like two wings separated to give their form and his outfit was a dark blue jacket with white outlines. The weapon he was holing was a spear of the same color. The new arrival pushed the stranger away and sent him to the other side of the room.

The stranger chuckled sinisterly at the man standing before him. His coat was open to reveal his black shirt and pants of the same color. The most defining feature was the mask covering his eyes with white eyeholes. “Azure Angel. So, you’re finally here. Come to save this piece of filth?”

Azure scoffed at the stranger. “You should know better than try to kill a priest, Crimson. It’s very frowned upon around these parts. This ends tonight.”

Crimson had other ideas. “The only thing that ends tonight is that priest behind you. He will die for what he has done!”

“I haven’t done anything!” The priest shouted in fear. “Yes, I won’t deny what I have done in the past was horrible. The crimes I’ve committed, the things that I’ve done. Everything. But I’ve changed ever since I’ve found the right path. I’ve dedicated my life to help those unfortunate. I even visited the family of the man who took his life. The sins I have done will never go away but I will not let them hold me back and deny me the future that is still laid out in front.”

Crimson laughed heartily as he clapped at the priest’s speech. “Very good. That almost moved me to tears. However, you’re wrong about one thing. Your sins will go away as soon as you do.”

“And then what?” Azure interrupted.

Crimson glared at Azure through his mask. "Those who associate with criminals are criminals themselves, no matter who they might be. They are just as guilty.”

Azure was beginning to be mad at Crimson. “You can’t lump someone who is innocent with those who were once guilty just because they were with them. What you’re doing isn’t justice. It’s nothing short of murder.”

Crimson scoffed this time at Azure’s words. “My justice gets the job done. Your brand of justice just let criminals have another chance to do another evil misdeed. Ask yourself this question; how guilty are you for all the lives you couldn’t save? That all falls on you. They are your failures. Your brand of justice is weak while mine is-”

“Absolute.” Azure finished the sentence. “I won’t deny what you said is true. There are lives I couldn’t save, but as the priest said, I won’t let them hold me back and deny my future. Just as I won’t let you deny the future of many others. Crimson Justice, you commit acts of evil, bring harm to the innocent, and ensure chaos. For that, I swear to bring down the hammer of rightful justice upon you.”

Crimson Justice grinned at the challenge laid out before him. “It’s a shame, Azure. You and I could’ve been buddies but now I see you’re a fool. Come, let’s see whose brand of justice is stronger.” He pointed one of his swords at Azure Angel. “Your rightful justice or my absolute justice.”

_F_

Seryu chuckled quietly at the fight that happened and how it ended. “Azure Angel defeated Crimson Justice, but he managed to escape. However, Crimson Justice did give him a new perspective. I even heard Crimson Justice represents what Azure Angel could’ve been. His dark side. It’s funny, really and moronically ironic for me.” She gripped the railing tightly. “All this time…I’ve been following Crimson Justice’s path.” She felt sick and was upset. “Just what the hell have I been doing this entire time!?”

Wave could see what Seryu was getting at. He could see similarities between Crimson Justice and the Seryu he knew back in his world. However, he still knew something about the Seryu next to him. “But you’re not like Crimson Justice. You haven’t killed anyone when you were in the White Fang.”

“But I’ve thought about it and that’s just as bad. I’m no better than what Crimson Justice had done and continued to do so. This path I walked, the justice I thought I believed in…” Her breathing became shaky and tears began rolling down her cheeks. “What am I supposed to believe in anymore!? The White Fang is attacking our own kind, I’m not the hero I thought I was, what else do have left? What am supposed to do?!” Seryu dropped to her knees while still holding onto the railing and cried. “I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

As of now, Wave was seeing Seryu at her weakest, most vulnerable moment. Everything she had believed in and fought for was nothing more than a confused lie. He had never seen Seryu so distraught before. Even more so when the Seryu he knew lost Doctor Stylish. He could only think of one thing to say at times like this. “Yes, you do.” His words caught Seryu’s attention and turned to him. Unsure and fearful eyes were looking at ones that were focused. “Tell me, Seryu. What is it you want? Speak from your heart. What does it say?”

Seryu couldn’t understand what Wave was asking her. What did she want? She didn’t know what she wanted. Everything in her life was entirely wrong. What else was there for her? The Faunus girl tried to think deeper of what Wave was trying to tell her. What did her heart want? What did it want to say? Seryu searched deep inside of her until she finally saw the answer. Straight from the heart. “I want…I want…” Seryu recollected herself and regained her breathing. The Faunus girl stood up and stared at Wave straight in the way. What I want is to protect the innocent. To make sure no will have to go through what I’ve been through. I want…to protect the future.”

Wave smiled confidently at Seryu as that’s exactly he wanted to hear. “Then hold onto that ideal. Grasp it firmly within you and never let it go. It’s that ideal who makes you who you truly are.” He pointed directly at Seryu’s heart.

Seryu felt like she was at peace now. The path before her was clear now and so was her mind. If she wanted to obtain the future, then Seryu would have to confront the problems of the world head-on. And she won't be alone in this endeavor. Seryu had found good people and most importantly, the person in front of her who had given her another chance. Seryu wiped the tears away and smiled at Wave. She could only think of one thing to say to him. “I won’t and…thank you, Wave.”

**B**

In the following days, the whole group continued to prepare for their upcoming fight in Haven. Seryu had apologized to Leone for what she had done to her and the mess she had created. If Leone hadn’t heard what happened to her from Syka earlier, she might’ve still punched Seryu in the face. Repeatedly. Like she did with Honest. However, the Faunus blonde could tell she’d changed for the better. Whatever Wave said to her, it worked wonders. And she couldn’t put all the blame on her for Akame’s disappearance since Leone shared that blame with her.

During that time, Leone had met up with Qrow and Esdeath’s dad who was surprised that he was here. The same could be said for Esren. Speaking of the Faunus blonde, she decided to help Kurome in finding Akame. With all the different scents and noises, she couldn’t track Akame by those means. Especially since she was gone the day before Leone arrived. Strangely enough, Seryu also offered to help since she was partly responsible for Akame’s disappearance. Leone and Kurome didn’t mind since it meant another set of eyes and ears. While they were gone searching for Akame, Wave continued to train Ruby and Oscar. Wave could definitely see they were improving. Even Yang had to admit she’d never seen her sister improve like this before. On the other side, Chelsea and Taeko were teaching Cornelia and Rienna hand-to-hand combat. They even saw what the new version of Devil Incarnate looked like and was impressed. More so by Chelsea, since Rienna somehow gained a spontaneous boost of speed out of nowhere. It was probably because Rienna had held the original design of Devil Incarnate for so long. It would be very advantageous to her.

Over at Menagerie, Blake and her family were making similar preparations. They, Sienna, Syka, Ilia, and the police force were teaching all the citizens of Menagerie of how to properly wield weapons and guns. Kali even gave lessons on how to properly do hand-to-hand combat and so did Sienna. The former high leader was unsure how the Faunus citizens would react to her appearance, but so far, they seem to appreciate what she was doing.

 Before anyone knew it, the days had turned into weeks and the deadline for Haven was fast approaching. As they prepared for the fated day, so did their enemies, working from the shadows toward their own nefarious goal.

**B**

Outside the perimeter of the bandit camp, the lowlife from before and a couple of others were standing guard at the front of the gate. They were having a friendly chat until someone called out to them. “Hey, ugly!” He and the others instantly turned where they heard the voice and the lowlife drew out his gun. They saw two figures walking out the shadows of the forest. They turned out to be Emerald and Mercury. They stopped several feet away from the bandits and Emerald smirked at them. “Is Raven Branwen home?”

The lowlife didn’t respond as he pointed his gun at them. He thought he had the advantage until he saw two more figures come out of the shadows. They were Cinder and Doctor Watts. Mercury crossed his arms and glanced over at the maiden. “Doesn’t look like he wants to cooperate, boss.”

Cinder knew exactly what to do next. “Then make him.”

Mercury was glad to hear that. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Emerald started to walk toward the bandits and drew her weapons out. As she took another step, something flew past her in a dark blur. It reached the lowlife almost immediately before he knew it reached him. He gasped before the shadow delivered a rising knee kick to the underside of his chin. The shadow did a flip over the Lowlife and landed behind him. It ducked and performed a sweeping kicked to drop the Lowlife to the ground. The shadow stood up and raised its right leg and quickly kicked the Lowlife in the face. The kick effectively knocked him out cold. The other two bandits freaked out as they saw one of their own being taken down so easily and pointed their guns at the intruder. However, before either of them could pull the trigger, the shadow instantly appeared in front of one of them. The shadow delivered a blow to the stomach followed by the shadow jumping and kicked the bandit to the side of the head. The bandit hit the wall and before the remaining one could shoot, the shadow turned around and drew its sword to extend it toward the last remaining bandit. The sword dug deep into the bandit’s shoulder and before he could scream, the sword retracted itself and the shadow reached him by planting both feet directly to his face. The shadow then jumped off and took the sword out while the bandit crashed to the ground unconscious.

Emerald scoffed at what she saw and put her weapons. “Show off.”

She and everyone else heard clapping from behind and turned to the person who was doing it. “Marvelous. Simple marvelous. You performed so elegantly and just as brutal. I am in awe at what I’ve seen.”

Emerald rolled her eyes at the constant praise she was hearing. “Okay, you can stop sucking her dick now…Shizuka, was it?”

Shizuka only laughed as a response. “I merely speak the truth. This is the first time we are seeing her in action on the field. Isn’t that right…” The person in front of them turned around as she put her sword away. She faced the group with an indifferent expression toward them. “Lady Akame.”

 


	72. A Wary Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Seventy Two: A Wary Alliance

Raven worked on polishing her sword inside her tent. It was quite a peaceful process to her but even now, her mind kept going back to her meeting with Yang. Such a trivial thing shouldn’t bother her, but it did. And there would be another problem the bandit leader would have to handle. “Raven…” Raven glanced back at Vernal who was standing at the tent entrance. “We have a problem.”

That was not what she wanted to hear in her afternoon. “What is it?”

“Salem’s found us.”

That was another thing Raven didn’t want to hear in her afternoon. If Salem had found her and her camp, that could only mean one thing to her. She was here for the Spring Maiden. She closed her eyes and accepted the fact that she and everyone at the camp were no longer safe. “Salem. Okay.”

Raven opened her eyes and stood up. Vernal had more information to relay. “Six of her followers are waiting to speak with you.”

Six? Raven thought big of a party was unneeded. Still, she decided to honor their request. If they had any honor at all since they were under Salem’s hand. “Right. We planned for this.” She turned to Vernal. “Bring me my helmet.”

Outside the tent, Cinder and her group were waiting patiently for the leader to appear. While they were waiting, some of the bandits were talking among themselves. “Alright, be honest here. Which of these people freaks you out the most?”

The other bandit carefully observed the group and made his decision. “I’m going to say the kid with the two swords.”

The first bandit turned his attention to Akame and was puzzled. “Seriously? Why her?”

The other bandit had several good reasons. “Well, for one, she took out three of our own barehanded. If she could do that, imagine what she could do with those two swords of hers. Not to mention there’s something…unnerving about her.”

The first bandit was further puzzled by the choice of words. “And what would that be? Granted, she does look a bit like the boss. In fact, it’s kinda surprising seeing someone else with red-eyes. I mean, her kid had red-eyes too, but they only appeared for like a second.”

His friend chuckled nervously. “I thought that too but as soon as I got a good look at her face, I could tell she’s been through a lot of fights. Probably just as much as the boss.”

That fact was a little hard to believe for the first bandit. “Seriously? That’s a huge claim right there. Still, she does look like someone we don’t want to mess with. Although, I’m wondering what’s with the maid?”

After several seconds had passed, Raven finally emerged out of her tent while wearing her Grimm helmet. She saw the group of six standing before her. “I don’t recall inviting so many guests into our home. Either I’m losing my memory, or you’ve all lost your spines.”

Cinder smirked at the bandit leader. “Don’t be too upset with them, Raven. Your men simply recognize the power of a Maiden when they see it.” Her left eye flared up to demonstrate her power then vanished. “Which is why we’d like to have a word with you.”

It was exactly what Raven thought they would be here for. As of now, no one was safe. She turned to several of her party members. “Leave us. Pack your things, then break down the camp. We’re moving.”

Watts scratched underneath his chin. “A little late to run and hide. You’ve been on our master’s list for some time, so you must understand that we cannot allow you to slip away.”

Raven began to walk down the steps of her tent. “I know all about your master, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Mercury knew the answer he’d give her. “We’re the guys you should be afraid of.”

Raven didn’t buy what Mercury was selling to her. “I doubt anyone should be afraid of you.”

Mercury scowled at the bandit leader. “Oh, yeah, tell that-”

“Quiet.” Cinder interrupted.

So far, Raven was unimpressed by the party Salem had sent to her. “That’s what I thought.”

Cinder thought to introduce themselves, so Raven knew who she was dealing with. “I’m Cinder Fall. This is my associate, Arthur Watts. And my disciples, Emerald and Mercury.”

Raven still wasn’t impressed by the group in front of her. “Two children you’ve tricked into following you, a disgraced Atlesian scientist, and Fall Maiden with a surname so appropriate, she probably picked it herself.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “Something tells me you’ve got more than a slight case of egomania.” 

She then turned to Akame and Shizuka and was already confused by their presence. “And…who are you two?”

Shizuka smiled sweetly at Raven and did a courtesy bow to her. “Greetings. My name is Shizuka and I am a maid representing my mistress, Madam Mera.” She finished her bow and glanced over at Akame. “And this is Madam Mera’s betrothed, Lady Akame. Our newest addition to our group.”

Raven narrowed her eyes behind her helmet. She had heard that name before. _“Akame? Wasn’t that one of the girls Qrow told me before? Why is a student of Ozpin working with Salem?”_ She was a little interested in the younger girl now. “I see. I wonder what your reason is for working with Salem?” Akame didn’t answer her question and kept staring at her with an indifferent expression.

Emerald rolled her eyes as she knew why Akame wouldn’t respond. “Good luck getting her to talk. Ever since she joined up, she barely speaks a word now. Except when she’s in Merraid’s room, if you know what I mean.”

Mostly everyone coughed as they knew what Emerald was talking about. To break the awkward silence, Watts thought to rectify Raven’s statement of him. “Ahem. Uh, technically, I was also a doctor, but I must say the rest was spot-on.”

Cinder was thankful for that and continued the conversation. “Aren’t you perceptive.”

Raven knew that was obvious to her. “It’s what’s kept me alive.”

The Fall Maiden thought otherwise about that statement. “I’m afraid the only reason you’re still alive is because you have something our master wants. Of course, if I’m wrong…” She raised her hand up and fire reignited from her eye and in her hand.

Raven figured what Cinder meant. Both by what they’re here for and what they’ll do if she refused. She glanced back at the tent. “Vernal!” The front entrance of the tent opened and Vernal appeared in front of the group. She calmly walked up to Raven and stood next to her.

Cinder narrowed her eyes at Vernal. "So, this is the long-lost Spring Maiden. Prove it."

Raven and Vernal looked at each other briefly before turning back to the group. Vernal sighed as she closed her eyes. She placed her arms forward and the wind strangely began to pick up. The tents were starting to be blown by the wind and the clouds began to darken and swirl. Watts, Mercury, and Emerald flinched at the wind blowing into their faces. Shizuka and Akame remained unfazed while Cinder smiled as she loved what she was seeing. The wind began to die down and Vernal set her arms down while opening her eyes. Raven thought that was enough to demonstrate her Maiden’s powers. “Vernal has done well under my guidance. I’d take that into consideration before you try anything.”

Watts and Mercury were dusting themselves off while Cinder spoke her thoughts. “Raven, I won’t underestimate you, so please don’t insult my intelligence. There is a slim chance you and your Maiden could escape here today. But if you know our master as well as you claim to, then you know you could never truly escape her. But we’ve come bearing an olive branch.”

Watts decided to walk up to the bandit leader and the maiden. “The Maidens are merely a means to an end. Salem’s true desires are the relics locked within the Huntsmen academies.” He stopped in front of them. “Come with us. Allow Vernal here to unlock the Relic of Knowledge and all previous acts of defiance against Salem will be forgiven. It’s the best deal either of you are going to get.” Watts walked away from the two women.

Raven seriously doubted what they’re doing would be child’s play. “You talk as if walking straight into Haven will be easy.”

“That’s because it will be.” Cinder replied. “Headmaster Lionheart is loyal to Salem now. All we need is the key to the Vault.”  Raven remained silent but that was fine to Cinder. “You’re not the only one to turn your back on Oz, Raven.”

Raven took an offense to what Cinder said to her. "I'm not helping Salem. I'm not helping Oz. I don't want a part in any of this." She grabbed the handle of her sword.

Cinder thought differently about the bandit leader’s position. “That ship sailed when you chose to harbor a Maiden, but if you go with us to Haven, we’ll leave you, your tribe, and your little secret to live out the rest of your days squabbling in the wilderness. We just need the relic.”

Raven and Vernal turned to each other again briefly before answering Cinder. “I need time to think this over.”

Unfortunately for Raven, she didn’t have enough time to think things over. Watts made sure she knew that clearly. “You don’t have time. In two days, Haven Academy will be destroyed by the White Fang. You’re going to choose now.”

Raven saw what they were doing. “Backed me into a corner, huh?”

Cinder just needed to know one crucial aspect of this whole meeting. “So, are you with us, or against us?”

Raven didn’t respond to the question. Instead, she let go of the handle and reached for her helmet to take it off. As she did, the bandit leader narrowed her eyes at the whole group. “Agreements like these are built on trust, and forgive me for saying, but I don’t trust a single one of you. You’re going to need to give me more.”

Watts thought it was hilarious of what Raven was trying to do. “You are in a position to negotiate.”

Actually, Raven’s offer was quite simple. “I want my brother dead.”

That was something everyone didn’t expect her to say and want. Especially Cinder. “Qrow?”

“That’s right.” Raven responded. “He knows I have Spring, and if I help you get your relic, he’s going to become a problem. I have enough problems to deal with. Qrow doesn’t trust me, but he does trust Ozpin’s other lieutenants. If Leo really is loyal to you, then you can order him to invite Qrow right into an ambush. He arrives at Haven, we take him down, you get your relic, and we all leave happy.”

So far, Cinder liked what she’d heard. However, there still was a problem. “Now this is a proposition I can get behind.”

With all of this going on, Watts had to interrupt again. “Alright, let’s just pause for a moment.” He stepped in between Cinder and Raven. “We have one objective; retrieving the Relic of Knowledge. Now, Qrow Branwen may be on our list of individuals we would very much like dead, but he’s not going to go down without a fight. And he’s not going to fight quietly. Our advantage here is just as you said. We walk straight into Haven. No resistance, no one the wiser. A battle with your brother throws all of that out the window.”

Raven had something different to say about that. “He’s good, but not that good. All of us against him, it’ll be over in a heartbeat.”

Emerald knew it would be that easy. “But it’s not just him.” Raven turned to her. “He has the students with him. He has Ruby.”

Emerald had a point and Cinder agreed with her. “That’s not all.” Shizuka spoke up. “We also have one other who may prove to be a bigger problem than simply dealing with your brother and the students who are with him.” The bandit leader focused on the maid now. “There is one other who may be possibly stronger than your brother and perhaps you. Lady Akame has expressed how powerful this individual is. This…person comes from the same world as Lady Akame and possess the same kind of weaponry unseen in this world.”

It was almost unbelievable for Raven to imagine someone stronger than her brother. She doesn’t care much for him, but she did at least acknowledge his strength. “Is that so? If that’s true, then what do you plan to do about it?”

Shizuka chuckled at the question. “It just so happens that Lady Akame has developed a special technique to handle this person, your brother, and anyone else who dares to get in our way.”

Raven studied the maid closely and could tell she meant what she said. She was still wary about this certain person who is said to be stronger than her brother, but if they have a plan, she’ll go with it. Watts suddenly had a headache that came out of nowhere and briefly put two of his fingers on her forehead. “If we leave that school a bloody mess, it will draw the attention of the authorities. The kingdom will be on high alert and the White Fang’s attack will be ruined.”

“Then we wait.” Cinder offered. Watts turned to her now. “We wait until the full moon. Leo invites Qrow and his little fighters to Haven the same night Hazel and Adam arrive with the White Fang. As soon as the battle is won, the White Fang demolishes Haven and any evidence we may have left behind is lost along with the school.”

Raven fitted the rest of Cinder’s plan. “Then Salem leaves my people alone for good.”

It all sounded good and the Fall Maiden was eager to close the deal. “You have yourself a deal.” She took a step forward toward Raven and extended her hand to her. However, Watts realized something and grabbed Cinder’s wrist. “Wait.” He gave Cinder his full attention. “Don’t think I don’t see what you’re after. If this falls to pieces over your grudge with a child, I will not be taking the blame.”

Cinder glared back at the doctor and fire flared out of her eye once again. "then what are you worried about?" She also ignited her wrist and burned Watts' hand which made him let go. The Fall Maiden continued to walk toward Raven. "Fly back home and tinker with your machines." She extended her hand once again to the bandit leader. "And tell Salem she'll get what she wants. And more." Raven stared at the hand being offered to her before looking at Cinder. She didn't say anything and shook Cinder’s hand.

**B**

“Well, that went better than I thought.”

Cinder’s group were walking back to the airship they arrived in. Having succeeded in having Raven joining their ranks, they were one step closer in obtaining the relic. All that was left was upholding their end of the deal and kill Qrow Branwen and his merry little band of students. Them and person Akame warned them about. Speaking of which, Emerald was wondering about something Shizuka said earlier. “Hey, Shizuka.”

The maid glanced back at the other girl. “Yes?”

“Did you really mean it when you said Akame has some special move? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

Mercury had the same thought, but he knew better than to voice his input. Lest he wanted to be reprimanded by one of Merraid’s followers. Thankfully, Watts cleared his throat to attach the maid’s attention. “Yes, doctor?”

Now Watts can give his thoughts on the matter. "I have never heard of this technique you've spoken of either. Is it something you made up on the spot to gain Raven's favor?"

Their answer was Shizuka giggling slyly. “Oh, no. It’s very much true. It’s something Lady Akame has been working on in secret. Only we and Madam Mera know about it and I must say, it's quite something. You can even call it her ultimate trump card. If things do start to a turn for the worse, Lady Akame will enact it.” Everyone had no other choice but to believe her. Still, it was hard to imagine what Akame could do with this ultimate trump card or what it can do. What she can do with her semblance was powerful enough. “How fortunate it is with her on our side.”

Cinder rolled her eye. _“Right, fortunate.”_ In truth, Cinder still doesn’t trust Akame. It could be the fact they fought each other as enemies back in Beacon and would always think in that mindset. She still didn’t know how Merraid was able to convince her to join their side.

Watts couldn’t help but sigh at one particular fact. “It’s such a shame I can’t analyze that sword of hers. I would very much like to see the composition of the poison it can produce. These Imperial Arms are quite fascinating.”

Shizuka scoffed at the doctor. “How unfortunate but you know as well as everyone that Lady Akame is the only one who can wield Murasame. You have to admit she is quite the trade-up compared to your pet friend, don’t you think?”

Mercury remained quiet about that one fact _“I know most of us didn’t care about Tyrian, but still…”_

**B**

Raven was back inside her tent and sat on her bed while contemplating what she had gotten herself into. On one hand, she was ensuring the safety of her tribe. On the other, she was working with Salem and that will never turn out good in the end. While she was deep in her thoughts, that didn’t mean she didn’t notice someone entering her tent. “Yes, Vernal?”

Vernal arrived to deliver her report. “I followed them as you asked.”

That was good, but Raven needed to be absolutely sure about something important. “Did they spot you?”

Vernal smiled at her leader. “Of course not. They have a ship two klicks west of here. Looks like they’re staying there for the night.”

At least they were away from the camp. Hearing that at least gave Raven some peace in mind. “Thank you, Vernal. Anything else?” She raised her head to look at her subordinate.

Vernal did have some worries as to what they were doing. “Do you actually believe they’ll let us go once they have the relic?”

Raven knew the answer all too well. “They’ll never leave us alone. Once our purpose has come and gone, we’ll be discarded. Salem only uses people until they are no longer useful. If we want to have any chance of defending ourselves against her, then we need this relic.” Raven stood up from her bed and held her sword’s handle. “If Qrow and those brats want to follow Ozpin, then let them. When the chaos reaches its peak, we’ll grab the relic and make our escape.”

That was another thing Vernal was worried about her leader. “And the fact that your daughter will be a part of all that?”

Raven had already accepted that fact when she saw Yang go through her portal. She turned away from Vernal. “Doesn’t matter. I warned her. She made her choice.” She walked to the back of the entrance and moved the flap slightly aside. Raven barely stopped before the entranceway and looked back at Vernal. “This path won’t be easy for us either, but we must do what’s right for the tribe.”

Vernal knew that was the absolute truth to the both of them. “I know. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Raven expected nothing else from her subordinate. “Good.” She finally left the tent. Vernal quickly followed her and opened the tent to see Raven was nowhere to be seen. She then heard a caw and saw a raven flying away from the camp.

**B**

Ruby had a skip in her step today. She went to go find her friends the news Qrow had told her about earlier. She went to Weiss room first to tell her the news. The young leader approached the former heiress' room. "So, what is it that you wanted to see me for?" Ruby stopped in front of the door when she heard Seryu’s voice coming from Weiss’ room. She became curious as to why Seryu was in Weiss’ room in the first place. The young leader carefully crept to the front of the door and placed her ear on it to hear what was going on.

On the other side of the door, Weiss was standing across from Seryu. The only reason Seryu was here at the house because the deadline for the attack was close. She and Leone were currently at the house but Kurome decided to continue looking for Akame on her own. Because of this, Weiss saw this as an opportunity to talk to her. Even if Seryu said she held no hostility toward her, the former heiress could tell the Faunus girl still acted a little awkward around her. It was probably the fact Seryu was still getting used to being around a Schnee. Considering that Seryu was in the White Fang a long time, it wasn't much of a surprise to Weiss. She needed the both of them to move past this phase and she could only think of one way to do it. “It’s simple, really. I wanted to talk to you.”

It seemed simple enough, but Seryu knew there was more to it than that. “Well, I’m here now. What is it you wanted to talk about?”

This was Weiss’ moment now. She took in a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself. “I know you’re still cautious when you’re around me. Since you were in the White Fang, I know you heard some tales regarding my family.” Seryu remained quiet when she heard that. The former heiress wasn’t wrong about that. Seryu had heard some of the awful things the Schnee family had done to their kind throughout the years. She thought the entire Schnee family were horrible people that deserved the worst kind of death. That is until she heard what happened to Weiss. The Faunus girl never thought the Schnee family would do such a thing to one of their own. The heiress to the whole Schnee Dust Company no less. Or rather, Weiss was the heiress. Now, she was just another girl. “Let me tell you something about my family. More specifically, my father. I never approve of the actions he caused. He’s made shady deals here and there and I don’t like how he and the company treats the Faunus working under him. I hated how I had to live in that godforsaken cold and empty hellhole I call home for over six months. I hated that he tried to control every aspect of my life. Most of all, I hated him for what he did to our family way back then.”

Seryu gulped a little and it made a small noise. “What…exactly did he do?”

Weiss sighed again as she walked over to her bed and sat on the front edge of it. She slightly lowered her head. “When I was ten, my dad finally admitted to my mom that the only reason he married her was for the family name. It was actually on my birthday. He missed the big dinner. She got mad. He finally snapped." She lifted her head to look at Seryu. "I think she already knew that. Looking back, I think I knew too. But hearing him say it finally pushed my mother over the edge." She clasped her hands together. "First, it was separate lunches and dinners, opposite balconies at my recitals. A glass of wine here, a glass of wine there. Then it was no dinners, no recitals, a bottle of wine here, and well, you get the idea. The moment he said that to her was the moment my family broke apart. I’m not even sure we were held together at all. Even now, we mostly treat each other like we’re just a bunch of strangers who seldom talk to one another. The only people who I felt like were family to me was my older sister Winter and our family butler, Klein. And being constantly attacked by the White Fang didn’t make things any easier for us.”

Seryu was completely silent. She thought Weiss’ life must’ve felt like hell now that she knew what the former heiress had to go through. This was the complete opposite of what she thought the Schnee Family was. Her and probably everyone in the White Fang. Weiss saw her reaction and guessed what the Faunus girl was thinking. “What, did you think my family was perfect? That we had no problems at all and did whatever we want whenever we wanted to? Sorry to ruin that image, but the truth is my family is far from being picturesque. Always have and always will be. At least, I thought I could change it when I was supposed to inherit the fortune, but that’s not possible now.”

All Seryu could do was clench her hands tightly. In a way, Weiss must’ve suffered a life almost similar to that of the Faunus. The only fact that remained true was that only her father was a man of no morals. If anything, it should only be him the White Fang should despise. Seryu could only say one thing to Weiss. “I’m sorry.”

The Faunus girl knew such a feeble apology wouldn’t cover the sheer amount of the deplorable actions the White Fang had caused to Weiss. The only lesson she’d learned through this entire thing is that not everything was black and white. Especially with the Schnee family. Before they could continue, they heard a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Ruby. Neither of them expected her to arrive. The young leader giggled a little at them. “Hey, Weiss. Hi, Seryu. I just came by to tell you that Qrow needs to see everyone ASAP. Something big went down with Headmaster Lionheart and the council.”

That was convenient timing. Almost a little too convenient for Weiss’ tastes. Still, she appreciated for Ruby telling them. “Thank you, Ruby. We’ll go as soon as possible.”

Seryu also had something else to say about Ruby’s announcement. “I’ll go ahead and tell Wave about it.” Ruby smiled at them and nodded before leaving. Going back to convenient, Weiss thought it was strange Ruby happened to knock right after she’d finished her small tale. She wondered if Ruby actually heard the whole thing.

Seryu went on ahead and walked toward the door. She stopped at the entranceway and glanced back at Weiss. “For what it’s worth, I hope you get that inheritance back. You really do seem like a better fit to lead the company than your father.” That was all she wanted to say to Weiss before leaving the room. Once Seryu left, Weiss couldn’t help but have a small smile. It was the nicest thing Seryu had ever said to her.

**B**

In another room, Yang was with Leone and they were sitting on the front edge of both beds across from each other. Like Weiss, Leone saw the opportunity to tell the other blonde something important now that she had the time to do so. Needless to say, Leone expected what Yang’s reaction would be. It was the same as hers. “Wait, what did you say?”

Leone chuckled a little as she loved the other girl’s expression on her face. “I said my mom was from Remnant. She made a wish like mine and Akame’s and she ended up at the Capital. Along with me inside of her. Yang, Remnant is my real home. What I look like now is what I’m supposed to be.”

Yang blew out some air as she rested her hands on her knees. “Well, that’s something. H-How did you-”

“Know about it?” Leone interrupted. “Kali told me. She showed me a picture of her when she was younger and next to her was my mom. She was even in the White Fang before it...went downhill. I think she was to do so since she thought raising me in a group like them wouldn’t be good for raising a kid. Even this…” Leone lifted her arm to present her weapon to the other girl. “Used to belong to her.”

To Yang, it was a massive bomb to hear. Leone was conceived in Remnant, her mother was sent to the world where the Empire was, and she was born there. Leone grew up surviving until she found Lionel, and then started fighting for the Revolutionary Army. After that, she met up with Akame and then arrived at Remnant. In a simple comparison, Leone’s life just went through a long and a very difficult circle. Her mother was even part of the White Fang. It seemed being revolutionaries ran in the family. Yang did have some questions about this whole thing. “Does anyone else know about this? Have you told your team? Did you tell Blake?”

Leone closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, I didn’t.” She stopped and opened her eyes. I didn’t have enough time to tell Blake since I was leaving Menagerie, and my team…not yet. You’re the only person I’ve told about this.” The Faunus blonde chuckled again. “Better late than never, huh? I’m sorry it took this long but looking for Akame can keep a worried girlfriend busy.”

Yang couldn’t argue against that. She did have one other question to ask. “So, if your mom was pregnant with you, what about your dad? Do know where he is or who he is?”

Leone didn’t have much of an answer to give. “All I know about my dad is that his name is Raus Vermillion and he didn’t take my mom’s sudden leaving too well. Because of that, he left the White Fang in order to search for you.” She leaned forward toward Yang. “He’s out somewhere still looking for my mom and he doesn’t know he has a daughter now. If I find him, he’ll finally have closure and peace of mind. He can have a family.”

Family. That was one subject Yang can get behind all the way. “Yeah, family is important. Me, Ruby, and Qrow, we’re all that my dad has. With Summer gone and Raven…” She stopped herself as soon as she mentioned her mom’s name. Yang sighed and recollected herself. “What I’m trying to say is that they’re always people you can count on. From what you told me, it sounds like your dad is counting on you. Even if he doesn’t know it.” Leone was thankful to hear that. “It is nice to hear you do have a dad. I guess this means me and Blake are out of the job being your parents.”

The Faunus blonde laughed at that. “Eh, you two can still have the positions until I can find him. Until then, you’re still the mom and Blake is still the dad.” Yang could live with that arrangement.

They then heard a knock on the door and turned to it see it open. They saw Ruby at the entranceway and was glad to see them. “Oh, so, you are in your room, Yang. And Leone is with you too. I came by to tell you that Qrow wants all of us to meet. It’s something about Headmaster Lionheart.”

Yang knew this was important if Qrow wanted them all to meet up. Yang nodded at her sister. "Okay, Ruby. We'll be there shortly." Ruby smiled at Yang before turning away. The older sister then remembered something important and stood up. “Oh, yeah, Ruby!” The young leader stopped and turned to Yang once again. “Did you ever find out if Salem got the relic from Beacon or if Ozpin’s cane is the relic?”

That was something she wanted to tell the others and Yang was a good start. “No, Salem doesn’t have the relic from Beacon and his cane isn’t one.”

Yang snapped her fingers in defeat. “Damn. I thought it would be. Alright, that’s all I wanted to know.” Ruby gave another nod and quickly left.

As soon as she did, Leone stood up as well. “Well, let’s see go and see what Qrow has to say about this. Still, it’s a little weird Lionheart called when the White Fang’s attack is in a couple of days. It can’t be a coincidence.”

Now that she mentioned it, Yang thought it was strange as well. “Guess we’ll know when all of us are together. Let’s go.” Yang promptly left the room with Leone walking close behind her.

**B**

At Haven, Lionheart had ended his call with Qrow and he wasn’t alone in his office. “I still have some questions for you.”

Lionheart turned his attention to Raven leaning against the pillar. “You’re not alone in that.”

Raven started to walk around the front of the headmaster’s desk. “You know, I never expected you would be the one to have the guts to betray Oz.” She stood right in front of Lionheart and crossed her arms. “Which makes me wonder…what does she have on you?”

“I’m helping her for the same reason you are.” Lionheart replied. “I’m afraid. We…We can’t stop her. No one can.”

Raven could relate to what he was saying. “That’s why I tried to leave when I did. I’m not afraid, I’m smart.”

Lionheart saw that in a different way. “You can call it whatever you want, it doesn’t really matter. We’re here helping her.” He put his elbows on his desk and Lionheart buried his face in his hands. “I’ve crossed a line. I’ve done things that Ozpin will never forgive, and he shouldn’t.” He set his arms down on his desk. “I don’t know where I go from here.”

Raven had heard enough whining from the headmaster and slammed her hands on the desk. “Man up! You did what you had to do to survive. There is no shame in that.”

Lionheart could see right through the woman in front of him. “Who are you trying to convince?” Raven didn’t answer the question. Instead, she backed off and turned her back on the headmaster. Raven walked off and left his office.


	73. Tactical Split

**A/N: Okay, folks. This chapter will take a slightly different turn then what happens in the initial episode (I know. Why start now?) The reason for it is that if I do both sides, this chapter will be ungodly and unnecessarily long. So, I decided to focus on one side. It’s better for me, my sanity, and all of you. Also because we don’t need a written form of something almost everyone has seen before. (How ironic).**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Seventy Three: Tactical Split

Seryu made her way to where Wave’s room was. It was a fifty-fifty shot since he’d be either in his room or on the training grounds. She saw the door and stopped in front of it. The Faunus girl knocked on it a couple of times. “Wave, are you in there?”

“Yeah!”

The shot paid off and Seryu grabbed the handle to open the door. As she did, Seryu was greeted with a most unexpected surprise and sight. She saw standing in the middle of his room without his shirt on. Or at least in the process of putting his shirt on when Seryu opened the door. Seryu froze on the spot with her mouth agape from what she was seeing. Wave was thankfully wearing his pants but not his shirt. The Faunus girl kept gawking at his revealed chest. He was completely ripped, which was not unusual since he was trained as a soldier, but Seryu really couldn’t take her eyes off his abs. Wave stared back at Seryu like a deer caught in headlights. It was…awkward between the two of them. At least for Seryu since she was blushing heavily. Seryu finally found her nerve to talk. “S-Sorry!” The Faunus girl slammed the door shut.

Seryu was leaning against the door and was breathing slightly heavily. She felt the heat radiating off her cheeks and it felt like her heart was racing like mad. Her mind kept flashing back to Wave’s abs. Thankfully, she heard the knob turning and walked away from the door. She turned around to see Wave fully dressed. He appeared to be just as embarrassed as Seryu. “Hey, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think it would be that much of a bother to you.”

The Faunus girl put her hands up a little too quickly. “No, no! Not at all! I mean…well, I-” She really couldn’t make a coherent sentence right about now. The only thing Seryu could say was what she was here for originally. “I just came here to tell you that…Qrow wanted all of us to meet him.”

Wave smiled at the Faunus girl. During the whole month, Seryu tried her best to know the others and their names. He was glad that she was making leaps and bounds since they first met. The soldier nodded at Seryu. "Right, let's go then." They both went downstairs to meet up with Qrow.

**B**

Everyone gathered in the living room. Some of them were standing, others were sitting down on the couches. Ozpin was sitting in his usual chair. The only one not present was Kurome but Chelsea had her on video chat through her scroll. Now that everyone was accounted for, Qrow could finally start. “Alright, all of you listen closely. Not too long ago, Leo called me saying he made a breakthrough with the council. He said he can rally up a small group to raid Raven’s camp. He wants to meet us tomorrow night at Haven.”

Already, Leone could tell something was fishy about this meeting. “I’m sorry, but your friend wants to see all of us the day before the White Fang attacks Haven. Not only that, Cinder and her cronies are also planning to take the relic. If you ask me, this whole thing sounds like a setup.”

Qrow thought the same thing and found it hard to believe. “I know it sounds suspicious-”

“Suspicious my ass!” Leone yelled back. “You guys went to Haven, told him the danger that was coming, and he refused to help. We all stayed here for almost a month and suddenly, he calls to say he made some breakthrough just before shit is going to hit the fan? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s in with the enemy.”

The Huntsmen patience with her was running thin severely fast. “You don’t know Leo like me and Oz do. He’s a good man and he would never work with Salem or the White Fang.”

Leone’s experience said otherwise. “Okay, you’re right about that. I don’t know the guy. I haven’t even met him, but it’s still way too convenient for this to happen. When things like that happen, you have to know something is up.”

“I have to agree with her.” Everyone turned to Wave now. “Unlike her, I have met him. I can tell he’s a good man like you said. But what she said about the timing is right. Seryu said the White Fang will attack Haven the day before the semester starts. That’s tomorrow and this other group wants to use that advantage to get the relic. Now, it’s true we don’t know if he is working with them but if he was, I’m sure it’s not out of willingness. It’s either he’s forced to, or they have something on him. Either way, he may be involved.”

Qrow could only remain silent. He couldn’t imagine Leo working with the enemy. Not with everything they’ve done to protect the relics from falling into Salam’s hands. He then turned to Ozpin. “What do you make of this, Oz?”

Ozpin gave some deep thought about the conversation. _“Leonardo is one of my most trusted lieutenants. For him to be working with Salam is…inconceivable. However, I do find it strange he changed his tune. As Miss Wild said, he refused to help all of you to locate Raven and the Spring Maiden because of certain restrictions and circumstances. But now he wants to meet all of us together._ _If I have to be honest, I do sense something is wrong.”_

If Ozpin said something was wrong, then something was very wrong. Ruby asked the question everyone had in mind. “So, what are we going to do? If it is a setup, we’d have to fight Cinder and the White Fang all at once. We’re a big group but they’re bigger.”

“Unless Adam brings like a skeleton crew with him.” Chelsea joked.

Seryu didn’t think that was possible. “No, he’s not that stupid. He’ll definitely bring a large force of the White Fang with him.”

It was a bit of a conundrum for them. If they went, they’d had to deal with Cinder and her maiden powers, her own group, Adam, and a very large attack force from the White Fang. Even if Wave used Grand Chariot, he’d do more harm than good and probably destroy the school himself. They had to figure out something. Luckily, Leone had an idea. “Maybe we don’t have to take them both at once. Maybe we can take them separately.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Leone wasn’t sure about this, but it was within her expertise. “I’m saying we should divide into two groups. One that fights Cinder and the other can handle the White Fang. The group who’ll fight Cinder is Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Qrow, Esdeath’s dad, and Ozpin. Meanwhile, the group who’ll take on the White Fang is me, Cora, Esdeath, Kurome, Rienna, Taeko, Seryu, and Wave.”

It sounded like a good plan but Seryu found a fatal flaw in it. “Okay, I get you and I fighting the White Fang, but I think you forgot something. This attack will take place at night and the White Fang will use that to their advantage. The others will be blindsided in the darkness.”

Well, almost. We’ll be the ones to ambush them instead. As large as an attack force Adam may bring, causing chaos and confusion is the best way to handle them.”

This was a first for Seryu to hear. Humans that could sense aura? If that was true, then the Faunus would truly lose what would give them the advantage. Esren cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention. “If it’s not too much to ask, I’d like to join the other group. I may not have the ability to sense aura, but I do know a thing or two about hunting, and I mean no offense by saying this, animals at night.”

Seryu didn’t mind in the least. “None taken and if it’s the White Fang, then that just describes them perfectly.”

Leone still wasn’t sure about adding Esdeath’s dad into their group. “You sure Mr. Partas? This isn’t Grimm or animals we’re taking on. It’s terrorists who have a high passion for hating humans.”

Esren didn’t seem worried at all. “I’m aware and if I’m with Esdeath, and if what you say is true, she can help detect and guide me.”

The Faunus blonde could tell Esren was pretty damn adamant staying by his daughter’s side. She figured it must’ve been a dad thing. Leone also wondered if her dad would’ve acted the same with her. She nodded at his request. “Fine then but it’s up to Esdeath to keep you safe.” Esdeath didn’t mind that at all. In fact, she was looking forward to it. She’d always dreamed of fighting side-by-side with her father.  There was slightly more Leone had to say. “There’s also the fact while we’re dealing with the White Fang, there’s a chance Blake may arrive with the Menagerie army. Or force, I don’t know what they’ll be called, but still. If they come, we’ll greatly outnumber them. When that happens, the White Fang’s attack, Cinder’s plan to take the relic, all of it will come to a stop. Once it does, then I’ll beat the shit out of Cinder to tell me where she has Akame.”

Ozpin smiled at his student’s plan. He could see how much she’d grown since the last time he’d seen her. _“Quite the plan you’ve devised, Miss Wild. I see you’ve matured in my absence. Now, if only you could apply that same effort in your studies.”_

Leone groaned while Cornelia couldn’t help but laugh. For that and what she heard from her teammate. “It’s kinda surprising you thought this up. You’re more of a ‘punch first and don’t bother to ask questions later’ kind of person.” The Faunus blonde could see that. But as of now, it’ll take more than brute strength to get through this.

However, Chelsea saw a slightly huge hole in Leone’s plane. “As great as that plan is, you’re forgetting one thing. Aside from you, Yang, Weiss, Seryu, Oscar/Ozpin, and Esdeath’s dad, Lionheart has seen all of us. If we’re not all there, he’ll know something is up.”

Fortunately, Leone had already thought of that. “Funny you should say that because that’s where you come in. You never noticed I didn’t say your name in our group, Chelsea. I know you picked up a lot of semblances and I’m sure Emerald’s is one of them.”

Jaune figured out what Leone was talking about. “Oh, I get it. She can create illusions of the rest of your team. If she does that, then Headmaster Lionheart won’t be able to suspect a thing.”

Leone snapped her fingers at Jaune. “Exactly.”

Chelsea still didn’t know how to feel about the position she was put in. “Okay, but that would mean I’d be in the front lines fighting a maiden.”

“You don’t have to fight her, Chelsea.” Chelsea turned her attention to Taeko. “Keep in mind the illusions are only just for show. If you’re discovered and you will be, you can always teleport back to us to help deal with the White Fang. Unless you don’t mind fighting a maiden.”

For Chelsea, the choice was obvious. “Yeah, I think I’ll take my chances with the human-hating terrorists." 

And with that, the whole plan was set. Ruby closed her right hand and struck the palm of her other one. “Okay, so it’ll be basically this. The first group will go to Haven to see what Headmaster Lionheart has to say. If it is an ambush, we’re already prepared for it. Meanwhile, the second group will take out the White Fang who’ll be waiting. And there’s the chance Blake can arrive with the Menagerie army and we’ll have them totally outnumbered!”

Nora laughed heartily at the plan. “Yeah! We got an ambush for their ambush in case they so ambush us!”

Hearing that rang a bell in Rienna’s head. _“I feel like there’s a meme for that.”_

The plan was set, and everyone was ready for whatever was what to come. However, Qrow couldn’t but feel something would go wrong. _“As far as I know, carefully laid-out plans never work out well to the end. Something tells me Leo wanting to see is only the beginning.”_

**B**

Another night fell over Mistral and Qrow and the group was walking to the meeting place Lionheart had specified. Well, most of the group. As according to plan,

And they did. Once the first group went inside the building, the doors behind them closed. It wasn’t long after when they saw a large number of White Fang operatives coming out of the woodwork. Taeko narrowed her eyes at their sudden activity. “So, they are here.”

Wave took a closer look at the White Fang members. This was his first time seeing them and in action. “So, these are the White Fang guys I’ve heard so much about. They really don’t look too friendly.”

"And they aren't." Leone spoke. “Remember, they’re the ones who brought Beacon and Vale down to ruins. Along with the help of Cinder, of course.” She then gasped and so did Seryu when they saw a certain Faunus individual. “So, he is here.” They saw Adam giving orders to the other members. Just seeing Adam from afar made Seryu’s blood boil. What she and everyone else saw was a human talking to Adam. Some of that anger was replaced with confusion. “Who the hell is that guy?”

Back in the building, Qrow and the rest of the group approached Lionheart who was on higher ground. “Why, hello. Thank you for…coming.” He quickly noticed there were slightly more people present than last time. “There…seems to be more of you than last time.”

Qrow and his party stopped in front of him. “Eh, you know what they say, ‘the more, the merrier’. So, what’s going on with the council?”

Lionheart would like to explain except he noticed one certain detail about the whole party. “Why…did you bring your weapons?”

Chelsea could say the same about the headmaster. _“Says the guy sporting his on his arm.”_ There was something else that was bothering her. _“Also, what the hell am I sensing? Lionheart is nothing special but there’s something here that’s…not right.”_

Qrow tried to shake the question off. “What? Leo, we’re Huntsmen. You okay?”

“Of course, sorry. Just haven’t had my evening coffee.”

While their conversation was continuing, Yang looked around the room and saw a very familiar bird perched on top of one of the railings. She quickly recognized what, or rather who it was. “Mom?”

Everyone looked at where Yang was looking and saw the bird fly. Qrow immediately drew his weapon out. When it flew behind Lionheart, Raven appeared from the other side. Already, Chelsea could see this was going downhill. _“Oh, crap.”_

Ruby recognized the woman standing next to Lionheart. “Raven?”

Nora was among who was surprised by what Raven did. She heard about from Ozpin but seeing it was something else. “They…They really are magic…”

Raven took her helmet off and looked at the entire group. “If you’re going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting.” She smirked at her brother.

Already, Qrow had a multitude of questions of what was going on. “What are you doing here?!”

His sister started to walk around and down the stairs while maintaining eye-contact. “I could ask you the same thing. You’ve been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister.”

Qrow directed his anger toward Lionheart. “Leo, what have you done?!”

Lionheart hesitated to explain but Raven did that for him. “Leo did what any sane person in his position.” She walked in front of the group. “He looked at the all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation…” Raven stopped and turned to the group. “And made a choice. And it seems you all have too.”

Qrow narrowed his eyes angrily at his elder sister. “You have the Spring Maiden.”

Raven didn’t falter from her brother’s glare. “I do.”

The Huntsmen put his weapon away. “Then hand her over and let’s work together!”

The bandit leader showed no interest in doing such a thing. “All that time spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you’re dealing with. There is no beating Salem!”

“You’re wrong!” Raven turned her attention to Ruby. “We’ve done things that most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn’t do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work with us. At least I know we’ll have a better chance if we try together.” She extended her hand to Raven. “Please.”

Raven briefly looked at the hand before looking at Ruby entirely. “You sound just like your mother.” She quickly drew out her sword and opened a portal. As it did, a fireball came out of it and struck Ruby to the ground.

Yang became immediately worried about her younger sister. “Ruby!” She ran over to her sister to see if she was okay.

Out of the portal, where the fireball came from, Cinder emerged out of it and looked pleased. “Hell, boys and girls.” Behind her were Emerald, Mercury, and Vernal.”

Yang helped Ruby sit up and the young leader narrowed her eyes at the maiden. “Cinder…”

Emerald and the others weren't the only ones to come out of the portal. Shizuka, Mez, Gilberta, and Cassandra emerged from the portal as well. Chelsea and everyone else was confused by their arrival. _“What the, what’s with the maid patrol?_ ”

The portal closed, and Cinder’s group stood in the front while the maids were in the back. Emerald looked back and saw there were two certain people missing. “Hey, where’s your boss? She was supposed to be here.”

Gilberta smiled at the thief. “Madam Mera will be here when the time is right. You just have to learn patience.”

Chelsea became curious as she heard what the maid said. _“Madam Mera?”_

Since Cinder’s group was here before them, it seemed to everybody that Leone’s assumption was true. This was an ambush. They were all on guard now. Mercury smiled at them and thought it was hilarious they were being serious. “C’mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?”

Qrow held his hand out to the others. “Everybody, stay calm.”

They heard the doors open behind them and looked back to see who it was. To Oscar, he met this particular person before. “Oh, no.”

Hazel arrived and turned around to slam the doors shut. “The White Fang is prepper demolition and securing the school grounds.” He turned around to face the entire group. “No one’s getting in, and no one’s getting out.”

Outside the building, the White Fang members were plating bombs and arming them on the CCT tower. Adam oversaw the whole operation. "Once the charges are set, move back to perimeter watch. Tonight, Haven falls.”

Syura walked next to him and marveled at their work. “I can tell we’re going to have one hell of a blast.” He cackled at his own joke.

Wave quietly gasped when he saw Syura of all people here. Already, memories of what he did flooded back to him. _“Syura…”_

Unbeknownst to them, Leone’s group was watching them. Putting on the bombs on the tower was the last straw for Cornelia. “Okay, I think we stood around enough. We have to stop them now.”

Leone couldn’t agree more. It was time to screw over one carefully laid plan. “Alright then, let’s make ourselves known.” She turned to Esdeath. “Esdeath, why don’t we ring the doorbell?” Esdeath smiled at her teammate.

Back in the building, Hazel was calming walking toward Qrow’s group. They all turned back to Raven. Qrow, more specifically. He never thought his own sister would work with their sworn enemy. “Raven, how long have you been with them?”

Cinder found his anger quite adorable. “Aww, don’t take it personally, little bird. Your sister was a recent addition. The lion, on the other hand…” She gestured at Lionheart. “Entrance to the Vytal Festival was a real treat, but Leonardo’s been sending Salam all sorts of information for a very, very long time. Isn’t that right Professor?”

Lionheart felt ashamed his secret was out now. “Stop it…”

Qrow didn’t want to believe it but Cinder being here, and explaining what his long-time friend had done, he had no other choice. Leone was right the entire time. “So, it was true all along. You sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsmen and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to her. You are working with Salem. You let her kill them!” Lionheart couldn’t bear look at Qrow in the eye anymore.

Cinder almost felt sorry for the headmaster. Aw, now don’t beat yourself up about it, Lionheart. I’m sure Tyrian and Hazel would’ve found them on their own eventually. Well, just Hazel. Tyrian, on the other hand, he’s currently no longer with us.”

Ruby became immediately confused when she heard that. _“What happened to Tyrian?”_

After hearing everything Cinder had said, Jaune was furious at her. “What is wrong with you? How can you be so broken inside? To take so many lives and then come here and rub it in our faces like it’s something to be proud of!?”

Everyone was focused on the group now. Nora figured Jaune must’ve been talking about what happened to Pyrrha. “Jaune…”

Tears were rolling off on his cheeks and glared angrily at Cinder. “All with that damn smile on your face!”

Yang and Ruby were the first activate their weapons, but Qrow didn’t want anything to happen. “Everybody, stay calm!”

Jaune continued to glare at the maiden. “I’m going to make you pay for what you did!” He drew out his sword. “Do you hear me?!” Qrow knew if Jaune was going to do what he was going to do, it could only turn out one way. Everyone else pulled out their weapons. “Well?”

Cinder wasn’t’ the least bit intimidated by Jaune. “Who are you again?” That comment struck Jaune the most and it only made him angrier. He was about to charge headfirst to Cinder before they all heard a loud noise and felt the ground shake beneath them. Cinder and the others were confused as to what it was. “What was that?”

Hazel glanced back at the shut doors. “It sounded like it came from outside.”

Chelsea smiled as she knew exactly was it was. “Well, it looks like it’s finally starting.”

Outside the building, all of the White Fang members saw a giant ice ball implanted in the center of the courtyard. All of them were confused as to why it appeared. Especially Adam. “What the hell is going on?” While they were wondering why a giant ice ball was in the middle of the courtyard, it began to shift and turn before it immediately became water. It swirled viciously in a large radius and swept up any nearby member. Adam set his right arm to the side. “Fall back! Fall back now!”

The rest of the members did so and continued to watch to see what was happening. The whirlpool then started to recede and became a waterspout. After a few seconds, the waterspout exploded and in the center was Leone and her group. She flashed a wicked smile at all of them. Most importantly, to Adam. “Hey there, Adam. Long time, no see. How about we pick up where we left off back at Beacon?”

Inside the building, Raven narrowed her eyes at Chelsea. “What do you mean it’s starting?”

Chelsea smirked mischievously as she snapped her fingers and the rest of the group instantly vanished. Emerald immediately recognized what the other girl did. “Hey, those are my illusions!”

Mercury didn’t like where this was going. “So, the rest of you weren’t here the entire time?”

Unfortunately for Cinder, she had an idea where the rest of them might be. “Then that means…”

“That’s right…” Chelsea answered in a sing-song voice. “The rest of my team is outside dealing with the White Fang. You see, we already knew they’d attack Haven the day before school starts. The reason we knew that in the first place was because we ran into a person from the White Fang Adam chased out. She told us and also said the White Fang was conspiring with another group to destroy Haven. It’d didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. There was also the suspicion Lionheart may have been in cahoots with you guys. I mean, calling us for a meeting right before the White Fang attacks Haven?” She tsked at the enemy group. “Not very smart of you guys and since you told us everything…” Chelsea held up her scroll which was recording. Doing that was her own idea. “Doing that just proves you’re all a bunch of fucking morons.”

Now Cinder was angry at their situation. Here they were ready to ambush and kill Qrow, only be made fools of. Her anger was strongly directed to Adam. _“Adam, you idiot! How can you be foolish enough to leave a loose end?!”_

“Oh, and there’s one more thing.” Chelsea put her scroll away and paid full attention to Raven. “Ever since you came on the scene, I’ve been sensing something really weird coming from you and I’m wondering what it could be.” Raven knew exactly what Chelsea was alluding to. If she revealed her secret now, her plan would be ruined. She thought back a conversation she had with Akame and threw it out of the window. Her plan couldn’t be ruined now, not when she was so close to the relic. She immediately rushed toward Chelsea to cut her down in order to silence her. However, her attack was blocked by Qrow with his own weapon. Chelsea was very thankful he intervened. Her part was done and had to go to the others. She had to tell what was happening. “I guess that’s my cue to go, bye!” She teleported straight out of there.

As soon as she was gone, Qrow pushed her sister away and she rejoined the enemy group. She quietly growled at her brother. While they may have gotten the jump on them, it still doesn’t change the fact they’re group was larger. And since they were people Qrow hasn’t seen before, he doesn’t know what they could do. Shizuka smiled at the predicament. “Well, this has been quite the change in events.” She looked at the other maids and nodded. The four of them jumped and each stood at one corner and end of the railing.

Emerald didn’t know what they were thinking. “Hey, what are all of you doing?”

Shizuka smiled at the other girl. “Our orders were to help you because we were up against such a large group. That group has largely diminished and you’re all almost on equal terms. I’m sure all of you can handle them without us. As for the White Fang, well, they have their own mess to clean up.”

Qrow didn’t know if he should be thankful, or worried. _“They’re staying out of the fight. That’s good but I have a feeling they’re not your run of the mill maids.”_

Cinder knew she couldn’t count on Merraid’s forces. If she wanted to get something done, she might as well do it herself. "Fine, we don't need your help anyway.” She summoned her dust sword. “We’ll take care of this ourselves.” Jaune and the others readied themselves for the fight ahead. Jaune went ahead to deliver the first attack at Cinder.

On the outside, the battle against the White Fang was well underway. Each member of Night Raid, Seryu, Wave, and Esren were fighting a small group of White Fang members. What should’ve been an easy fight for them turned out to be much more difficult than they thought.  

**Insert Fairy Tail OST: Total War of Anger**

**“Amplify times three!”**  A strong pulse emerged from Kurome and instantly disappeared from the member’s sight in front of her. They all looked around for a second before feeling incredibly powerful blows striking upon them. They were all knocked out one after another As Kurome reappeared, she heard several guns cocked and turned to see a couple of member’s pointing their guns at her. This didn’t frighten her in the least and in the next second, Kurome swung Trisula across at them. The two members screamed in pain and were blown away by her.

They may have been done but more always came, just like weeds. “Kurome!” Kurome looked up to see Chelsea appear above her. The other girl landed before her just in time for another group to surround them. They all pointed their guns at them, but Chelsea just scoffed. She quickly took out Graceful Malevolence. “Sorry, guys. She’s already taken!” She raised both her fans to one side and did a sweeping across and powerful winds occurred. These winds knocked back the entire circle away from them.

As usual, Kurome was impressed by her girlfriend’s skill and power. “Glad you’re back with us. I take it that everything else is going alright inside?”

“Not exactly.” Chelsea replied as she sensed more were coming their way. “In short, I got bad news and weird news.”

That wasn’t what Kurome exactly wanted to hear, but Chelsea was the only who knows what happened on the inside. “Start with the bad news first.”

She and Chelsea went back to back to ready themselves for the next wave. "Well, the bad news is that the enemy has a few more members backing them up. It's actually Yang's mom and some other woman." Yang's mother? Kurome certain didn't expect that to happen. She had more questions to ask but now wasn't a good time. "Oh, they brought maids with them for some reason. I don't know why but I'm guessing they were back up. However, they're not going to fight because both parties are almost equal to each other. Least that’s how it was when I left.”

They saw the next wave of members approaching them. Kurome knew they were short on time. “And the weird news?”

That was something Chelsea needed to say to anyone, really. “Something’s up with Yang’s mom. When she showed up, I was getting some really weird vibes from her. Her aura felt different and yet…it kinda felt the same as Cinder’s.”

Kurome glanced back at Chelsea with a surprised expression. Raven’s aura was the same as Cinder’s? How could that be, unless…Kurome gasped as she realized something important. “No way. She’s-”

“Time’s up. Company’s here.” The next batch of White Fang members arrived, and they were ready to put their enemy down. Chelsea grinned at the challenge ahead. **“Amplify times Two.”** A strong pulse echoed from her and smiled confidently. “One more thing. The maids said a name. Someone called Madam Mera.”

Hearing that raised some questions for Kurome. “Madam Mera?”

Chelsea wanted to say more, the White Fang members before wouldn’t let her. “We’ll get back to it later. For now, let’s clean house first and then we’ll tell the others.” Kurome nodded and both of them charged at the opposite ends of the attacking group.

Another group of White Fang members was keeping their distance from Rienna's flamethrowers. The gauntlets that were her flamethrowers were smaller and much sleeker, making it easier for her to equip and not waste a lot of time putting it on. There was also an added extra feature. Once her flames subsided, one of the members ran up to her with his spear ready. When he was close, the member jumped and swung his spear down at Rienna. However, Rienna raised her left arm and blocked the attack with her gauntlet. What’s more was that she was able to push the attack back and sent the member flying. That wasn’t the end of her counterattack as she jumped high into the air to his level. The member saw her and Rienna delivered a swift and powerful kick to him straight to the ground. The blonde landed on the ground not too long after her enemy did and fired up her weapons immediately. She spun her whole body around while dispensing flames at the other members surrounding her. **“Flaming Spiral!”**

Several of the members were caught in the fire and were screaming out in pain. There were still a few who weren’t caught in the fire but Rienna would rectify that quickly. She put her left arm in front and her right on the apparatus circling around the gauntlets. She turned it and the muzzle changed to six holes. **“Machine Hellfire!”** Rienna fired a multitude of fire bullets at the remaining members as she turned around. The fire bullets were weak in power, but it was made up by the sheer amount being fired. All those shots would accumulate into a strong burning sensation. The last of the group fell down and Rienna was the last one standing. The blonde smiled at both her victory and how much she’d improved. However, she wasn’t done yet as the next batch of members arrived. That was fine since she was just getting started. “Come on, bring it on! I’m not done using Devil Incarnate.”

Bullets were being fired by one member but not one of them were hitting their target. Before he knew it, Taeko appeared before him and she slashed him upward with Tsugaku-Hime. He groaned before falling back to the ground. One may be down but Taeko sensed there were more behind her. She turned around and she was right. A group of White Fang members was pointing their guns at her. Taeko took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She pulled her sword back and the wind began to circle around it. **“Sakura Style…”** Taeko opened her eyes and swung her sword at the group. **“Single Petal!”** Out of the force emerged a powerful blade of wind coming at the group. Before any of them knew it, the wind cut them and knocked them down the ground. But as soon as they were knocked down, another group came up from behind. Taeko sheathed her sword and leaned forward while still gripping the handle. **“Sakura Style…”** using the momentum of the wind pushing her forward, Taeko blasted toward the ground and drew out her sword. It seemed like a second had passed and Taeko was already behind the group. The second after, the whole group was struck individually by three powerful wind blades. **“Three Petal Formation!”**

The next group fell all at once. While she had attained easy victories, Taeko didn’t like how she was obtaining them. _“To think I would have to use the sword style taught by him. I’m sorry, Chelsea.”_ Taeko saw the next wave and pointed her sword at them. “In the name of the Oreburg family, I shall make you all repent and be your downfall!”

The ground in front of another group began to shake and move forward like a wave quickly. The earth wave reached them and flung them all into the air. One unlucky member saw Cornelia above him with her axes crossed. She descended quickly to him and uncrossed her axes to attack. The result was a body blowing experience. **“Seismic X-Slasher!”** Cornelia landed on the ground while the rest of the group crashed. As soon as they did, another group appeared. The blonde wasn’t worried as she raised her foot and slammed it to the ground. What resulted was the ground shaking violently and it tripped up the members. Cornelia took advantage of this moment and rushed at them. As soon as she was close, the blonde jumped slightly and spun her body around when she hit the ground. Cornelia extended her arms to opposite sides and struck all the members at once with an earth-shattering force. **“Seismic Cycle!”** All the members were blown away from her but one managed to sneak up from behind her. Cornelia sensed he was coming and quickly turned around to deliver a powerful kick to his side with her semblance running through it. **“Pulverization Kick!”** The member screamed in pain as he was sent away from the blonde. Cornelia set her leg down and smiled at the progress she made. A tip Taeko gave her is that she should use her semblance on her legs for attack as she does with her axes. And the results definitely paid off. She saw the new batch coming and was ready for them. Cornelia put her axes up toward them. “How many times do I have to teach all of you. Don’t mess with a King.”

**“Gletscherwelle!”** Esdeath slammed both her hands down and waves of ice quickly emerged from the ground heading toward a large group of White Fang members. The waves of ice consumed them, and they were all frozen solid. She heard some screams behind her and turned around to see her father holding his own against the members. Esdeath then sensed another group coming toward them and they were aiming at her father. “Father, to your right!”

Esren turned to the direction his daughter yelled and saw a firing squad. He held his hand up as the members started firing. **“Wasserschild!”** A shield of water appeared before him and the bullets were caught in it. None of them even reached halfway. Esren narrowed eyes and closed his hand tightly. **“Hydro-Nadal!”** From the shield, thousands of water needles fired quickly at the members. Many of the needles became embedded in the members and they all fell to the ground.

While impressive, Esdeath sensed another group coming toward them. “Behind you, father!”

Esren turned around and saw the oncoming group. He raised his hands and then pulled them down in an X formation. **“Doppelschnellen!”** What happened next was water coming from Esdeath’s previous attack and became two powerful swirling rivers that came right at them. The group that had just arrived were swept up by the strong currents and sent away from them.

Esdeath was in awe of her father’s power. It wasn’t often she’d get to see him in action but as of now, she was glad he was here with her. With his semblance over his mastery of water and her ice, they were an unbeatable team. She clapped happily at her father’s performance. “That was incredible, father!”

Her father turned around and smiled at her. This wasn’t exactly what he had in mind for a father/daughter outing, but he wasn’t complaining. “Well, I do have to show my daughter the kind of Huntress she needs to be. Just like her old man.”

Esdeath couldn’t help but smile but then it was dashed when she saw the next group. “They’re here, father.”

Esren turned around to see the next group as well. He held his hand out in front of the group. **“Aqua Hydra!”** A massive volume of water appeared from behind him and Esdeath and sprouted a multitude of serpent heads. All of them roared at the group of White Fang members and they stopped while gazing the water monster in fear. “Just to be clear here, I have nothing against the Faunus. What I am against are the actions you White Fang members commit!”

One White Fang member was being knocked off far away from one after another while screaming in terror. The other members couldn't do anything except tremble in fear of the person who was doing it. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to see me again?” Seryu took another step forward to the group while holding her kanabo. She gave them all a very frightening expression to her former comrades. Her eyes were like that of a demon’s. “Or maybe you’re just surprised to see me here of all places? Nevertheless, all of you have chosen to walk a path of blood and death. What you have done is beyond unforgivable. For what you’ve done to me and what you’ve done to innocents at Menagerie.” She pointed one of her kanabo at them. “IN THE NAME OF RIGHTFUL JUSTICE, I SHALL MAKE ALL OF YOU PAY FOR YOUR UNJUST ACTIONS AGAINST OUR OWN KIND!” In the next second, screams of terror could be heard throughout the air.

Wave yelled as he swung Grand Chariot at Syura. Syura managed to block the attack with his two kukri knives in an X formation but was still being pushed back. Wave managed to put in more force behind his attack. “You’re the last person I’d expect to see again, Syura. Even in this world, you’re still a scumbag. What you and the White Fang had done to Seryu, I’ll make sure you’ll pay for what you did to her!” He managed to blow Syura away, but he managed to keep his ground.

Syura didn’t expect to run into a human that was this strong, but that wasn’t what he was thinking of now. “Okay, first off, how the hell do you know me? I’ve never met you before in my life! Second, you fighting for Seryu? That’s freaking hilarious! She’s always hated humans, but seeing her now fighting alongside them, I think she lost her mind. Third, it’s her own fault for not joining Adam, but that’s what she gets.” Every word Syura speaks just made Wave Angier. Speaking of Syura, he dashed back at Wave with his weapons ready. As soon as he was close, Syura started to swing his swords wildly at the soldier. Wave parried the attacks and tried to find an opening for his counterattack. It was that Syura was counting on and caught Wave’s weapon with his own. He pushed Grand Chariot upward and then jumped to deliver a double kick to Wave’s chest. He bounced off the attack while sending Wave away and did backward flip before landing on the grip. “I’m just getting started!” Syura flipped his weapons around and aimed the ends of the handles at the soldier. He fired two chained projectiles at Wave and they warped around his right arm.

He then pressed a switch and delivered a strong electrical charge to Wave. Wave grunted in pain, but he endured the shocks. He gritted his teeth and wrapped the chains around his arm one time before pulling them to yank Syura to him. Syura yelled as he was pulled toward him and Wave raised his right arm. When his enemy was close, Wave punched Syura in the face right to the ground. Syura groaned as Wave took the chains off his arm while looking down at him. “No matter what, this fight will end like before. You can’t beat me, Syura. You didn’t back then, and you certainly won’t now.” Syura lifted his head with blood coming out from the corner of his mouth and scowled angrily at him. No human was going to get the best of him. Especially one that knows him that he’d never met before.

Both Leone and Adam’s weapons clashed against one another. Both of them didn’t move and were giving their all. Well, Adam was in putting his full strength in his attack while Leone was just holding her own easily. She wasn’t going to mess around this time with him. “You have no idea how much I waited to make you pay for what you did. Only this time, you made it more personal!” She roared as she sent Adam away from her. Adam slid across the ground but maintained his stance. Leone’s eyes went feral once more looking at him. “For what you’ve done is unforgivable! First Blake, then Yang, what you did to your own, and finally the shit you pulled on Menagerie. Pieces of shit like you are the reason why I put them in six feet into the ground! For everything you did to make others suffer, I’ll make sure you feel that tenfold!”

Adam growled at the Faunus. Someone like her would never understand and he knew it. "What do you know of suffering?!" He used his full speed to dash toward Leone. The Faunus blonde prepared herself, but Adam proved to be faster than the last time. He reached Leone and swung his sword at her. Blocking it was easy but Adam quickly followed up with more attacks that Leone had to defend herself against. "You are nothing but an outsider! You can't even begin to understand the years, the decades my kind had to put up and suffer because of the human race! For what they did to us! For discriminating us!” He began to change his tactics and started to attack Leone all around. Leone managed to block some attacks, but others did manage to hit her. “What I’m doing is best for all the Faunus! We deserve more than some foolish ideal of equality. We deserve retribution and I am the one who’ll make it happen! Anyone who gets in our way will pay the price!” He appeared behind Leone with his sword pulled back. There was one way he could defeat this monster and that was to stab it through the heart. He had one chance at this and his body glowed red.

Leone turned around just enough for Adam to deliver the final piercing blow. The whole world became red and black for several seconds. Adam smiled as he’d finally done the impossible. As his world faded, Adam gasped, and his supposed victory was not within his grasp as he thought it did. True, his attack did pierce through Leone and her aura, but it wasn’t through her heart. It was through her left hand and she gripped Adam’s all the way through tightly. The Faunus blonde bared her fangs at the new High Leader. “You’re wrong…” She further tightened her grip and Adam grunted in pain as he was brought down to one knee. “I do know what’s it like to see suffering. Not from the Faunus but through my own experience. I’ve seen how miserable people were and I’ve seen death. I also know what’s it like to be discriminated.” Adam pointed his sheath at Leone to shoot her, but she knocked it out of his hands with her other arm. “I have you and everyone else want to know the difference between us? It’s our morals. When I was fighting for what’s right for the people, I made sure it was those who were guilty deserved it. You, on the other hand, don’t care who gets in your way, and if they do, you just see them as a threat to you.” Adam only responded by growling angrily at her. “Case in point is what happened in Menagerie. You saw Blake’s family as a threat to you and you did whatever it took to get them out of the way. It’s those kinds of actions and that way of thinking I hate the most. In the end, you’re not a leader, and you’re not even a Faunus. You’re just a scumbag who deserves to burn in hell!” Leone picked up Adam overhead and turned around. “And one more thing…” She tossed Adam right at the building Ruby and the others were. “My name is Leone Vermillion!”

**End Fairy Tail OST**

Adam screamed as he headed toward the building. Funny enough, someone else broke through the wall of the building and was headed straight toward Adam. The two collided with each other and landed on the ground. Adam groaned as he lifted himself to see who it was that slammed into him. “Hazel?” He didn't expect him to see him out here, nor see large dust crystals embedded into his arms. 

Hazel growled as he stood up and saw Adam standing right in front of him. He was already not very happy to see Adam. “You!” Hazel immediately grabbed Adam by the shirt and pulled him close. “This is all your fault, Adam! If you hadn’t been careless, we wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place!” He tossed Adam back to the ground.

Adam scowled at Hazel as he stood up again. “Touch me like that again, and I’ll make sure you’ll lose a hand. I have everything under control!”

Hazel didn’t even try to believe that. “Is that so? It looks to me that most of your party has already been defeated.”

Adam turned around to see what Hazel was talking about. It turned out that Hazel was right. Adam saw most of the group that was with him was now reduced to a handful. He even saw Syura on his last legs against a human of all things. He couldn’t believe this was happening and couldn’t understand how a group of humans managed to overturn his. This could not be any worse for him. “Adam!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to where they heard the new voice. They all looked at one of the buildings and saw a face they haven’t seen in a long time. Especially to Adam. Only Hazel was the one who didn’t recognize her. “Who is that?

Leone laughed when she saw her adoptive father while pulling Adam’s weapon out of her hand. “Ha, ha! Well, I’ll be damned!” She unknowingly discarded the sword close to where Adam was.

Blake looked at the surrounding area. There were multitudes of White Fang members lying on the ground and there was only a few left. She saw Leone and the rest of her team, and…Esdeath’s dad for some reason. She’d figured they were the ones that did this. Blake turned her focus to Adam. “Stand down!”

Adam just smiled as he was glad to see his former love again. “To think that I went through so much trouble to find you, only to have you deliver yourself to me.”

That’s what he thought, and Blake knew it was wrong. “This isn’t what’s right for the Faunus. Stop what you’re doing, and we can end this peacefully!”

Chelsea looked around to see dozens of White Fang members still lying unconscious on the ground. _“I think it’s a little too late for that.”_  

No matter how dire his situation was, Adam wouldn’t yield. “This will only end one way and I’ll see to it to the end. Even with this minor setback, you can’t stop us!”

That’s where Blake knew he was wrong yet again. “No, I can’t. Not by myself.”

“It’s over, Adam!” Adam and the remaining members turned to where they heard a familiar voice. He and the other members saw Sienna leading a huge group of the Menagerie civilians all armed with weapons. She swung Oerba Fang to the side. “You’ve already lost.” Adam growled furiously at seeing Sienna again. He couldn’t figure out how in the world did go from running away to being part of an army?

Kurome and the others were astounded to see so many Faunus gathered in one place. It was a little overwhelming, actually. Wave felt the same way as he looked at all the Faunus present. Apparently, there was more than having a pair of animal ears to define a Faunus. Rienna laughed a little and waved cheerfully at the whole group. “Hey there! We’re Leone’s friends! It’s nice to meet you!” A couple of the Faunus waved back at her, but most of them wondered how a small group of humans managed to defeat such a large number of White Fang members at night?

Seryu, finally hearing Sienna’s voice again, felt overemotional. Tears were almost on the verge of breaking out. “Sienna…you really are alive. I’m so glad.”

“Seryu!” Seryu heard another familiar voice. One that she had not heard in a long time. She turned around and saw Syka in person for the first time in years. Syka was running toward Seryu and stopped when she was close enough. The two Faunus girls stared at each other before Syka waved awkwardly at her best friend. “Uh, hey there, Seryu. How have you be-”

“Syka!”

Seryu threw herself at Syka and gave her hug that would be made up of all the years they’ve missed each other. Syka didn’t expect her to do this but she wasn’t going to complain at all. She gladly returned the hug while her tail was flickering happily. “It’s great to see you too, Seryu.” As much as they wanted to continue to hug, they were in a situation and broke it off. They still smiled at each other, though. Syka then looked at all the White Fang members lying on the ground. Honestly, she was impressed. “Okay, but seriously, did you guys do all of this? Holy crap!”

 “This ends now, Adam!” Adam and the remaining members turned to where they heard the new voice. They saw Ghira, along with Kali wearing a headband, and another large group of armed Faunus. Ghira narrowed his eyes at the new High Leader. “You’ve lost.”

The last of the standing White Fang members felt a little overwhelmed and decided to regroup back to their leader. Even Syura. Adam felt the walls around him were closing in, but he still wouldn’t give up, stubbornly enough. “Make no mistake, brothers! They are all our enemies! And we will not let them ruin-”

He was interrupted by the loud whir of two airships appearing behind the school. One of them focused its spotlight at him and his group. _“Adam Taurus! This is the Mistral Police Force! Lower your weapons and surrender peacefully!”_

Leone couldn’t help but hoot happily at what was going on. “This is so fucking awesome!” Even Wave was impressed by how dramatically the situation had shifted in their favor. 

Even from inside the building, Ruby and everyone else saw the lights. Weiss, who was laying on the floor being looked over by Jaune wondered what was going on. “What’s happening?”

That’s what Jaune wanted to know, but he was a little busy treating Weiss. She was impaled by Cinder earlier in the fight. He looked down at her. “How are you feeling?”

The former heiress didn’t feel like she was in pain and managed to sit up. “Better.” She turned to her hand and opened it to create a small glyph. “Much better.” Weiss turned to Jaune and smiled at him. She was very grateful what he did and thankful he finally found his semblance. “Keep it up.”

Back outside, Blake finally landed on the ground and not far from Adam. He turned to her just as the Faunus girl did. The High Leader was furious about what happened. First, his ambush was ruined and then he was ambushed instead, most of his soldiers were defeated, they were surrounded by Blake’s own personal army, and now two airships were hovering above him. Adam couldn’t understand how things became his way. He slightly turned to Seryu who smiled in a snarky at him. “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?”

Adam growled furiously and looked back at Blake. “How!? How did you do this!”

Blake ignored his temper and glared at him sternly. “Adam, it’s over.”

Syura was beginning to feel a little panicked and turned to his leader. “Adam, what the hell are we supposed to do now!?”

Anger was getting the best of Adam. Everything he had been through, everything he had to work for, all of that was in danger of falling apart and losing everything. His anger finally got the better of him. “After all everything we’ve done for you, what I’ve done for all of you…this is how you repay us! Repay me!?” He yelled angrily at everyone. “What I’m doing is for the best for all of us! To give us what should’ve belonged to us in the first place! To claim our rightful place in the world and force the human race to serve us! Is that not what all of you wanted!?”

He was receiving some very ambiguous looks from the Faunus all around him. Even the members around him threw strange looks with how he was acting. Sienna saw this an opportunity and took a few steps forward to them. “Is this truly someone you’d want as a leader?” They all turned to her and she stopped.  “Is this someone you’d follow as a leader? Someone who breaks down at such important, critical moments such as this? A leader who throws a tantrum when the situation goes awry?”

Some of the members looked at each other as they processed what Sienna said. Adam, however, wasn’t going to have it. “Do not listen to her! She was nothing but weak! I am the one who can truly lead us to our destiny!”

“You’re the weak one, Adam!” Sienna retorted. “You do not deserve the position of High Leader. You took it by force. That alone says what kind of a person you are and to see you now just confirms it. A sad excuse of a man who is stubborn, conniving, wouldn’t hesitate to stab others in the back if they didn’t agree with their views, and won’t accept the fact that he has lost. Save what little dignity you have left and admit defeat.”

Adam gritted his teeth hard as he was seething with anger. All that anger quickly disappeared as he found a way to end this. He pulled out a detonation device which freaked out his subordinates and Leone’s group. “Then it’s over for all of us.” Adam pressed the switch and would see everyone in hell shortly. At least, that’s what he thought when nothing happened. He pressed the switch a few more times and still nothing happened.

Syura, who followed Adam for a long time, was understandably pissed at what his leader tried to do. “What the hell, Adam!? Are you trying to kill all of us!?”

Adam grabbed him by the collar. “I am making humanity pay for what they’ve done!”

For the first time, Syura would have to disagree with him. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to be part of your freaking suicide squad if it meant doing that!” h

“We sent someone over to confirm your explosives.” Adam pushed Syura away and turned to Blake. “And once we did, she disarmed them.” She looked at a random direction.

Leone looked in the same direction and sensed someone was there. It turned out that someone was Ilia who revealed herself and was holding the wires from the bombs. The Faunus blonde couldn’t help but smile for what Ilia did for them. _“Ilia, I have now officially forgiven you.”_

If the situation was desperate for Adam, it became absolutely hopeless now. Those bombs were his last resort and it had been taken away. He turned to Hazel for guidance. “What do we do now?”

Hazel just responded by cracking his knuckles. “For the first time, I’m agreeing with the maids. This is your mess, you clean it up.” Adam became silent when he heard Hazel say that to him.

"I told you, Adam..." He looked back at Blake again. “It’s over.”

At this point, Adam was sick and tired of hearing those words. He slightly looked down to see his weapon and rushed toward it. Adam grabbed it and ran toward Blake to cut her down. When he was near, Adam swung his sword at Blake, but made a shadow copy and appeared to the side of him. She raised both her arms, clasped her hands together, and struck him away from her. Adam was sent tumbling down to the ground. Seeing that happen was satisfying for both Seryu and Sienna. Adam managed to prop himself up and turned to his subordinates. “Kill them!” The members briefly looked at each other and then back to Adam. He didn’t quite like that they were doing nothing. “Didn’t you hear me? I gave you an order!”

Instead of following his orders, one of the members just threw down his weapon. “I’m done following you. If this is how you really are, then forget it.” He took off his mask and threw it to the ground. “I’m going back to Mata.” Mata, who was in the crowd, smiled as he was getting his friend back. The rest of the members followed suit and dropped their weapons and discarded their masks

“Yeah, I’m done too.”

“Screw this.”

“At this point, it’s not even worth it.”

Adam didn’t believe what he was seeing. His comrades were abandoning him. Their dream to conquer humanity. His dream. He turned to Syura as a last saving grace. “Syura! Do something!” Syura’s only response was him dropping his weapons and putting his arms up in surrender.

Adam now saw where they all stood. Not by him, but against him. Abandoned by those he thought were his comrade, but now, he could only depend on himself. He stood up and glared furiously at the others. “Useless, ALL OF YOU!”

"Stop it now, Adam." The cornered High Leader turned to Sienna who was walking toward him. "You're just making yourself look like a fool at this point. You can either surrender or…" She stopped and pointed her weapon at him. "I'll make you. Honestly, I hope you choose the second option. I still have to make you pay for trying to kill me.” Adam growled at his former leader as he stared her down.

Leone and co took that as their cue and headed toward the building where Ruby and the others were. The Faunus blonde gave Sienna one more look. “He’s all yours, Sienna! I hope you don’t mind if I roughed him up a bit!”

Sienna just smiled confidently. “I don’t mind at all.”

seeing Leone approaching him. Behind her were Wave and the others. The Faunus blonde stopped in front of him and glared at Hazel. “You’re in my way.” Hazel wasn’t intimated by her and grabbed a couple more dust crystals from his pouches. He inserted them into his arms and roared with power.

Kurome didn’t know that was a good idea. “Well, that can’t be healthy for him.”

Hazel looked down at Leone and raised his fist at her. He threw the first attack, but Leone easily caught it with her right hand. Hazel’s attack was stopped cold and was surprised anyone could stop his attack. The Faunus blonde grinned at him. “You call that a punch?” She pulled back her left arm and clenched her left hand. “This is a punch!” She yelled as Leone delivered a powerful blow straight at Hazel’s center. Hazel was blown back away by Leone’s attack and was sent flying back into the building. Everyone in the building saw him go by and crashed into the statue above where Lionheart was once standing.

Hazel growled deeply as he and everyone saw Leone and her group enter the building. And not just her. Blake was following them behind and saw Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and the rest of her friends. And her team looked at her back. As much as Ruby would like to have their team reunion, she knew what was more important. She turned around to her sister and pointed at the entrance way before where Hazel was. “Yang, go!”

Yang didn’t need to be told twice and ran toward the entrance. Emerald tried to stop her, but she missed. Mercury managed to grab her robotic arm, but he was kicked from behind to one of his sides and was sent crashing into one of the walls. When he did, Yang jumped into the hole and went after Cinder, and her mother. Mercury groaned in pain as he lifted his head to see who it was that attacked him. Leone glared at her enemy. “Touch her again, and I’ll make sure you’ll lose both of your arms of your arms next.”

Emerald wanted to chase after Yang, but Weiss created an ice wall stop her. She took a step back and looked at the maids who were in their original positions. “Okay, now do you think you can help us out?!”

Gilberta chuckled at Emerald’s request. “I don’t know. What do you think, Madam Mera?”

Emerald didn’t know why one of the maids was asking her boss at this time. _“My, my. Quite the unpleasant situation all of you have gotten yourselves into.”_

Emerald gasped as she heard a voice close to her. Everyone else had heard it too and searched to see where it was coming from.

Mercury removed himself from the wall and spotted something strange about his teammate. “Emerald, your shadow!”

Emerald looked down and saw that her shadow was darker than usual. It began to move and shift before part of it extended from her and moved to the center of the railing where the maids were. Out of the shadow emerged a woman with her umbrella opened in front of her. They all heard sweet giggling before Merraid lifted her umbrella and held it over her right shoulder. “Hello, everyone.”

Emerald couldn’t believe what had just happened and how Merraid appeared. “You were in my shadow this whole time!?”

Merraid giggled again at the thief. “But, of course. I was ordered to give you back up in case you needed it. And judging from this…” She gestured at everyone in the room. “It seems that you do.”

Kurome took a closer look at the woman and gasped at her appearance. _“A woman in her later twenties, long raven black hair, violet clothing, and a beauty mark next to her lips.”_ She figured out who the woman truly was. “You! You’re the one! You’re the one woman called Merraid! You’re the one who took Akame!”

Qrow gasped quietly as he stared at Merraid. _“Did she say Merraid? No, it can’t be her.”_

Merraid was surprised someone could recognize her. In fact, she recognized Kurome’s voice from before. “Oh, and you must be the girl who answered my call? I must say, you do look as adorable as you sound through the scroll.”

Now everyone’s focus was on Merraid now. Especially Leone who became immediately angry at her. “So, this is the bitch who took Akame then? If you are, then where is she!? Where’s Akame!?”

Merraid looked at Leone next and had a surprised expression. “You’re Leone Wild. I’d heard you’ve died, but here you are standing before me. I guess wonders never cease.”

“Enough talk already!” Leone pointed her weapon at Merraid. “Look, lady! Your whole side is done for! The White Fang’s finished and so are you! We outnumber you heavily! I promise not to beat you within an inch of your life if you tell me where you have Akame!”

Merraid still kept her smirk at the Faunus blonde. “Is that so? This fight, this ordeal, is not over until it is truly over. You think all of you have won, but all of you couldn't be farther from the truth.” She gave a confident smile at everyone. “Now I believe is the time to show all of you…” She extended her hand to everyone in front of her. “What my beloved can truly do.” The shadow beneath her began to shift and extend toward the center of the room.

The shadow stopped, and another person emerged from it. Leone and everyone else gasped in surprise to see who it was. “Akame…”

Akame’s eyes widened in shock in seeing Leone again. It was only for a second before she closed her eyes and opened them again to show her indifferent expression. Kurome had many questions going through her head but could only ask one. “Why? Why is Akame is with you people!?”

Merraid loved the younger sister’s reaction. “It’s quite easy. Akame has pledged her loyalty to me. She is fighting for our side. She fights for Lady Salem.”

“That’s bullshit!” Leone yelled out in anger. “There’s no way in hell Akame would ever fight for you fuckers. The only way she could is if you brainwashed her!”

Merraid was expecting someone to say that. “I’m sorry to say this, but you’re wrong. I did not trick her. I did not drug her. I did not force her. And I most certainly did not brainwash her. Akame made the decision of her own free will. And who can blame her? Her own team shunned her for finding happiness again. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say all of you wanted her to stay miserable. At least back then when we knew Leone was no more.”

“That’s not true!” Kurome yelled next. She turned to her sister with a worried expression. “It…can’t be true. Akame…that can’t be the reason why you joined them. It can’t be because I was angry at you. When we disapproved of what you did. There has to another reason! This has to be a joke! I thought you wanted to kill Salem, not join forces with her!” Her words fell on deaf ears as Akame’s expression remained unchanged.

Merraid was loving this small soap opera, but time was wasting away. “Sorry to say this sweetie, but Akame has made her choice and we will both see to it that the filth of this world shall be burned away. Akame, my love, it’s time show them what you can do. Let us show them your ultimate trump card!”

Akame grabbed Murasame’s handle and drew it out. Leone couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Akame, the girl she loved and wanted to see again, was standing on the opposite side, fighting for the enemy. “Akame, please don’t. Don’t make me fight you.” Akame ignored her plea and activated her power. She flipped Murasame down and it the blade was pointed at the floor. Her power circled around her arm and straight around her sword. Leone didn’t know what Akame was doing but she had to put a stop to whatever she was going to do. “No!”

**Insert Naruto OST: Akatsuki Theme 4**

She ran toward Akame, but it was too late. Akame stabbed the ground with Murasame and her power exploded. A large, powerful wave of her semblance erupted out of Akame and struck everyone away from her. Leone and her group were blasted out of the building, and Ruby's group were blasted at the opposite ends of the room. The Faunus outside the building noticed the explosion and turned to the front entrance. They saw some kind of dark red essence coming out of the building. All of them felt an increasing alarm of danger from what they were seeing. They could even hear chilling wails and cries coming from the essence. Chelsea and the others groaned as they stood up. "What the hell was that?" She and everyone saw the essence moving strangely in place in front of the entrance. 

Kurome knew something was different this time around. “Something’s wrong. This isn’t like before when she released her power back at the Vytal Festival.”

Wave agreed with her. The power Akame was exerting wasn’t like before when he fought Akame before. _“Just what is she doing?”_

Merraid was on cloud nine with what she was witnessing. To see Akame’s true power coming into fruition, she knew this fight was theirs. It was all over for them. “I know all of you are aware of Akame’s semblance. The sins she’s carries within herself gives her power. It makes her stronger. However, Akame realized she could utilize it into something else. Something into more powerful and this is her result for working on it for the past month! She gave this new technique a name and it’s called…” As everyone continued to watch the essence, they saw an eyeball appear from out of it from the far right. **“Murasame Manifestation.”**

Another eyeball appeared and so did a wicked grin. The essence surrounding it parted from the main body and began to morph into something human-shaped. Its emergence was completed and laughed just as wickedly as his grin was.

**Former Empire Executioner: Headhunter Zaku**

Leone gasped in shock as she recognized the person standing in front of her. The essence in front of them began to divide and became individual pieces. Each of them was taking different shapes and sizes. The one of the far left took the form a large muscular man wearing nothing but black shorts and had pure black eyes. What was most unsettling about him was his smile. Wave’s eyes widened in shock at who it was. _“Wait, I’ve seen that guy before._

**Former Rakshasa Demon member: Ibara**

The piece next to Zaku became a tall slender man wearing a white suit and wore sunglasses. He was seen carrying an unusual looking scythe.

**Former Boric guard: Holimaca**

The next piece next to Ibara took the form a lean, muscular man wearing a black outfit that revealed his chest and wore a sash around his pants. He was also someone Wave had seen before. _“No way, him too?”_

**Former Wild Hunt member: Enshin**

The piece next to Enshin became a man who was tall and wore his hair in a ponytail fashion. One of his eyes were open to reveal it was black with a red iris. He was also chewing a twig in his mouth. He was another person Wave had seen before. _“Him too?”_

**Former Wild Hunt member: Izou**

The essence next to Holimaca took shape of a small girl wearing a black sailor uniform. Wave immediately knew who it was and couldn’t’ believe it. “It…can’t be…”

Chelsea was in the same boat as him as she could scarcely believe who it was. “Kurome, that’s-”

“Me.” Kurome finished as she saw herself standing next to this group of people. She’d heard of the Kurome from Akame’s world, but this was the first time she was seeing her.

**Former Jaeger member: Kurome**

With Kurome here, Wave figured out something with what Akame was doing. "I know what Akame is doing." Leone turned to him to hear what he had to say. "Akame…she's bringing back the sins of people she killed with Murasame. She's…summoning them as Kurome did with Yatsufusa."

Akame summoning the people she killed with Murasame? Leone had no idea she could do such a thing. Then she realized something what Wave said before. About Akame bringing back people she killed. She looked back at the returned group and saw that one more piece of essence was present. It was far larger than when it first appeared and could dreadfully guess who it could be. "Please, god no. She can't be coming back. If she does then…it's all over. For all of us”

The essence began to swirl, and the cries and wails shrieked louder. From the bottom, the swirling rose up to reveal high-heeled boots. From there, the swirling continued to rise to reveal the end of long light blue hair and a military style skirt. As the swirl rises, more of the body surrounding it was being revealed. The hands, the arms, and finally, a well-endowed chest that had a familiar red tattoo located above the cleavage. Esdeath couldn't tear her eyes away as she could tell who this person was, and neither did her father. The swirl finally reached the top of the head and vanished completely. As soon as she appeared, every Faunus, including Adam, felt an incredibly powerful sense of terror ripping through their bodies. None of them had felt anything like this before. The final figure before everyone finally opened her eyes and saw the massive crowd that was standing before her.

**Former strongest of the Empire: General Esdeath**

**A/N: Okay, before anyone gets on my case about Esdeath, I admit I’ve never read the last two chapters of the Akame Ga Kill manga. I don’t know if Akame did kill Esdeath with Murasame or if Esdeath did that suicide thing with Tatsumi’s dragon corpse like she did in the anime. If she didn’t…well, I brought Leone back to make this story work, so I’ll apply that to here.**

 


	74. Opening Act

**A/N: And now, for the first time, insert Kiba Opening 2, version 2! If you don't know how that goes, well, take everything into account from the last chapter and then onwards from here. I don't how all of you interpret these openings.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Seventy Four: Opening Act

Everyone who was at Haven Academy was standing still in silence for what they were seeing in front of them. Fear and terror were coursing through the Menagerie army from the sight of the arrival of new individuals by some mysterious means. What was most frightening of all is that a majority of that fear was coming from the woman in the center of those people. Only the officers in the airships didn’t know what was going on. They saw seven new faces standing in front of the building and didn't know what to do. The best way they could think of was to shine their lights at them and give them their usual warning. _“This is the Mistral Police! Stay where you are and surrender peacefully!”_

Esdeath and the other operatives looked up at the airship. Some with curiosity as to what they were seeing and others with disinterest. Esdeath was among those who were disinterested. Her response to their warning was holding her right hand toward them. One of the officers didn’t understand her action. “What’s she doing?” Esdeath’s expression changed from disinterested to gleeful as two large ice pillars spontaneously sprouted from the ground before and reached both airships in less than a second. The ice didn’t stop there as it quickly enveloped the whole airship. Naturally, the officers were freaking out and screaming in terror. “What the hell is thi-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as he and all the officers, and the airships became completely frozen solid in place.

Everyone stood and watched in horror as to what they had witnessed. Leone realized what was going to happen next and turned to the crowd behind her. “Everyone, get back! Move, move, move!” They all took her advice and they and her team moved away from frozen airships. It was a smart move since Esdeath closed her hand and the two airships exploded into a cloud of ice. The airships didn’t completely disintegrate as several large parts of them crashed to the ground loudly. 

If Syka didn’t see it for herself, she wouldn’t have believed it. She was still having a hard time believing what she saw. _“No way. She just…destroyed two Mistral police airships like it was nothing.”_

**Insert Akame Ga Kill OST 26: Jaegers**

Esdeath seemed rather pleased with what she did. So pleased, she began to laugh and then cackled loudly for everyone to hear. “Incredible.” The general finally spoke as she set her hand in front of her face. “It’s been far too long since I’ve heard screams of terror from my enemies. I do find this situation strange. The last thing I remember was Akame piercing my heart with Murasame and now…I just destroyed two flying automatons” She laughed a little at her previous action. “I suppose this means that death is not the final destination after all.” Esdeath set her hand down and paid full attention to the crowd in front of her. “And now I have a mass standing before me welcoming my return. And I see a few familiar faces standing before me.”

She gave a pleasant smiled to one certain soldier. “Hello there, Wave.” Wave knew he shouldn’t be happy to see his general again. They may have been on the same side, but now they were on opposite sides. General Esdeath was now his enemy. Esdeath turned to the next face she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Seryu. It’s so good to see you again. You do seem a bit…different though. Regardless, I do think the dog ears look quite adorable on you.” Seryu couldn’t respond to her. She couldn’t even if the Faunus girl tried. Her body was too focused on trying to process the terror she was sensing from the general. Seryu's every instinct told her to run away as far as possible, but her body was too afraid to even move. She guessed it was the same for the other Faunus present. Esdeath then turned to Rienna. “And you…” Rienna gasped quietly in fear when Esdeath talked to her. "You must be Bols' daughter. I can tell by your facial features. I do see a bit of him and your mother in you. If he were here now, I'm sure he'd be overjoyed to see how much you've grown." Rienna would take that as a compliment if it wasn’t coming from such a terrifying woman.

Finally, Esdeath turned to the most two important people in the group. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you alive, father.”

Esren remained silent as he saw an older version of his daughter speaking to him. He could already distinguish the differences between the Esdeath before him and his daughter. _“This woman…there’s no doubt she is Esdeath. She is my daughter, but…she is not the same. The action she did, and I can see she has no compassion in her eyes.”_

Esdeath turned to her younger counterpart. “And then there’s you.” Remnant Esdeath gasped quietly in fear when her other self spoke to her. “My, my. Look how adorable and innocent my younger self looks.” Esdeath frowned at her younger counterpart. “I find it hard to believe you’re supposed to be me. At first glance, I can tell you're such a disappointment. You're not even half as experienced as I was at that age.” The younger Esdeath felt those word hurt her more than they’re supposed to. It was probably because those words were coming from the woman who had killed countless people in her life.

Esdeath wasn’t the only one who had a few things to say. Enshin leered at the crowd and managed to spot someone familiar. “Oi, Syura! Is that you? The hell are you with these chumps?”

Syura was both frightened and further confused that someone else knew who he was. _“How the hell do all these people know me?!”_

“You are wasting your time, Enshin.” Enshin glanced over to Izou. “The man you are speaking to may look like Syura but is nothing like him. Syura was a man to be reckoned with and not to be crossed. The one you see now is nothing like him. A coward most describes this one best.” Now Syura took offense to that.

Kurome smiled sweetly at her former teammate. It felt like forever since she’d seen him. In fact, Kurome thought she’d never see Wave again. “It’s great to see you again, Wave. The last time I saw you was when I…kinda knocked you out.”

Wave couldn’t take his eyes off Kurome. Seeing the Kurome of this world was unbelievable enough but seeing the Kurome he knew standing before him…he didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know what to say. “Kurome…I…I…”

Kurome giggled innocently at him. "Let me guess. You blamed yourself for my death and have been beating yourself up over it." She hit the nail on the head with her description. "Wave, I told you I knew what I was going into and I was prepared for how things were going to end. What I did, and my death is not your fault.” Wave continued to look at Kurome with sadness in his eyes. Kurome then turned her attention to her next person of interest. Herself. “And I can finally say it’s nice to meet you, my esteemed doppelganger.” Remnant Kurome remained silent at her other counterpart. It was still surreal to her seeing Akame’s actual younger sister. Kurome turned her attention to Chelsea next. “And you. I remember you.” She laughed and gave Chelsea a mischievous smile. “Didn’t I have Natala sever your head off and put it on a pike for everyone to see?” Chelsea gulped loudly as she now heard that from the actual girl who’d done the deed.

While every Faunus was scared stiff of Esdeath and her group, one of them, Omar, finally found their nerve. “I think we still have a chance. I mean it’s all of us versus what, seven of them? I…think we can do it.”

Kay thought of the complete opposite of her brother. “I don’t know where you’ve been in the last five minutes, but that freaking chick took out two Mistral police airships like it was nothing! You really think we could take on someone like her? And we don’t even know what those other guys can do!”

Leone would have to agree. She and Wave knew better than anyone else just how powerful Esdeath is. “All of you would be killed before any of you could reach her. An army of fifty-thousand soldiers couldn’t touch her! A group of barely trained citizens wouldn’t even stand a chance! Hell, an entire army feared her power! You want to see the worst of humanity? Well, here she is standing right in front of you!”

Sienna was in disbelief in what she heard about Esdeath. _“fifty-thousand soldiers couldn’t do anything against a single woman?”_ Even Adam found that hard to believe.

Esdeath turned her focus to Leone and observed her. “You seem familiar to me.” It took her a few seconds before finally realizing who Leone was. She smiled gleefully at the Faunus blonde. “Ah, now I remember. You’re that girl whose body I cut into pieces back at the Path of Peace headquarters. Yes, I remember all those delightful screams of yours. How your face looked in pain, how terrified you were, how you were helpless, powerless do to anything while lying on the floor. How would you like to experience that again?”

What Esdeath described sounded familiar to Sienna. _“Wait a minute…”_ She finally remembered what Leone told her about one of her prior experiences. _"You have no idea what's it like feeling pieces of your body being carved out of you. Slowly, and painfully while you were helpless to stop it. And I just don't mean pieces of my skin. My eye gouged out, a hole in my cheek, nails ripped out of my hands, my right arm and breast, and my left leg being cut through. All of that happening while terror was coursing through my entire body. The only reason I was able to survive all of that was because of my regenerative abilities. And do you know what the fun part is? It was a human that did all of that to me and she did it for her own sick pleasure."_

Sienna became more frightened as she recognized who Esdeath was. _“She was the one. This woman was the same one who did all of those horrible things to Leone. If a human can bring someone like Leone to her knees, then we’re all in danger. None of us are safe here.”_

Esdeath was having more fun with this small reunion than she thought. However, she had one more old face to visit. “I would advise you all to stay where you all are. I have someone else in mind to see again.” She turned away from the Leone and co, and the Menagerie army. “Be sure they don’t pull anything. If they do, make an example.”

Kurome smirked as a response. “Of course.”

With that confirmation, Esdeath walked into the building. The clacking of her heels echoed through the room as stepped inside. With one more step forward, everyone in the room felt an immense pressure coming down upon them. Emerald felt the coldest chill going down her spine. _"Something tells me I wouldn't want to run into this woman in a dark alley. Or anywhere, honestly."_

Mercury felt the same way as his teammate. Just seeing made him hesitant. _“If someone asked me to kill this woman and I see her up close, I’d quit instantly.”_

Oscar, who was still switched, noticed something different about the woman who entered. _(Who…is that? She looks like Esdeath, but…there’s something different about her.)_

Ozpin knew exactly who the woman standing before them was. _“I’m afraid the worst has come to pass. This Esdeath we see now is a different one from the one we know. This is the Esdeath from Miss Night’s and Miss Wild’s world. I have heard many of the terrible tales of her actions. And now she is here in physical form. I fear for the worst for all of us.”_

Ruby couldn’t take her eyes of the Esdeath standing before her. She knew immediately it wasn’t the Esdeath she knew, but a different one. Her breathing was deep and shaky as fear creeping through her body. Esdeath first glanced over to her and their eyes locked on to each other. As soon as they did, Ruby saw a vision of a giant icicle stabbing through her body and blood splattering everywhere from her death. The young leader gasped in shock and quickly realized such a thing didn’t happen to her. What Ruby saw was a vision of how she would die by Esdeath’s hands. The vision was so haunting to her, Ruby let go of Crimson Rose and it dropped to the ground. She stumbled a little before falling back to the floor on her hands. Weiss became worried about her leader and ran to her. “Ruby!” The former heiress kneeled next to her love interest for a closer look. “Ruby, are you okay?”

Weiss already knew the answer to her question. She saw how terrified Ruby was and this was the girl who didn’t know what fear was. The former heiress turned her attention to Esdeath and became fearfully cautious. Qrow thought the same. His guard was on an all-time high ever since Esdeath entered the room. Never in his life has he felt this on edge before. _Especially_ towards another person, if he could even consider Esdeath a human. _“I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s almost as if…I’m afraid of her. Who the hell, or rather, what the hell is this woman?”_

Esdeath looked away from Ruby and Weiss and saw the three people who were her allies. And they were such a letdown. “I assume you three are on the same side as us. How pathetic. Your master must have low standards when it comes to choosing their followers. A common street rat, an amateur assassin, and a dim-witted gorilla. And by the looks of it…” She scanned the whole room to see the rest of Ruby’s group and crossed her arms under her breasts. “You’re all struggling against children.” Esdeath focused back on Emerald and the others. “Just how incompetent all of you are?”

Scared or not, Emerald wasn’t going to have it from the older woman. “Who the hell do you think you ar-”

The general raised her foot and slammed her heel on the floor. From the second that happened, a blistering wave of cold spread through the room. It even ventured out of the building and everyone there felt it. That simple action was enough to silence Emerald. Esdeath glared coldly at the thief. “The next time you talk out of turn to me, I’ll introduce you to one of my torture methods. Do I make myself clear?” Emerald’s response was just silence.

“My, aren’t you just lovely.” Esdeath looked up to see Merraid smiling happily at her. “You are quite the stunning woman. Such a cold disposition and the way you take command...” A shiver went through her body and it wasn’t from the cold. “If I wasn’t infatuated with Akame, I’d ask you out on a date in a heartbeat. Unless you’d be interested in a…ménage à trois sometime later.” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully at Esdeath

Apparently, there was one-person Esdeath could tolerate in this group. However, this was also the person she didn’t like even back then. “Merraid Oarburgh. I see you haven’t changed at all. The last time I heard of you is when you and your entire faction were killed by the team Gozuki had created. And the last time we saw each other, I remember telling you that if you ever hit on me again, I’ll kill you.”

Merraid only purred at the general’s words. “You are a delightful treat. However, I am not affiliated with the Oarburgh family in this world.”

That didn’t matter Esdeath. All she saw the woman who tried to get into her skirt the first time they met. She turned her attention to Mez and Shizuka next. “I see you have two of the Rakshasa Demons with you. I haven’t seen either of you for quite some time.”

Her words reached Ibara and grinned creepily. He turned his whole head around to his back. which freaked the crowd. He chuckled when he saw two of his old comrades. “Shizuka, Mez. Didn’t think I get to see you two again in a place like this.”  

Mez and Shizuka were quite creeped out by their former ally. “I think that thing knows us.”

Shizuka agreed with the other maid. “How revolting. Especially with what it can do with the head on top.” Ibara just grinned at them for a second before turning his head around to face the crowd.

Now that Esdeath was done catching up with old enemies and familiar faces, she could finally focus on the one girl in the center. She saw Akame on one knee with both of her hands on Murasame’s handle. The tip of the sword was embedded in the floor and Akame’s eyes were closed while her body still retained those red markings. In all honesty, Esdeath was elated to see Akame again. “Look at you. I must say you’ve improved greatly since our last bout at the Capital, Akame. To think you were the one that got away. It’s almost a shame you decided to leave the Empire, but because of that, you gave me a fight that was worth remembering. And now, I see you’ve given me another chance to experience something extraordinary. However, is everything you’re doing worth it? I’d expect an answer when this ordeal is over.”

She turned away and started walking back to the entrance. When Esdeath was near, the general stopped and glanced over to one more individual that stood behind the others. “Come with me. It’s time for you to see an old friend of yours.” Esdeath continued walking with this individual walking behind her. Esdeath returned to her group with one surprise behind her. “Before we start, I’d like you to introduce you to the last member of our group.” She stepped to the side and turned to the last member. “Go ahead and show yourself. I’m sure your…former teammate would be delighted to see you again.”

Leone didn’t know what Esdeath was talking until this person stepped up. The Faunus blonde gasped in surprised and so did Wave as to who they saw. Who Leone saw shook her to her very core. This new character had medium length brown hair and wore an assassin style white jacket, a purple hoodie underneath, a black layer shirt, and black jeans. The most distinguishing feature of all was that his left eye was green while the right was blood red with a cross slit pupil. Leone didn’t want to believe it, but he was standing right in front of her. She could only utter his name. “Tatsumi…”

**Former Night Raid member: Tatsumi**

Blake caught the name her supposed daughter uttered and recognized it. She too couldn’t almost believe who the new person was standing before her. _“Tatsumi? As in the same Tatsumi who was Leone’s teammate from before?”_

Wave didn’t know what to think of anymore. The last time he’d saw of Tatsumi was after their team-up battle against Emperor Makoto’s Imperial Arms. “No way. Tatsumi, why are you here?! Akame…she couldn’t have…she couldn’t have killed her own teammate!”

It was surprising to Leone as well. A surprise she had not known for the longest time. “Akame told me Tatsumi was killed during the final battle against Esdeath. But she didn’t tell me she was the one who killed him.”

Unlike the others in the group, Tatsumi smiled somberly at his former teammate and friend. “Hey there, sis. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. You look good. Actually, you look a little different than the last time I saw you. You seem…younger than I remember.” He turned to Chelsea next. “It’s great to see you again, Chelsea. I…want to say that I’m sorry I couldn’t make it in time to save you.” Chelsea knew why he was apologizing. It was because of the whole head incident that Kurome had caused. Tatsumi then turned to Wave last. “Wave. It feels like forever since I last saw you. Not since we took on the Emperor’s Imperial Arms together.” It has been a long time since then, now that Wave thought about it. He and Tatsumi were always at odds with each other, but the soldier respected Tatsumi. And now he was his enemy once again. Only this time, both sides are playing for keeps.

Leone was still speechless at this turn of events. Tatsumi, the same person she swindled for fun when they first met, the person she introduced to Night Raid, the same person she fought side-by-side, was now her enemy. And if his appearance has given any hint, Tatsumi was in the exact stage when the Tyrant Dragon was taking over his body. If that was the case, then the situation became direr than she thought. And Esdeath knew it as she stepped forward and focused on the crowd. “Now that everyone is here and introduced, let’s start by showing all of you a small glimpse of the power from our world!” The general glanced over at Tatsumi. “Go ahead, Tatsumi. Show them what an Imperial Arms user is capable of.” Tatsumi’s smile faded and began walking down the steps. Esdeath had one more piece to say. “Ah, yes. If any of you decide to leave or interrupt, I’ll personally make sure it’ll be the last thing you’ll do. No matter who you might be.” She looked back at the group inside the building.  

As Tatsumi took off from the steps, Wave knew what he had to do. “All of you get back. If anyone has a shot on taking on Tatsumi, it’s me. Only I can handle him.”

It wasn’t that Cornelia doubted him, but she wondered why it had to be him. “Couldn't Leone fight him? I mean, yeah, he was Leone’s teammate, but she also knows how he fights. Plus, I’m sure she could win if she went all out.”

“No, I wouldn’t stand a chance.” Leone responded. “Tatsumi’s a hell of a lot stronger than I am. In fact, he could kill me if I ever fought him. Actually, he can.”

That wasn’t something Chelsea wanted to hear. _“Well, that’s reassuring.”_

Seryu thought the same. It was impossible for her to imagine a human stronger than then Leone. Much less have the power to kill her. However, she knew from first glance, Tatsumi was no ordinary human. Neither was the rest of the group he was with. Tatsumi stopped in front of Leone and the others and drew out the sword where the Tyrant Dragon resided in. Wave knew they were out of time. “Go, now.” The others didn’t need to be told again and scattered away from the soldier. Rienna and the others reached to different ends of the Menagerie army while Blake returned to her parents, Seryu went back to Syka, and Leone being with Sienna who was keeping Adam at bay.

Tatsumi and Wave stared at each other before walking away from each other. They kept their eyes locked on to one another while walking toward the opposite ends of the center of the courtyard. Ghira had several questions regarding what was happening. “Who exactly is that man and who are those people?”

Blake could answer the second question. “Those people…I think they’re the enemies Leone fought before from her world. The woman in the center is the Esdeath from her world. As for the man…I’ve never seen him before but judging how Esdeath knows him, I can guess he’s also from Leone’s world.” Esdeath. So, the woman who destroyed the two Mistral police airships was the very same one who was responsible for the countless murders in Leone’s world. Hearing about her exploits was one thing but seeing her in action was entirely different.

Seryu couldn’t help but feel nervous about Wave. She’d seen him fight and train Ruby from the past month, but that was just training. That was Wave holding back. Right now, the Faunus girl was going to see Wave fight and against a person who was wielding a similar looking sword as his. Syka caught how Seryu was looking at Wave and it made her wonder. _“I’ve never seen Seryu look at a human this way before. I thought she hated them to the point she couldn’t stand them. Then again, I did see her with a group of humans when we came along. I’m glad she’s changed, but she’s eyeing this guy differently.”_

Leone knew what was about to happen and made sure to warn Sienna. “I hope you’re ready, Sienna. You and everybody here are about to see what an Imperial Arms battle is like. My only hope and I can't believe I'm saying this, is that Wave wins. I know firsthand how powerful Tatsumi is and he's the only one who's a match for him.”

The former High Leader felt like she was on edge. She heard Leone explain what Imperial Arms were and how they were created and how they operated. Sienna had no idea how this battle would play out, but she agreed with Leone. The tigress also hoped the human with the blue outfit would emerge victoriously. What worried Sienna the most was what would happen if he didn't win? She didn't want to find the answer to that.

**Insert Akame Ga Kill OST 09: Gekisen**

Wave and Tatsumi made it to their respective sides. Tatsumi flipped Incursio and held it underside as he held it in front of him. Wave mirrored the movement and took one last long look at him. _“Tatsumi. I still can’t believe we met each other again in these circumstances. If it were any other time, I’d be happy to see you again. I held so much respect for you not only as an enemy, as an opponent, but as a genuine human being who believed what he was fighting for was right. But now we stand on opposite ends and I will not hold back. I will fight, and I will win for Seryu, for the Faunus that came here, and everyone in this city. I will… I must…end you HERE AND NOW!”_ Wave roared as he stabbed his weapon into the ground. **“GRAND CHARIOT!”** The ground began to shake violently before it erupted behind Wave. A giant hand emerged from the ground and the rest of a monster’s body finally revealed itself while chains scattered everywhere. The Danger Beast behind Wave gave out a loud and powerful roar that resonated deeply with every Faunus present.

Tatsumi inserted his weapon into the ground as a response to Wave’s activation. **“INCURSIO!”** A similarly strong shaking happened behind Tatsumi before the ground erupted behind him. A large white dragon with multiple eyes appeared and bared its rows of razor-sharp teeth. The dragon let out its own frighteningly powerful roar for all to hear.

All of the Faunus was beyond terrified of what they were seeing. It was unlike anything they'd seen before in their entire lives. Syka was among those who couldn't believe what she was even seeing. _“Those definitely do not look like Grimm!”_ Seryu couldn’t look away at what she was seeing. She never knew Wave was capable of doing something so unbelievable. The Faunus girl then remembered that Nora said something about him being able to summon a dragon, but this was so much more than she thought it would be.

Both dragons roared at each other as if they were challenging one another. Grand Chariot then surrounded Wave in a bright blue vortex while a vortex of fire surrounded Tatsumi. The crowd and even Ruby’s group felt powerful winds blowing through them. If the winds were this powerful, almost everyone couldn’t imagine how powerful these two humans would become. The first to change was the fire vortex surrounding Tatsumi as giant draconic eye appeared with the same cross slit pupil appeared. The vortex exploded and everybody what Tatsumi had become. They all became fearful of Tatsumi’s new appearance. He was wearing white armor that took the form of the dragon that appeared earlier and had wings, but Sienna knew there was more to it than that. _“What…happened to his body? It’s like…he and that monster fused together!”_

Tatsumi growled deeply as he roared intensely as the dragon that appeared did before. **_“IMPERIAL ARMS DEMON DRAGON ARMOR: INCURSIO!”_**

No one in the crowd didn’t know what to think. It was the most terrifying sight any of them had seen. Whoever this person was, he was no human. Not anymore. The vortex surrounding Wave did something a little different. A bright light could be seen in the center of the vortex and its glow continued to increase. In just a second, the vortex surrounding Wave exploded and the wind blew powerfully through the crowd once again. They had to cover themselves with their arms and shields from the wind. As it died down, they lowered their protection and saw what happened. When they did, everyone was in awe with what they all saw, including Tatsumi. Wave was on one knee while his right fist was on the ground and his other arm was resting on his left leg. He donned armor similar to the dragon that appeared behind him. What stood out the most was the wings he had behind his back. **“IMPERIAL ARMS CARNAGE INCARNATE: GRAND CHARIOT…”** Wave began to stand up. **“AND IMPERIAL ARMS SOARING FOR MILES: MASTEMA….”** He stretched his wings and pumped up his arms. **“SIMULTANEOUS ACTIVATION!"**

Seryu felt like her jaw could drop to the floor with what she was seeing. It was the most incredible sight she'd ever seen. To her, Azure Angel had finally come to life. Syka shared the same feeling like her best friend but she was more freaking out on the inside. _“Did this guy become freaking Azure Angel?! Seryu, who the hell did you meet, and can I shake his hand? Hell, I want his autograph and he’s not even the actor who plays Azure Angel!”_

Even Leone found this hard to believe. She never thought this would even be a possibility to her. However, Wave proved her wrong. _“There’s no way. He can use two Imperial Arms at once?! I thought that was impossible!?”_

Ghira had seen a great many things in his life, including leading the White Fang. But none of them compared to the sight he was seeing before him now. He believed humans and Faunus could and should be viewed as equals, but seeing this sight proved there was a special exception. _“These two are not men. They are not to be considered human. They are a realm far beyond.”_

Esdeath couldn’t’ help but smiled wickedly and proudly at what her subordinate had done. It was just a theory, but now she was finally witnessing it for the first time. _“I knew you could do it, Wave. You truly are the most powerful soldier in the Empire. Now, I wonder which is stronger; Tatsumi's evolved Incursio or your mastery of wielding two Imperial Arms at once?"_

**End Akame Ga Kill OST**

Wave pointed his finger at Tatsumi. “TATSUMI! LET’S FINISH WHAT WE STARTED BACK IN OUR WORLD! THIS TIME, ONLY ONE OF US WILL BE WALKING AWAY!”

Tatsumi responded by stomping one foot forward toward Wave. “FINE BY ME! LET’S SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH TWO IMPERIAL ARMS, WAVE!”

**Insert Fairy Tail OST: Jaaku no Tsuchioto**

Both armor users crouched slightly and charged at each other at the same time. While doing so, they left a small crater after their takeoff. They met in the center with both their right arms pulled back. They threw their arms forward and their fists collided at each other. The result was a thunderous boom that resonated throughout the entire area. Everyone in the vicinity felt the power of that boom. Even Ruby’s group felt the force behind the clashing attacks. Qrow hated to admit it, but he was impressed. _“What…incredible power!”_

Tatsumi and Wave were dead even for a few seconds until Wave lessened his strength a little for his opponent to move forward. This gave Wave the chance to headbutt Tatsumi and delivered an uppercut at him. The attack propelled Tatsumi high into the air. Wave himself took off with a strong amount of force to catch up to Tatsumi. Tatsumi spread his wings to stop his ascension and looked down. He looked just in time to see Wave pass him and was now higher than he was. The soldier wasted no time to kick Tatsumi on the shoulder back down to the ground. Like before, the force of the kick created a small booming effect to define how powerful the kick was. Tatsumi crashed to the ground and was temporarily down. Wave saw this as his next opportunity. _“He’s down. Now’s my chance!”_ The soldier spread his wings and prepared his next attack. **“GRAND FAL-”** Wave gasped as he realized something important. He saw the mass crowd still standing around and looking up at him. It was at that moment his attack would do more harm than good. _“No, I can’t. If I use my attack, all of them will be caught within the radius. I have to try something else.”_

Esdeath smiled as she knew the situation Wave was in. _“Your passion to protect the innocent is one of the things that makes you strong, Wave. However, it also makes you weak in certain circumstances. What will you do?”_

In a change of tactics, Wave instead placed his hand out in front. Wave took aim at Tatsumi and fired a storm of raining feathers from Mastema at him. Tatsumi looked up to see the torrential rain of feathers coming at him and he opened his right hand. **“Neuntote!”** A spear appeared before his hand and grabbed it. Tatsumi put the spear in front of him and spun it quickly. It was in time too as the rain of feathers reached him. He deflected the incoming feathers and they ended up embedded in the ground away from him.

 Some even landed near the Faunus and wondered what they were made of. “What kind of feathers are these!?”

As Tatsumi continued to defend against the attack, he’d already come up with a counter attack. With using one of the cycles to deflect the feathers with his spear, Tatsumi changed the direction of Neuntote to swing immensely at the rain of feathers. The force behind the swing traveled upward through the feathers and knocked them all out as the force continued to climb. Wave gasped as he saw this and couldn't dodge it in time. The attack struck the soldier and pushed him back further. Tatsumi saw this as his opportunity now as he pointed Neuntote at his enemy. He crouched slightly before launching himself back at Wave. The soldier shook off the previous attack and the next one coming at him. Wave quickly moved to the side to avoid the attack and Tatsumi's attack did miss. It was a good thing because if Wave was just a moment slower, that spear of Tatsumi's would've run through his body. He turned around and saw that Tatsumi was gone. It would’ve been unusual if Wave hadn’t figured out what Tatsumi did. _“Crap. He’s using Incursio’s trump card!”_

Some of the other Faunus were confused as to what Tatsumi did. They all muttered and talked to each trying to figure out what he did. Ilia was among one of them. _“Did he camouflage himself or something? Maybe something similar to what I can do?”_

Like Wave, Leone knew what Tatsumi was doing. “Damnit. It’s Incursio’s trump card.”

Sienna was both worried and confused as to what that was. “Trump card?”

The Faunus blonde tried to find Tatsumi but didn’t have any luck. “Incursio has the power to turn its wearer invisible. To most people, it can be deadly, and they can be killed without suspecting a thing. However, just because they’re invisible doesn’t mean they can’t be detected. If a person can sense their aura, the invisibility fails.” 

Now Sienna became more curious as to what Leone was talking about. “Sensing aura? You can do that?”

Leone thought it was obvious at this point. “Yeah. How did you think my team kicked most of the White Fang’s ass at night before you guys arrived?”“Anyway, there is a trick not being detected and that’s what Tatsumi is doing. Even I can’t sense him. He’s gone completely silent.” Leone was right when she explained that the humans from her world were different. Sensing aura and hiding it? Having one of them turn into some dragon/human hybrid? It was almost too much to take.

Wave frantically searched for Tatsumi. He even tried to sense his aura but even that wasn’t working. “Come on, come on. Where are you?” Unbeknownst to Wave, Tatsumi was above the soldier. He raised his weapon and took his chance. Before Wave knew it, he was struck from above by a mighty blow and was sent back down.

The soldier crashed to the ground and that worried Seryu greatly. “Wave, no!”

Syka noticed how Seryu yelled out the guy’s name. She honestly thought she’d never hear something like that out of her best friend. _“Since when did Seryu call humans by their names? More importantly, it’s how she yelled out his name. I’ve never heard her like this before.”_

Wave groaned in pain as he stood up. He also felt the aura protecting him wore out. If it wasn’t for that, Wave would’ve been in much worse shape than he was now. “Damn it. He got the drop on me.” The soldier had to admit Tatsumi was giving it his all. And that’s what made him more dangerous. Back then, the first time they fought each when Tatsumi was like this, it was out of anger from the both of them. Right now, Tatsumi was calm and focused. He had to put his guard up for the next attack. The only question now was where the next attack would be.

Leone was keeping two of her senses sharp to find out. Tatsumi may have masked his aura, but there were other ways to find him. Those two ways were scent and sound.  “ _Where the hell is Tatsumi going to attack next? Above? Behind? In front?”_ She knew Tatsumi would go for the killing blow next. Leone slowed her breathing and closed her eyes. Even the slightest hint would make the difference between death and victory. Her surroundings faded into black and only focused on finding Tatsumi. It almost seemed like a lost cause until the Faunus blonde heard a slight metallic whirl. Without a doubt, that was Tatsumi wielding Neuntote. Leone focused on that particular sound to sense where Tatsumi would strike next. She heard it again and opened her eyes. Leone knew where Tatsumi was now. “He’s in front of you! Other side!”

Wave gasped at Leone’s warning and only had a split second to react. Tatsumi leaned forward and charged at Wave with his weapon ready. Wave did the same thing except he had a trick up his sleeve. They headed toward each other and there was a loud slashing sound when they passed one another. Both armor users stopped at the opposite ends the other started and Wave stood still. In the next second, blood spurted from his right side which made some of the Faunus fearful. Including Seryu. _“His attack. It was strong enough to go through Wave’s armor?”_

Everything was quiet until everyone saw a second spurt of blood come out of nowhere. Tatsumi’s invisibility wore off and he became visible once again. He turned around and growled deeply at the soldier while blood dripped from his side. Wave chuckled triumphantly as he felt like this was his first win over Tatsumi. “If there was anyone who’d make me pull this out, it’d be you, Tatsumi.” He turned around while twirling a spear of his own. “I didn’t think I had to use this.” Wave put up his own spear weapon up for Tatsumi to see.  

Both Syka and Seryu couldn’t believe their eyes what Wave was holding. _“No way! He has the Spear of Heavens?!”_ Syka knew better it wasn’t the Spear of Heavens Azure Angel used, but it was pretty damn close.

Wave looked at the wound he gave Tatsumi carefully. “Well, if there’s one good thing out of this, your blood’s going to reveal your position now.” Tatsumi continued to growl deeply as a response. His other response was twirling his spear back. Wave did the same and they stared each other down once again. They went at each other once more, only this time, they swung their spears at each other. Both of their weapons clashed in the manner their fists did earlier. When they struck each other, another resounding boom occurred. Both armor users were dead even before disappearing in front of everyone. What happened next was that everybody saw streaks of white and blue clashing at each other everywhere. With each time they ran into each other, a smaller but equally powerful booming sound appeared. Each of the booms happened around on the ground and several in the air.

Syka thought this was one of the most incredible things she’d ever saw. _“This totally reminds when Azure Angel fought against the Tyrant Lizard King. Only this is real and he’s fighting against a guy who’s more a Tyrant Dragon King.”_

These series of clashes continued for the next minute until the blue streak started to overpower the white streak. The next clash ended in Tatsumi crashing to the ground on his back. Wave landed on the ground and knew exactly how this fight was going. _“A lot’s change in the past year since you died, Tatsumi. You’ve gotten stronger in this form, yeah, but I’ve improved since then.”_ He saw Tatsumi roll over and kneeled up to look at him. _“It’s time to end this. I’m sorry, Tatsumi. You were one of the best people I’ve known.”_ The soldier charged right Tatsumi with his spear ready to deliver the final blow. Wave appeared right in front of Tatsumi and pointed his spear at him. It seemed like the battle between them was over. That seemed the case if Tatsumi moved forward and swung his left arm to dig his claws into Wave’s wound. Wave screamed loudly in pain as the claws dug in deeper and cracks began to appear around the wound. Tatsumi took his claw out and rose up to deliver a knee kick straight at Wave’s chest plate.

Wave was sent back away from the other armor user and landed near where Syka and Seryu were. The soldier was in severe pain as he rolled over to his hand and knees. His other hand tightly gripped his wound. Seeing Wave like this tore Seryu’s heart in half. She admitted Wave was the most powerful human she’d ever met. He was also the humblest, the kindest person she’d had ever met. To see him in pain like this was almost too much for her to take. For Syka, this would be the first she, and everyone else present sees how this fight will end. “Is this how an Imperial Arms battle ends? Is he going to…”

What she said didn’t go unnoticed by Seryu. “Is he going to what Syka? Die? He can’t. Wave can’t…”

Unfortunately, Seryu didn’t have much of a choice in the matter and Syka knew why. “You don’t know, do you. Leone told me, Sienna, and Blake’s parents about these Imperial Arm things. Aside from being made from some freaking strong monsters, rare metals and certain people can only use them, there’s also a rule that surrounds them. When two of these users fight each other, one of them ends up dead.”

Seryu gasped as her eyes widened in surprise. She then remembered what Wave said earlier before the fight began. _“THIS TIME, ONLY ONE OF US WILL BE WALKING AWAY!”_ Seryu felt like a complete idiot. Wave knew this fight could end in his death. He knew and still decided to fight this dragon monster person. For her, for the Faunus, for everyone. Seryu didn’t know how the others would react to this.

“Come on! You can still get up, right!” Seryu and Syka heard a voice from the crowd and turned to see who it came from. Sure enough, it was one of the Faunus.

"Stand up, please! You can do it!" They heard another voice from the crowd.

Soon enough, more voices called out to Wave. “Beat that dragon guy’s ass!”

“You’re the only one who can do this!”

“I believe in you!”

“Honestly, I thought you were scary, but you’re really awesome!”

“Keep fighting!”

Ghira thought he’d never see the day where the Faunus of Menagerie would be cheering for a human. Neither did Sienna, but both could see why. A human that they never met, a human that doesn’t know anything about them, was putting his life on the line for all of them selflessly. Wave heard all these voices and managed to stand up. Even though Wave could stand, there wasn’t much left in him. While Esdeath thought it was disgustingly cute for the crowd to cheer on Wave, it wouldn’t amount to much. She could already see how this fight would end. Tatsumi did also as he pointed Neuntote straight at Wave. He dashed straight at Wave with his weapon in front. Wave couldn’t dodge the attack in time. Even if he did, the attack would be headed straight for Seryu and the others behind him. It seemed like it truly was it for him. Tatsumi aimed his spear at Wave’s heart and thrust forward. A metallic sound echoed throughout the night air and everyone stared in shock and awe. The headpiece for Neuntote inserted itself into the ground after it had broken off.

Tatsumi saw Wave’s armor glow for some reason. Whatever that reason was, it must’ve been why his weapon broke. **"REINFORCE!"** Syka looked over at Seryu with a bewildered expression on her face. Seryu extended her hand to reach Wave’s back and used her semblance to strengthen his armor. Seryu felt proud with what she did. “Whoever created these Imperial Arms, I’m sure they didn’t think of someone who can improve them.” Her expression became serious. “THERE’S NO WAY IN HELL I’M GOING TO LET WAVE DIE! I’LL GIVE HIM THE ADVANTAGE HE NEEDS TO WIN THIS!” The Faunus, mostly the White Fang members, have never seen Seryu act like this before. She even called out by his name. Sienna thought she'd never see that happen. Adam thought so as well. Seryu retracted her hand and smiled confidently at the soldiers. "WAVE! KICK THIS WANNABE TYRANT LIZARD KING'S ASS BACK TO THE SUBTERRANEAN EMPIRE WHERE HE BELONGS!”

The way Seryu acted caught Kurome’s interest. _“Seryu…are you…?”_

Wave didn’t need to be told twice and swung his spear upward at Tatsumi. Tatsumi managed to back off, but not before feeling the tip cutting his chest and blood spurted out. He kept his distance away from Wave and planned on what to do next. Wave held up his left and closed it tightly. _“Seryu, thank you for what you did. If you didn’t, I’d be lying in a pool of my own blood right now. I promise I’ll repay you. I will win this for you. For the people I consider my allies. For all the Faunus here…I swear I’ll protect all of you. I swear…”_ Seryu’s ears picked up a strange sound. It almost sounded like…chains. “I…will...WIN!” A powerful pulse erupted from Wave as see-through chain appeared around his arms. They were moving ominously around his arms while making a clinking sound.  

Esdeath had to admit she didn’t see this coming. She became quite interested of this new development. _“How strange. I wasn’t aware Wave would be capable of this.”_

To Sienna, she knew what exactly happened to the soldier. After all, the same thing happened to her back at Ghira’s estate. _“Well, I’ll be damned. I believe he…awakened his semblance.”_

As if Syka wasn’t done fangirling now, she certainly was at this point. She easily recognized those eerie see-through chains wrapping around his arms. _“Holy shit! He has the Criminal Chains! This guy really is Azure Angel!”_

Seryu figured that out as well and thought it was beyond incredible. She knew exactly what to do next. “Wave! Throw those chains at him now! Do it!”

Wave didn't know what Seryu was talking about until he looked at his arms. He saw strange looking chains moving around his arms. He didn't know what they were, but he would follow what Seryu instructed him to do. Wave threw his left arm out and the chains extended all the way to Tatsumi. The chains struck through Tatsumi's body, but they didn't do any damage. He didn't even feel them penetrating his body. He grabbed the chain and tried to pull it out. When he did, Tatsumi felt a slight pain and couldn’t pull the chain out. The more he pulled on the chain, the more it hurt him. Syka smirk as she knew why he couldn’t. _“The Criminal Chains. It was Azure Angel’s power and anyone that was struck by his chains had no way to break them. Even if they tried to pull the chains out, they’ll end up hurting themselves. It’s an easy way to put a stop to the villains.”_

Once Wave saw what happened, he came up with an idea. “TATSUMI!” The other armor user turned his focus to Wave. “It’s over.” His wings spread out and crouched slightly before launching himself into the air. The chain connecting him traveled with him, and that movement reached Tatsumi. Tatsumi was violently pulled upward after Wave and both of them ascended high into the night sky. Higher and higher, Wave traveled into the sky while more of the chain came off. Wave stopped flying as he reached the end of the troposphere and turned around to face Tatsumi. Tatsumi’s eyes widened as he looked back at Wave with the moon behind him. The sight almost made the soldier seem…ethereal in his current form. Wave held his left arm in front and strongly pulled it towards him. Tatsumi was pulled along with the chain and was headed toward the other armor user at a high speed. Almost instantaneously, Wave, propelled himself down toward Tatsumi with his right leg aimed right at him. At this height, Wave wasn’t restricted in using his attack this time. **“GRAND FALL FLÜGEL…”** The two armor users approached each other quickly and then finally met in the middle. At that moment, Wave’s attack struck Tatsumi dead on. **“REINFORCED!!!”**

The point of impact created a monumental boom in the sky. The strength behind the attack was powerful enough to go through Tatsumi and traveled all the way to the bottom. Before anyone in the crowd knew it, the shockwave reached them and dispersed throughout the entire area. Screams appeared everywhere when they felt the dust blowing through and around them due to the amount of power generated. Ruby’s group felt the same thing inside the building. It was even strong enough to shatter all the windows in the campus. Blake couldn’t believe how strong the force was despite they were on ground level. _“For him to generate that kind of power and for us to feel it here, it must’ve been off the scales. If he ever did that here, he’d destroy the entire academy. In one attack no less.”_

**End OST**

The winds died down and everyone felt like they could almost relax again. Almost being the case since they didn’t know what happened up there. Everybody looked at the sky and didn’t know what to expect next. So far, it seemed like nothing had happened until one of them saw something. Whatever it was, it was dropping and dropping fast. The being came into view and they couldn’t believe it. They saw Tatsumi dropping at a high velocity right at them. From look of it, he wasn’t moving at all. After a couple more seconds passed, Tatsumi crashed loudly to the ground. When the dust settled, all of them saw Tatsumi laying face down and didn't move at all. Seeing that could've only meant one thing. Everyone in the crowd cheered at his defeat.

Almost everyone. It broke Leone’s heart seeing Tatsumi lying motionless like that. She knew it was more dangerous for him being alive, but he was also her teammate. Even if he was an enemy, that fact would never change for her. A few seconds after Tatsumi’s crash landing, Wave finally landed with several feathers scattering upon his landing. Seryu was overcome with joy of Wave’s victory. She was glad to have been of help to him. “ _Wave…you’re the most incredible_ person _…I’ve ever met.”_

Wave looked down at Tatsumi and felt…awful. Tatsumi may have been an enemy, but he was also someone he considered as a friend. An ally, and now…he was gone yet again by his hand. _“I’m sorry it had to come to this, Tatsumi. As usual, you gave one hell of a fight.”_ The soldier knew he couldn’t mourn for long. Tatsumi was only the first of a long path of winning this battle. If anything, he had the best shot of beating Esdeath. However, Wave knew Esdeath would be the most difficult fight he’ll experience even if he was using two Imperial Arms.

While everyone was cheering and Wave in deep in thought, Tatsumi’s eyes suddenly opened. Leone gasped as she saw it happen. The fight wasn’t over it. “Wave, look out!” Before Wave could react, Tatsumi roared loudly as he quickly stood up and grabbed the soldier by the neck tightly. He put all his strength into his grip and Tatsumi took off with a boom, along with Wave. Both armor users flew far away from the academy and soon enough, outside of Mistral.

Everybody could only stare in shock and horror with what had happened. Chelsea summed up everything they were all thinking. _“Well, there’s goes our only hope.”_

The whole group then heard laughter and turned to see it was Esdeath. The general applauded with what she’d witnessed. “How wonderful! Such a brilliant performance! I knew I praised you about your strength being perfect, Wave, but to see you improve, it’s simply incredible!” Esdeath stopped clapping and smiled maliciously at the crowd. “However, what you all saw is simply the beginning. In fact, it was just the opening act.”

**A/N: Again, I will re-instate that I have not read the last two chapters of the Akame Ga Kill manga. I did not know Tatsumi was still alive when I looked up his description on the AgK Wiki. In fact, I was surprised he was alive. That’s a spoiler on me and I don’t particularly mind that. Regardless, I’d planned on him appearing since I did see Akame stab him with Murasame and worked on that from there. That and I assumed he was dead to the end. Now that’s out of the way, insert Overlord ending 2 as the new ending.**

 


	75. The War in Haven

**A/N: Okay, before this chapter begins, I want to address something here. It’s about Holimaca’s Imperial Arms, Adayusu. As far as I know, there basically nothing I know about what its abilities are. Even if the Wiki says that “it appeared to fold to increase defensive capabilities”, it’s still incredibly vague for me to work with. So, I may have to change it up for what it can do. I’m not exactly proud of doing this but like with Wendy back in The Dragon of Night Raid, there’s only so much I can do with what I’m being given. So, yeah, I just wanted to get that fact straight. Also, I might not be able to complete this Vol by the time Vol 6 rolls around.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Seventy Five: The War in Haven

“What you all saw is simply the beginning. In fact, it was just the opening act.”

Syka really didn’t like how Esdeath said that. _“She calls two guys summing monsters, wearing them as armor, had one of the most intense fights me and everyone else here have seen, and she calls that an opening act?”_ The scorpion girl foreboded something terrible was going to happen.

**Insert Akame Ga Kill OST 02: Adramelech**

Esdeath thought it was time to get the ball rolling and she knew exactly how to start. The general raised her right hand and grinned viciously. “Let’s begin the main event, shall we?!” Esdeath bent down and slammed her hand on the ground. When she did, strong, harsh, chilling, and snowy winds immediately occurred and blew through the entire crowd and behind her. These winds spread out quickly and went outside the boundaries of Haven Academy. It wasn’t before long until these winds circulated throughout Mistral entirely. If that wasn’t bad enough, everybody felt the ground shake violently and heard a thunderous noise. The younger Esdeath looked at the side of the academy and gasped. “Father, look!” She pointed at the direction she was looking at.

Esren turned the same direction and shared his daughter’s reaction. “No, that’s impossible…” Soon everyone saw what Esdeath saw. It what appeared to be some sort of giant wall made of snow and ice encircling them the outer border of Mistral. If Esren wasn’t seeing this, he wouldn’t have believed it. _“She’s surrounding all of Mistral in an ice storm?!”_

The younger Esdeath saw eerily similar this was to one of her own techniques. _“It’s like my Walzer Der Zorn Des Winters. Except hers is so much stronger than mine!”_

This event obviously didn’t go unnoticed. Citizens of Mistral who were awake and did wake up saw what was happening. They were all wondering and panicking about what was happening. Among them was a certain monkey Faunus and his friend who was seeing this. Sun didn't know what to make what he was seeing through their window. "Something tells me this isn't our usual weather going on."

Neptune nervously agreed. “Yeah, and it kinda reminds me what Esdeath did back at the Vytal Festival. Only this is like a hundred times stronger.” Sun had to agree with that. Although, it was hard for them to imagine Esdeath doing this sort of thing.

Three Beast’s ramen also experienced this problem and it worried Nyau. “Sir! Something’s weird with the weather! What do we do!?”

Daidara couldn’t agree more. “Yeah, it’s kinda getting bad out here!”

For Liver, there was only one thing they could do. “Never falter! Come rain, sleet, snow, or an unnatural ice storm, we will continue making the ramen as if our very lives depended on it!” His apprentices could’ve sworn they saw a volcano erupt behind him.

They felt their master’s passion and increased preparing their ramen tenfold. “YES SIR!”

The soldiers and officers of Mistral knew what would happen next and they had to be prepared for the worst. “Get to the outskirts and rescue the people there! Get them to somewhere safe and do it quickly. Whatever this ice storm is, it's not natural! And keep a sharp eye out for any Grimm that might pass through that storm! We’re the last line of defense of keeping Mistral safe!”

Esdeath cackled at her handiwork as she stood up looking very pleased. “Why settle for destroying a school when the entire city can be laid to waste!”

Qrow would find that hard to believe if he wasn’t experiencing this power first hand. _“Just how powerful is this woman? Summoning a storm of this magnitude and strength and strong enough to lay waste all of Mistral?”_

Syka had never felt more afraid as she did now. One person destroying Mistral? It was completely unheard of. _“Now I can see why an entire army was afraid of this chick. It took a whole operation from the White Fang to bring Vale down its knees. But this woman is capable of doing the same thing all by herself!”_

Blake, on the other hand, thought very differently. She took a couple of steps toward the general while enduring the cold wind. “Why are you doing this?! Your fight is with us, not with the people of Mistral! They have nothing to do with this!”

Esdeath scowled at the Faunus girl. “As if I care about the people living here. You should know by now that only one law applies. If you are strong, you survive. If you are weak, you die. That is the very basic principle of nature itself. I thought you beings with animalistic features would know better.”

Syka hated to admit it, but the general was right. _“She’s not technically wrong. It’s how evolution worked for countless years. It’s survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, I think we’re on the lower end of the food chain here.”_

“If you wish to stop this storm I’ve created than the solution is simple. If any of you have the bravado to fight and defeat me, then it will go away. So, who’s willing to step up first?!” Esdeath didn’t see anyone rise to the occasion. It was disappointing to her, so she thought of an alternative. “Not one of you? That’s fine.” She put both her hands in front and seven large icicles formed behind her. They were all aimed at the Faunus crowd as Esdeath smiled maliciously. “Then I’ll start by thinning out the herd!”

**Insert Fairy Tail OST: Haja no Sen Kaze**

**“Weiss Schenbal!”**

Esdeath sent all seven icicles hurdling at the terrified crowd of Faunus. **“Sich auflösen!”** Those seven icicles instantly turned into water for some reason. The cause of it was Esren holding his hunting knife in an underhand fashion. Even if the attack was ice, ice was still frozen water. It was well within Esren’s power. He turned around to face Ghira. “If you value your people’s safety, fall back now!”

Ghira hesitated at first but he knew Esren had a point. His people come first and foremost. “Everyone, retreat! Get to safety!” The Faunus of Menagerie followed their Chieftain’s order and they all began to move back. All of them knew they stood no chance against someone like Esdeath.

As they moved away from the battle, Esdeath wasn’t going to let that happen. “Who says you get to walk away?”

One of the Faunus of Faunus looked back and gasped in fear when she saw Zanku, Izou, Enshin, and Kurome in the air and closing in on them. Some of the other Faunus saw them coming and thought this was it for them. That is until a sword wrapped around Zaku’s leg and pulled him down, the other Kurome blocked Kurome’s attack, Enshin was blown out of the sky, and Izou was blown away by Taeko’s wind. The Faunus saw them and Blake facing against the enemy. “Keep running!” Blake pulled Gambol Shroud from Zaku’s leg and grabbed the handle. “We’ll hold them off!”

Zanku laughed happily at her claim. “Oh, do stay kitty cat. I’d love to have a nice long chit-chat with you. Maybe have a talk about how many ways I can skin you alive!”

Kurome giggled playfully at her double. “I wonder how you’ll stack up to me?”

Enshin growled angrily at Rienna for what she did as he stood up. "You fucking whore!” The blonde wasn’t faltered by him.

Izou smiled devilishly at Taeko. “It’s been too long since Kousetsu has fed. You shall be the first.” Taeko responded by pointing Tsugaku-Hime at him.

Esdeath chuckled casually as she saw the opposition. “It seems everyone here is getting on the fun. I might as well too, and I know just who to start with.” The general charged forward straight at her Esren. She pulled out her sword and swung it at the Huntsmen. Esren saw the attack coming and pulled out a second hunting knife. He crossed his arms and the knives and blocked Esdeath’s attack. The moment Esren felt their weapons clash each other, he knew first hand that the Esdeath in front of him was strong. Very strong. It took all he had to stand his ground.

“Father!” Esdeath ran up to her father. If she could just help him, then maybe they could stand a chance against her other self.

“Esdeath, stay back!” Esdeath stopped at her father’s command. “Go and make sure that the Faunus get to safety!”  Esdeath leaving her father was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to stay and help. However, her father thought otherwise. “Go, now!” His daughter gulped hard and was breathing hard. It pained her greatly to turn her back on her father and ran away to where the Faunus were.

Esdeath was almost touched how her father acted toward her younger self. “How sweet that you care so much about your daughter. I don’t recall you acting that way toward me.”

Esren bared his teeth at the general and glared angrily at her. “You are not my daughter. You are nothing, but a monstrosity brought into this world!”

Esdeath laughed at the insult. “I’ve heard worse things about me.” She put in more of her strength behind her attack and sent Esren away. The general then pointed her finger at the Huntsmen. **“Hagel Sprung!”** A giant ice ball appeared above Esren and started to fall on top of him.

Esren looked up and raised his right hand toward the attack. Before the ice ball could hit him, it dissolved into water and it circled around him. Then part of the water was shaped like a dragon and was aimed at Esdeath. **“Wasserdrachen Gebrüll!”** He sent the dragon to attack Esdeath head-on.

The general only chuckled as she held out her left hand and froze it instantaneously. Cracks had appeared immediately after and the whole dragon shattered into dust. Esdeath continued to smile evilly at her father. “Do me a favor, father. At least try to entertain me before you die.”

With Esdeath currently focused on Esren, she left the entrance to the building wide open. That gave Chelsea and the others a chance to help Ruby’s group. Chelsea glanced over at Kurome who was currently fighting her other self. Instinctively, she wanted to help her girlfriend, but Chelsea knew Kurome could hold her. And there were more things at stake here. She turned to Cornelia and Seryu. “Come on! Let’s go while we still alive and have the chance here!” Chelsea didn’t waste any time running toward the building. Cornelia did the same and looked over at Taeko who was fighting Izou. The blonde looked away and ran after Chelsea. Seryu looked back at the direction Wave was carried off. _“Wave, I hope you make it back.”_ She looked back at the building and ran toward it.

Syka saw her best friend run and thought to go after her. But not before looking around to see one other Faunus. _“Where’s Syura?”_ She searched for Syura but couldn’t find him anywhere. The scorpion girl growled in frustration. _“Damn it. He must’ve gotten away when the crowd moved back. However, I don’t think he’d be very welcome among them. He might be on his own.”_ Syka knew what was more important and went after Seryu.

For Leone, the choice was obvious. She had to go where Akame was and get to the bottom of why she was doing this. Sienna saw her off and hoped she would be okay. After seeing what Wave can do, seeing what his opponent could do, and seeing what Esdeath can do, she knew the danger Leone would be walking into. Speaking of danger, Adam saw a chance and raised his sword. This didn’t go unnoticed by Sienna as she heard a slight metallic sound and turned around to see Adam swing his sword at him. The tigress responded by blocking the attack and pushing him away from her. She didn’t understand why he was still going through this. “Why are you still fighting, Adam? You lost your followers, you lost the White Fang, and you lost this battle. What’s the point of you doing this now?”

Adam responded by smiling at her and pointed his sword at the tigress. “This fight is far from over! As long there’s a chance for Haven to fall, I’ll keep fighting! No matter who does it!” At this point, nothing Adam says surprises Sienna. As of now, he was nothing more than a desperate man trying to finish what he started.

Back in the building, Qrow had seen enough and had to do something before things become more out of hand than they are now. He instinctively turned to Akame and figured something out important. “Go for Akame! We stop her, we stop this whole mess!” Everyone in Ruby’s group turned to Akame. Taking her out would be the quickest way to end this fight.

Unfortunately, it would also be the most difficult and Merraid wouldn’t let that happen. “I won’t let you come close to her!” Merraid jumped from the railing and headed toward the Huntsmen. She swung her umbrella and Qrow swung his weapon as a reaction. Both of their weapons collided with each other but Merraid managed to send him back a few feet. She quickly turned to Emerald in the others. “If you value your lives, protect Akame at any costs!”

As much as Mercury hated to be ordered around by Merraid, he’d actually go along with it this time. As of now, having the ghosts of Akame’s past was advantageous to them. They lose Akame, they lose their reinforcements, and they lose this battle. It was plain and simple. Something the enemy already knows. Merraid turned back to Qrow who was standing back up. He narrowed his eyes at her before dashing right at her again. He swung his sword at her and Merraid swung her umbrella in retaliation. In this confrontation, they both swung their weapons at each other multiple times. They reached a stalemate again while Qrow glared at Merraid. “How is it that you’re here? You disappeared ten years ago!”

Merraid chuckled like the question was no big deal. “Is that what the tabloids are saying these days?” A shadow tendril appeared in the middle of their weapons and dislodged their statement. Qrow took a few steps back before seeing a second tendril going right at him. The Huntsmen swung his weapon at it to deflect the attack. As the tendril was smacked back, it receded back to Merraid’s shadow. “You should know better than to believe the words they say.”

Ren and Nora were about to make a move when Ren was kicked away by Ibara. Nora saw him slid across the floor and hit the wall. “Ren!” She turned to Ibara and was furious at him. Nora lifted her hammer and took a step forward to swing her weapon at the Rakshasa demon. However, Ibara grinned and stretched his entire abdomen back and the attack missed. The momentum from the swing cause Nora to completely turn around. When she did, Ibara grabbed her by the throat and threw her overhead. Nora was flung over to where Ren was and landed on him. Both of them groaned before Nora rolled off Ren. They looked at Ibara who still had that creepy grin of his. "Come on. I haven't had my fill of fun yet." 

Jaune was the next to attempt to stop Akame, but he was also kicked away in the center by Shizuka. He groaned in pain as he started to stand up and saw the maid smirked at him. “As if I’ll let trash like you approach Lady Akame.” Jaune responded by readying his sword at her. Shizuka wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the sight. “Leave it to boys wielding swords bigger than their own.”

Ruby and Weiss were the next ones to try and stop Akame, but something white and sticky was suddenly attached to her clothes. Before the former heiress knew it, Cassandra pulled herself toward her and kicked Weiss away from the young leader. Ruby immediately became worried about the other girl. “Weiss!”

While Ruby preoccupied with Weiss' safety, she sensed something terrible behind her and dashed forward to get away what it. The young leader turned around to see Holimaca twirling his Imperial Arms and set the end nearly to the floor. “Aren’t you little young to be handling that scythe, girl?”

Weiss shook off the initial shock of her surprise attack and stood up to face Cassandra. The former heiress gasped when she saw the maid’s hands. Her hands were all black with some white on her fingertips. Such a trait could only belong to one race. “You’re…a Faunus?”

Cassandra gave the former heiress a neutral expression. “Do not be mistaken. I am not doing this out of the hatred for the Schnee family. I am doing this on behalf of Madam Mera’s will.”

While everyone was preoccupied with their opponent, Hazel turned Ozpin and growled angrily at him. “OZPIN!” It seemed the former headmaster’s fight with him has not ended yet.

While the first batch of fights was underway, Leone and the others arrived at the building. The Faunus blonde saw Akame kneeling motionlessly while there were several fights happening around her. “Akame!” She ran toward Akame but was cut off Gilberta jumping in-between her and Akame. The maid was up close and personal in Leone’s space and then did something the Faunus blonde never expected one of her enemies to do. Gilberda reached out and took each a handful of Leone’s breasts. Leone was shocked and appalled that one of her enemies would do such a weird thing to her. What became weirder was that her strength seemed to be draining away from her. “What the hell are you…get…OFF!” Leone attempted to kick the maid away from her, but she jumped back just in time to avoid the attack. The Faunus breathed heavily as she felt familiarly tired. _“Damn, what the hell did that bitch do? I feel like that pipsqueak alchemist sucked out my blood again.”_

Gilberda giggled happily as she flexed her hands. “My, what a delightful chest you have. They were so nice and soft, it felt like my fingers could just sink into them.” She started to groan and then yelled as her sleeves were destroyed. What was revealed was that Gilberda was quite muscular. "I've never felt this much strength flow through my body before! It feels incredible!” Her eyes were now set on Leone. “I must have you!”

Leone didn’t like the sound of that. It seemed like she was going to be preoccupied with this girl for a while. “Get to Akame now!” The other girls nodded and dashed to where Akame was. Leone charged at the maid and pulled back her right arm to punch the maid. Gilberda did the same, only she moved her head slightly to avoid the attack and struck a blow right at Leone’s stomach. The punch was much stronger than the Faunus blonde thought it was and it blasted her away from the maid. She slid on the floor until she stopped while groaning in pain from the attack. “What the hell? There’s no way she could deal that much power to me. Just how strong is this bitch?” She stood up and faced the maid who grinned pleasantly at her.

Syka, Cornelia, Chelsea, and Seryu were approaching Akame when they felt the air around intensify and stopped moving completely. They all felt heavy pressure coming down on their bodies. "Who the hell turned up the gravity!?"

Syka’s question remained unanswered as she was struck by an energy blast away from the group. The gravity lightened up a little on the group When it did, two chains wrapped around Chelsea’s waist and was yanked from the rest of the group. Cornelia tried to reach for her teammate. “Chelse-!” The blonde was interrupted by a black sphere striking her body, and away from Seryu.

Remaining Faunus girl saw who were one of the people that separated them. Mercury walked up to her with his overconfident grin and cracked his knuckles. “Looks like you’re on your own.” Seryu responded by growling at him. Mercury pretended to be scared. “Oooh, we have a scary doggy here. What are you going to do?  Bite m-?” He struck by Seryu’s metal fist fired from her.

Seryu retracted her hand and gave Mercury a death glare. “You have no idea how much I am sick and tired of those fucking dog jokes! I’m going to kick your ass!”

Despite being sucker punched, Mercury laughed as he stood up. “Okay, now we have a fight, and it looks like I’m going to have to put you down.”

Chelsea was slammed to the wall as the chains dislodged from her. She grunted in pain as she slid to the floor. Chelsea looked up to see Emerald in front of her with her weapons out. “I got a bone to pick with you.”

Chelsea laughed as she stood up. “Upset that I used your own power on you and your crony friends? Don’t worry, I get that a lot.” She drew out Graceful Malevolence and opened them.

Cornelia became wobbly when she stood up from the surprise attack she took. She looked in front to see a maid smiling right in front of her. “Hey there, cutie. Sorry for the sneak attack, but Madam Mera is kinda serious about this. Can’t have anyone get close to Lady Akame. You understand, right? It’s just business.” Cornelia snapped out of her delirium and readied Twin Knight at her enemy. Mez just giggled playfully at the other blonde. “How scary.”

Syka picked herself up after the surprise attack and shook her head. “I really hate sneak attacks. They’re so unfair.” The scorpion girl heard a yell and turned around to see Jaune knocked down by Shizuka. The maid walked slowly toward him. “Such a disappointment. Like all you men are.” Jaune panted heavily as he stood up again and gripped his sword as he pointed it at her. Shizuka was still unimpressed by him. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you? Or know you don’t stand a chance. I guess there’s only one way for you to understand." She dashed right at Jaune.

Jaune was ready to try another counterattack, but as soon as the maid came in close, a tail came in-between them. Shizuka jumped back and the tail barely missed the maid. Not long after the surprise attack, Syka appeared between them and stared at the maid. "You know, when I got up this morning, the last thing I expected was seeing a bunch of specters appearing out of nowhere, see two guys summon monsters out of the ground, wear them as armor, and one completely overpowered chick surrounding Mistral in a freak ice storm. And now I can add fighting a maid of all people to that list. All in all, not your typical Saturday.”

For the first since this fight started, Shizuka actually laughed. “Aren’t you a funny girl. And cute too. Tell me, what’s your name?”

Syka flicked both her arms apart and spikes came out from her gauntlets. “Syka Taros, and I’m going to one of the people to take you down.” She glanced back at Jaune. “If you want the help that is.”

In this situation, Jaune could use all the help he could get. Especially against someone like Shizuka. “Yeah, thanks. Just be careful. She’s really strong.”

Syka didn't need to be reminded of that. She's already had plenty of experience seeing strong people. "So, what else is new?

Shizuka didn’t have a problem if it was two on one. She already figured out who the weaker link was among them. “Fine by me, but I’d have the girl. Guess I’ll just have to rid of the excess baggage.” She pulled out a dagger and presented it to Syka and Jaune.

Outside the building, Blake and the others had started fighting Akame’s forces. Zanku was laughing madly as he attacked Blake relentlessly with his weapons. The Faunus girl was on the complete defensive. It took everything for her to deflect the oncoming attacks and could see an opportunity to counterattack. Zanku continued to laugh at her struggles. “Come on, kitty cat! Give me a fight worth talking about!” He roared as he sent Blake away from him with his next attack. The Faunus girl tumbled across the ground and stopped. She looked up to see Zanku slowly walking up to her while still wearing that deranged grin. “Come now. Are you done already? We have so much more to chit-chat about.”

Blake stared into his eyes. They were not the eyes of a human that has hatred toward the Faunus. No hatred toward anyone, really. They were the eyes of a person who took pleasure in what they were doing. In short, he was the worst kind of human there was. After Zanku took another step, something impaled him in the chest and received a massive shock. Blake stood up and turned around to see the person who did it reveal herself from the darkness. “Ilia?”

Ilia pulled her weapon back and looked passed Zanku at Blake. “I’m not going let you fight this guy on your own!” Blake was surprised her friend was still here but was grateful she was.

Their little reunion was cut short, though, when they heard wild laughter from Zanku. He gave Ilia his full attention. “Oh, it’s been far too long since I’ve had some good shock therapy!”

What Ilia saw was unbelievable to her. _“No way. That was enough electricity to drop a person. How is still-”_

“Standing?” Ilia gasped in shock at what Zanku said. How did he know what she was thinking? Zanku continued to grin madly at the chameleon girl. “It looks like we have another in my sights. Goodie! The more, the merrier is what I always say!”

Blake jumped back to Ilia and stood next to her. Ilia had all kinds of questions to ask. “Blake, who is this guy?”

The other Faunus didn’t know how to answer that. Luckily, Zanku was more than happy to oblige. “Introductions already? I’m so…delighted that you asked. I am, or was the Empire’s prison executioner, Headhunter Zanku! It’s so delightful to meet you two!”

Executioner. That already spelled bad news for both of them. Ilia was almost afraid to ask her next question. “And…these people you killed. What did they do to get executed?”

Zanku cackled wildly at the question. “Who knows?! I was just doing my job. Of course, when you do a job long enough, you begin to feel a little…stir crazy. After a while, I began hearing the voices I executed. Haunting me, never leaving me alone! It kinda drove me mad and I haven’t been able to stop killing ever since! I figured the only way to stop them was to keep talking. So, let’s keep talking!” He made a mad dash toward the two Faunus girls.

Blake transformed Gambol Shroud into its gun form and fired a few times at the executioner. They did hit him and Zanku grunt in pain, but he kept smiling and coming at them. Blake had never seen this happen before. _“Bullets don’t faze this guy either?”_ The Faunus quickly glanced over at her friend. “Ilia!”

Zanku appeared in front of Blake and raised his right arm to strike her down. Blake looked back just in time and made a shadow copy of herself to take the attack in her place. The Faunus girl shifted to Zanku’s right. She pointed her gun again, but this time aimed at Zanku’s head. However, turned his head to her and swung his arm upward at Blake’s weapon. As he did, it made Blake shoot and miss her target. Zanku turned his whole body around and swung his left arm across where Blake’s neck was. Blake saw the attack coming and made another shadow copy to move away from the attack. The Faunus girl breathed heavily and felt her heart was beating like mad.

The executioner was enjoying how his prey was struggling. Whether they were helpless before he killed them, or they tried to fight back, he savored every minute. This time was no less than the others. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten about the other girl. In fact, he knew where Ilia was. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice? I can hear your thoughts. While he’s distracted with Blake, I can hit him again with another dose of electricity from my weapon. He’ll be stunned for a few minutes, and that’s when Blake will attack him.” He turned away from Blake and looked at what it seemed empty air. However, Zanku knew he was staring right at Ilia. “Isn’t that right?”

Ilia gasped in fear when Zanku looked at her direction. What happened next was that she saw a bright flash of light and everything became dark. The only thing Ilia could see was Blake standing in front of her. Her eyes widened in disbelief as to who the two people were standing in front of her. “Blake? Where did that guy go?” The chameleon girl searched for Zanku but couldn’t find any trace of him.  “Blake, where is he!?”

“Ilia!” Ilia was immediately jerked away, and it snapped out whatever what was influencing her. The next thing she knew, Ilia crashed into Blake, and she was lying on top of her. Ilia realized this and turned into a bright shade of pink. Her body color returned to normal when she realized something and moved off Blake. Ilia stood up and tried to make sense of what she saw. “Blake, what happened? I thought you were standing in front of me, and…

“I didn’t go anywhere.” Blake replied as she stood up. “You were just standing there like an easy target. If I hadn’t pulled you with Gambol Shroud, he…” She and Ilia turned to Zanku who was standing across from them. “He would’ve gotten you.”

Ilia had a hard time comprehending of what she had just experienced. “Blake, what exactly did he do to me? How did I know what I was thinking? There’s no way a human can do that unless it was a semblance.”

Blake had to agree with her right there and she could add more. “That’s not all. He can predict my movements too. Not to mention, despite fighting in the dark, he could fight with no problems against a Faunus. If you want to know, ask him. I think he’d be enjoyed if you did.”

Ilia kinda doubted it’d be that easy, but she decided to give it a try. She gave Zanku her attention. “Hey! How are you doing these things?!”

Zanku looked back at the girls while keeping his crazed smiled. He turned his whole body around and laughed. “I’m so delighted that you asked! Behold!” He pointed his weapon at the piece located on his forehead. **“Imperial Arms Omnipotent Five Sights: Spectator!”** He continued to laugh. “As the name suggests, it allows me to tap in five very useful senses. Insight: the ability to read your thoughts. Farsight: the ability to for to see clearly. Clearsight: the ability for me to look through solid objects. Precognition: Seeing the smallest of your muscle movements allows me to see what you’re going to do next. And Illusion Sight: An ability that allows me to project an illusion of a person you hold most dear to. Quite the handy little trinket, don’t you think?”

Blake had never heard of a weapon that had so many abilities. It certainly did explain how he was able to do the things he did. Now there only remained one question. _“How was it that Akame-”_

“Killed me?” Zanku finished her sentence. “Oh, let’s just say she was more than what I could handle. Compared to her, you two aren’t even close to her level.”

Obviously, if Blake was struggling against him. There was one more question Ilia wanted to ask. “What’s an Imperial Arms?”

Blake would be the one to answer her question. “The short answer; they’re very powerful and very dangerous weapons. In other words, get ready for a difficult fight.” They readied their weapons against Zanku. “One more thing, Ilia. This guy, he isn't like any of the other humans you’ve seen before. His eyes have no hate in them. He’s not doing this for any racial or discriminative reason. He’s doing this because he wants to. Because he enjoys it. In short, he’s the worst kind of human there is. In fact, you can sum that up about most of the people from Leone’s world. They kill for pleasure, and they enjoy it. You can even say they wouldn’t care if you were a Faunus. To them, we’re all the same. Victims waiting to be.”

Hearing that made Ilia frightened. She never thought a human could act like that. All her life, she and the Faunus had dealt with hate from the humans. To encounter a human that had no hate for her, no hate for her race, with no other reason to kill her but simply because he’d enjoy it, that fact terrorized her. However, terrorized or not, Ilia knew there was only one way to stop him and that was taking him down. “How difficult a fight are we talking about?”

Blake saw Zanku getting ready for the next round. “Considering his abilities and he was killed by Akame, very difficult.”

Enshin was laughing maniacally as he swung his sword at Rienna and cross-shaped blades of wind emerged from his swings. Rienna was dodging the attacks and tried to find a way to counter-attack. Enshin was obviously enjoying this bout. “Come on! Quite dodging you bitch!”

Rienna wasn’t a fool to keep still. If even one of the those hit her, a body part would be severed from her. She had to find some way to disrupt his attack pattern. And the blonde figured out she’d do it. After the next dodge, Rienna lowered her body and placed her hand in front. Enshin saw this as his chance swung his sword again. Rienna knew she had one shot at this. **“Chain Explosion!”** A series of explosions erupted one after another and headed right toward the pirate. Enshin's attacks couldn't cut through the explosions and they reached him. He was blown up high into the sky. That gave Rienna an advantage and pointed both her gauntlets at the pirate. She fired a stream of flames at Enshin while he was in midair.

Enshin saw the flames coming at him and scowled at the attack. “You’re not burning me to ashes.” He swung his sword and slashed the air around him. The result was a sphere made of wind that spread the fire away. **“Full Moon Wheel!”**

 Rienna stopped shooting her flames, and as soon as she did, the sphere protecting Enshin exploded and he landed on the ground. The blonde was obviously confused as to what happened.  “What kind of a sword does that?!”

Enshin gave her a cocky grin and showed off his sword. **“Imperial Arms Moonlight Sword Dance: Shamshir”** He laughed a bit at her. “When a full moon is out, that’s when I can use it to its fullest abilities. And that just so happens to be tonight, as fucked up as the moon is now.” He lowered his weapons and his grin changed to an observative expression. “You know, you do look familiar to me. Feels like I’ve seen your face before.” It took a few seconds for him to finally remember and snapped his fingers. “Now I remember! You look like that one bitch Syura had his way with and she had a kid with her too.” Enshin laughed as he remembered every detail from that encounter. Rienna gasped in shock as a response. “Yeah, we met them at a graveyard and they were visiting a grave of some dead guy. Man, was I jealous of Syura while he raped her. I wanted to have a turn myself, but he hogged that bitch all for himself. Champ had his fun with her kid while he was busy, that fat clown fuck. But, damn did they not shut up with their screaming! I can still remember that kid screaming out help from daddy. Ah, that pissed me off so much. Oh, well, they didn’t keep screaming for long after they were done with them. Last I checked, we left them so damn bloody and disfigured. It was fucking awesome!” He arched his back and cackled wildly at the memory. The pirate quickly stopped. “And now I guess I have a second chance…” He straightened his back. “Don’ you thi-” Enshin gasped when he saw Rienna right in front him, crouched and arms crossed with fire enveloping her blades. What was most notable of all was the furious anger in her eyes. “What the-!”

Rienna yelled as she uncrossed her arms and struck the center of Enshin’s chest and bypassed him. **“Hell’s Edge!”** Enshin screamed out in pain and fell backward to the ground. The flames were burning into his chest and he tried to put them out with his hands. “I’ll make you pay.” Rienna spoke with a dark tone in her voice. She turned around and gave the pirate a threatening look.  “I’ll burn you for what you’ve done. To my mom, for defiling my dad’s grave, and what you did to me.”

Enshin managed put out the flames and stood up while facing the burned blonde. He panted heavily as he took a closer look at Rienna. “Now that I think about it, you do look like that brat Champ had his fun with.” He laughed gleefully at her. “Shit, I think I might have fun with you now since you’re older. I don’t even care if you have some freaky ass burn scar.”

Rienna responded by flicking her arms and flames surrounded her blades while still having menacing eyes. “Try it, asshole.”

Taeko’s Tsugaku-Hime and Izou’s Kousetsu clashed against each other and neither backed off. However, Taeko noticed there was a wide difference between their strength. And Izou showed it when he easily pushed Taeko away from her. The distance was enough for Izou to close in with Kousetsu drawn back. Taeko saw the attack coming and pulled her sword back. **“Sakura Style: Rising Spring!”** She swung her sword upward as soon as Izou was in range. Izou managed to stop in time and jumped back to avoid the attack. However, he felt a blade of wind follow the attack and managed to cut his left cheek. His position gave Taeko another chance and she pulled her sword back again pointing at him. **“Sakura Style: Piercing Petal!”** She thrust her sword forward and a blast of wind shot out heading straight toward Izou. Izou just grinned as he dodged the attack, but not before it grazed his side. He then used that momentum to close the distance between them again. This time, Izou was faster and Taeko couldn’t react in time. Izou returned the favor by slashing her side and stopped when he was behind. Taeko grunted in pain and jumped forward to distance herself away from her enemy. Her aura was able to absorb the hit, but it couldn’t take another one. One more hit, and it’ll take another one from him to kill her. She turned around and faced Izou while still maintaining her guard.

Izou chuckled as he turned around and smiled at his opponent. “Quite the sword style you utilize. I find it…quite interesting.”

Taeko narrowed her eyes and pointed Tsugaku-Hime at him. “But, of course. After all, you were the one who taught it to me, Uncle Izou.”

Kurome slid across the ground away from her Remnant self. She couldn’t help but laugh at the challenge her other half was giving her. “You’re actually not half-bad.”

Remnant Kurome could almost say the same thing. “Yeah, well, compared to Akame, you’re like the easy version of her.”

Kurome would take that as a compliment. She was honestly happy to see her double face-to-face now. “I can believe that. After all, I did see that fight you and Akame had back at that tournament.”

R. Kurome was surprised to hear about that. “Wait, how do you know that?”

Her original self giggled mischievously. “Of course. We all did. Who do you think helped her awaken her power in the first place?”

R. Kurome thought back to when Akame first awakened her semblance during their match. She almost couldn’t believe it. “No way. You mean…that was you?”

Kurome enjoyed seeing her reaction. "Sort of. All I did was give her a little push, and the result was more than I imagined it would be." She began to laugh a little crazily. "It's so good to know I can help out my big sister this way. I'm even happier to know that I got my wish after all. Akame and I are together forever!” Kurome cackled madly at the fact. “It’s not the way I planned, but I’m not complaining about.” Her expression changed into something more serious. “And there’s there. Do you honestly think you’re good enough to be me? To be Akame’s little sister?! You’re nothing but some random world copy! You don’t have the kind of bond I have with Akame! You don’t know her as well as I do! You aren’t even related to her! So, how can you ever know what she truly feels like!”

Those words struck R. Kurome deeper than she thought. She really couldn’t argue what her original self said to her. R. Kurome had only known Akame for over six months. Compared to how Kurome knew her own sister since they were both sold, it would make sense she’d know more about Akame. However, there was one fact R. Kurome did know. “Two things. One: Akame never mentioned you had some siscon fetish for her. And two: yeah, you’re right. You do know a lot more about Akame than me, I don’t have that same kind of sisterly bond you and she have, and she and I aren’t related by blood. But…that doesn’t matter to me. Because to me, Akame is the third person who I would consider to be my family.”

Kurome seemed unimpressed by her other self’s words. “Then let’s test that out, shall we? I want to see if you’re worthy of being Akame’s little sister.” She raised her sword above her and smiled. **“Imperial Arms March of the Dead: Yatsufusa!”** Black lightning sparked out from the sword and struck multiple points in the ground. Once the lightning had ceased, multiple arms came out of the ground, and different beings rose up.

Seeing this happening reminded R. Kurome what Akame’s original sister was capable of. _“Crap, that’s right. She’s a freaking necromancer.”_  

The whole match was set and Kurome couldn’t wait for it to start. “Allow me to introduce to my precious dolls. Natala, he was a teammate of mine and Akame's from a team we were on. Doya, an assassin from the Northern Tribe who dual wields pistols. Wall here was a high paying security guard. I had to get through them to kill my target. Apeman is a danger beast that’s one of my favorites. One of the reasons is because he’s easy to control. Henter was a member of the Ban Tribe until I killed him. It was tricky, but I managed to do it. Rokugou used to be a general from the Empire until I had to kill him for trying to leave. Finally…" She turned to the last of her puppets. "This is Run. He was a former comrade of Wave and myself. I killed him because it was the only way to save him. He was also the previous owner of Mastema. Quite the lineup, if I do say so myself." She had one more thing to say to her otherworldly half. “By the way, you said Akame was the third person you considered to be family. If Najenda is the first, and Akame is the third, who’s the second?” R. Kurome didn’t reply, but she didn’t need to. Kurome already figured out who it was. “Wait, don’t tell me it’s that girl? What was her name? Chelsea, was it? You consider her to be family too?” She laughed at the absurdity of the thought. “How frigging hilarious! Not to mention ironic! You do realize she tried to kill us, right!?” A fun thought suddenly occurred to her. “Hey, how would you react if I had Natala decapitate her again. Wouldn’t that be funn-”

**"AMPLIFY TIMES FOUR!"** A powerful pulse erupted from R. Kurome and gave the original a frightening death glare. “Threaten her again, and I’ll be the one to cut your head off. I don’t even give a damn if you are Akame’s sister. Also, I know what your weakness is. Since you summoned this many zombies, I can’t imagine you doing much. You left yourself vulnerable. All I have to do is take you out and the rest will follow.”

Kurome giggled at her other self’s plan. “You’re right about that. However, there’s one thing that’s changed. Think about when Akame summoned Tatsumi. Why did she summon him in that state? She could’ve summoned him in his original form, and yet decided on his altered one. What does that tell you?" The other Kurome tried to come up a reason but couldn't think of one. Kurome decided to tell her. "Akame chooses how we’re summoned. Tatsumi was at his strongest at that form and for me…” She chuckled darkly. “She made sure I’d never have that weakness again. So, it’s actually eight against one. How do you feel against those odds?”

R. Kurome narrowed her eyes and spun her weapon around before pointing it at Kurome and her undead army. “I’ll beat those corpses of yours back to their grave, and you back to whatever part of Akame’s subconscious you came from.”

Back inside the building, the fights the others were involved in weren’t any easier. Ren and Nora were struggling against their fight against Ibara. Nora transformed her weapon into its gun form and fired a few shots at the Rakshasa Demon. Ibara just grinned as he threw his arms forward and stretched them out toward the grenades. He easily caught them and then retracted his arms back to him. In all her life, Nora had never seen that before. Ibara laughed gravely at the duo. “I think these belong to you.” He threw the grenades back at the duo powerfully. Both knew it was probably a good idea to dodge them. They did so by going opposite sides and the grenades missed them and exploded. Ren didn't waste any time running up to him and pointed his dual weapons at his enemy. He fired multiple rounds at Ibara, but the Rakshasa Demon continued to smile and jumped into the air to avoid the bullet fire. While in the air, he extended his right arm toward Ren. Ibara grabbed Ren’s head tightly and hoisted him up high. Ibara slammed Ren into the ceiling and when he landed on the floor, the Rakshasa Demon slammed Ren back to the floor. He then slammed Ren into the wall and retracted his arm while dragging Ren to him. Ibara still kept that grin as he pulled back his left arm and let go of Ren to punch Ren dead center. The amount of force Ibara blasted Ren all the way to the back wall and crashed into it. He let out a large pained gasped as he slid down to the floor.

Nora became immediately worried about her teammate. “Ren!” She turned to Ibara and snarled angrily. Nora shifted her back into its original form and ran up to Ibara. When she was close enough, Nora jumped and swung her hammer forward at the Rakshasa Demon.

Ibara just laughed as he easily caught the hammer long before it could reach him. He smiled creepily at his opponent. “I like that ferocity you have, girl. I think I might be falling for ya.” Nora didn’t know how to respond to that before Ibara opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out and struck her in the throat. Nora coughed harshly before Ibara let his hands and grabbed Nora’s head with his right. He smashed Nora’s head into the floor before picking her up again before him. Ibara tossed her into the air and jumped to deliver a powerful spin kick at her. The kick blasted Nora to the back wall and crashed. The Rakshasa Demon landed back on the floor and admired his word.

Ren stood up slowly as he saw his teammate in bad shape. “Nora!”

Nora groaned as she stood up. She looked straight ahead at their opponent and tried to figure him. “How’s he moving his body like that? I’ve never seen anything like it before. I’d like to call it a semblance, but it’s too weird to be that.”

Ren looked at Ibara as well and wondered the same thing. He was wondered about something else. “Did Akame really kill someone like him? If so, how did she do it?” Even with Akame using Murasame, it couldn’t have been easy to kill someone like Ibara.

Ibara continued to grin confidently at his opponents. “I trained at the Imperial Fist Temple and I’ve fought several Imperial Arms users. Do you really think you kids using those fancy toys of yours are a match for me?”

Shizuka smiled happily as she stabbed her own hand with the dagger. Syka thought she was insane until she heard Jaune scream next to her. She turned to blonde as he dropped his sword and tightly gripped his bleeding hand. The scorpion girl didn’t know what happened until she heard some…rather unique sounds coming from the maid. Syka looked back at the maid and she was moaning out of pleasure as she took the dagger out. She already had two questions going through her head. “What the hell did you just do and why are you getting off from stabbing yourself? You a masochist or something?”

Shizuka sighed out in pleasure as she smiled at the scorpion girl. “You can say something like that. As for what I did…” A thin strand of light appeared from her chest and it seemed to connect to Jaune. “I connected it to me. Whatever I feel, the other will feel it too. It just depends how much it can take.” Syka can easily recognize that Shizuka is referring Jaune as “it” and “other”. It was like she didn’t even see Jaune as a human being. As for her ability, Syka could compare it to a mirror effect. If pain and injury could be copied, who knew what else that power could copy. If she used her tail, Syka would think the paralysis would affect Jaune too. “Oh, and it’s also one way. If you decide to harm him, it won’t affect me.”

There was a third question Syka wanted to ask the maid. “So, why uses it on him and not the both of us, if you can do that. You’d have an easier time.”

The maid was glad the younger girl had asked that. “I can establish multiples, yes, but I wouldn’t want to use it on a pretty girl like you. Unless I’m ordered to otherwise. The animal next to you is of no consequence. Look at it. In such pain and misery from one little stab. What a pathetic excuse for a living being.”

Syka was going to say something to the maid about degrading Jaune when he finally spoke. “I’m fine…” He was panting slightly as he picked up sword yet again. The blonde gave Shizuka his full attention. “This pain is nothing compared to from before.”

The scorpion girl had to give Jaune some credit for his grit. He was stabbed in the hand and was still willing to fight. That was dedication right there. Shizuka could’ve blown off Jaune’s bravado, but then she saw something in his eyes. Something that rather caught her interest. “You lost someone, haven’t you?” Jaune gasped in surprised when he heard that from the maid. “Yes, you have that look of pain of someone you lost. Somebody important to you, I’d gather.” Jaune’s breathing began to pick up. “And this was somebody you let down. I can tell you solely put the blame on yourself for whatever happened to this person.”

Anger was starting to get to Jaune. “Shut up.”

“It’s because of you that person is now gone, and you couldn’t do anything about it.”

“I said shut up!”

“And because of that, you now regret you can never say the things you wanted to say to this person and never will. It has become a burden to you, and you will be forced to live with that guilt for the rest of your life!”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Jaune full out charged at Shizuka with the intent of cutting her down. The maid smiled as she knew she pushed the right buttons. She was about to stab herself in the left leg when Jaune apparently tripped and crashed on the floor.

It wasn’t by accident since it was Syka using her tail to wrap around his ankle. “Calm down and think, you idiot. You fell for a simple psychology tactic and you let her get to you. Stay focused and remember what she can do to you. You slash her and you’ll end up slashing yourself. Keep it together.”

Unfortunately, Jaune couldn’t keep that promise. His breathing became loud as if he was reliving something horrible. “Pyrrha’s dead because of me. She’s dead because I couldn’t do anything to stop it!”

Syka had heard of the name Jaune said. _“Pyrrha Nikos? That champion chick? Wait, she’s dead?!”_

“She’s gone, and I can’t ever…ever…”

“Apologize to her?” Jaune and Syka looked to Shizuka. The maid tsked at Jaune. “Oh, you poor, poor creature. Nothing hurts more in this world than losing someone you care deeply about. You lost your chance, haven’t you? And now you have no way to redeem yourself for it.” Her words were just a reminder of how useless he felt when he learned there was nothing he could do for Pyrrha. It also reminded him of what a complete idiot he was in chasing after Weiss when Pyrrha had obvious feelings for him. And he was just oblivious. “You men are always at your most pitiful when this happens to you. You don’t know you have something good until it’s too late.” That was another blow to Jaune because he knew that was true.

“That’s enough.” Syka finally spoke as she walked up to Jaune and stood next to him. “Stand up.”

Jaune was confused by what Syka was telling him to do. “What are you…”

"You must've been something else if someone like Pyrrha Nikos being interested in you. If you want to wallow around in your guilt that’s fine, but it won’t do anything for you. All it’ll do is just suffocate you unless you do something about. I don’t know how long you lost Nikos, but I lost my best friend years ago. Or at least I thought I did when I saw her on the news. It was at that moment I’d do something about what happened between us. You can either let that guilt rule over the rest of your life, or you can make something out of it. Besides, if that Pyrrha chick were here, I’d guess she’d say something about stop agonizing about her death and focus on what you can do now. It’s just a guess.”

That was one point Jaune would agree on. After hearing what the Faunus girl had said, he calmed down just a little and picked up his sword. He stood up and readied himself against Shizuka. Syka was glad she was able to get through to him and the fight could really start. Shizuka saw that and went back to being disinterested. She threw out her right arm and another thin line of light connected between her and Syka. “If this is how you want it, fine. Just remember that anything you do to me, or to myself, you’ll feel it as well.”

Syka just grinned confidently at the maid. “As if I’ll be afraid of a little pain being inflicted on me.”

Seryu yelled as she threw her right arm straight at Mercury. Her enemy responded by kicked the attack head-on and their two attacks collided with one another. They blew back from each other and Seryu growled at the end result. She’d been fighting him for some time now and Seryu had never seen a fighting style like his before. She’d also noticed that his legs were completely mechanical like her arms. She’d hate to imagine what happened to him to get those replacements.

With Mercury, normally, he wouldn’t give a damn about his opponent, but there was something interesting about her he noticed. “Call me crazy, but I couldn’t but see that those arms of yours look like they’re an older model. What, you couldn’t afford the more recent ones?”

Seryu didn’t respond to this statement. He wouldn’t understand how much these arms meant to her. Her only response was flexing her arms to the sides. **“Reinforce!”** Her arms flashed for a second before taking her next battle stance. “Your group has committed acts of evil, brought harm to the innocent, and ensure chaos. For that, I swear to bring down the hammer of rightful justice upon all of you!"

Mercury only laughed at Seryu’s words. “Wow. That was the cheesiest line I’ve ever heard. Let’s see if you can back up those words.”

**“Seismic X-Slasher!”** Cornelia lunged forward at Mez and crossed her arms to slash at her enemy. However, her opponent mysteriously disappeared when she did. The blonde pulled her weapons back and looked for her enemy. “Where did she go?”

“Yoo-hoo!” Cornelia looked up to see Mez hovering above her. Not only that, but she was also getting an unnecessary view of Mez’s black lace underwear from under her skirt. Mez grinned at the other blonde before moving her body forward and immediately dropped on top of Cornelia. Cornelia didn’t have time to react as Mez crashed into her from above. From the force of the impact, it felt like an anvil was dropped on top of her. She groaned in pain while lying face down on the floor and then was kicked forcefully to her side. Cornelia crashed into the wall and dropped to the floor yet again. Mez was actually a little disappointed in her opponent. “Aw, you’re done already? I thought you’d have more in you.”

Cornelia growled angrily at the maid as she stood up. She may have been down, but the blonde wasn’t out yet. “I’ve got plenty more in me. This fight is far from over!” The only thing Cornelia had to worry about is what her enemy had done before.

Emerald was facing off against Chelsea and made multiple copies of herself. Her plan was to confuse her opponent and take advantage of it. However, Chelsea wasn’t too worried about the tactic. There may be multiple Emeralds, but only one was giving off her aura. She was very grateful for Akame and Leone for teaching the rest of them of how to do it. “Let’s see. Eenie meenie miney…” Chelsea disappeared and then reappeared right in front of the real Emerald. “You!” Emerald gasped as Chelsea took the first swipe at her opponent with her fan blade. After the first hit, she disappeared again and then reappeared to deliver a swift to Emerald’s left shoulder. Chelsea vanished once more and started attacking Emerald all over her with a barrage of attacks. The other girl couldn’t surmount a counterattack because once Chelsea delivered one attack, she disappeared and reappeared somewhere else. Chelsea’s next attack allowed her to bypass the thief and stop from behind with both her arms spread out. The result of the attack launched Emerald into the air. **“Gaia Style: Deadly Dance!”**

Emerald crashed back to the ground and let out a loud pained gasped. She panted and grunted as Emerald turned her body and around began to stand up. “No! I haven’t lost yet! We haven’t lost yet! When Cinder comes back with the relic, it’ll be over for all of you!”

Chelsea turned around to face her enemy and had quite a curious expression. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a major hard-on for that fire cyclops.” Emerald took that as an offense and attacked Chelsea.

Weiss pointed Myrtenaster at Cassandra, and the giant ice knight she summoned earlier was charging at the other girl. The ice knight swung its giant heavy sword overhead right at the maid. Cassandra jumped into the air to avoid the attack. The sword crashed into the ground and Cassandra pointed her arms at the sword. She fired multiple rounds of webs at the sword and they covered the weapon completely. The ice knight tried to pick up the sword but was unable to do so. Cassandra looked over at Weiss next and pointed her arms at the former heiress. Weiss reacted quickly by putting up a glyph in front of her to block the next attack. The maid merely smiled as she shot her two web strands at the glyph itself. She pulled herself right toward the glyph. Once the maid reached the floor, Cassandra slid across it and underneath the glyph. As well as under Weiss’ skirt.

While the former heiress became flustered that such a thing happened, the maid quickly stood up and turned around to deliver an uppercut toward the other girl just as she turned around. Weiss was sent into the air and Cassandra jumped a second after her. While in the air, the maid delivered a few strong punches at the heiress before shooting web from both of her hands at Weiss. Cassandra pulled the former heiress toward her, only to implant both her feet directly at the other girl's body. She then used that momentum to jump off the Weiss and then shot her webs again at her. The maid flipped her whole body forward and pulled Weiss along with the momentum. She slammed the other girl to the floor and Cassandra shot out two more web strands outside of Weiss’ body. The maid pulled on the strands and propelled herself down straight at the former heiress’ back. Weiss let out a loud pained scream as Cassandra leaped off her. She then turned around and fired a single web strand and pulled her while making a complete turn. At the end of the turn, Cassandra let go and Weiss was hurled at the wall. The former heiress groaned as she slid down to the floor. The maid was quite pleased with her handiwork. “Your choice of underwear is as expected of an heiress. White and blue frills at the edges. It’s quite cute.”

Weiss could do without her enemy commenting about her unmentionables and looked at her opponent. “What…kind of a fighting style…is that?” Cassandra didn’t reply and shot out another web strand at the former heiress. She pulled herself toward the other girl and went for the next attack.

Holimaca swung his Imperial Arms downward at Ruby in order to strike her down. The young leader dodged the side and swung Crescent Rose from the side as a counterattack. The former bodyguard didn’t too worried and quickly held his left hand up to grab the base below the blade. Ruby gasped as Holimaca pulled back his own scythe and took another swing at the young leader. The scythe managed to strike Ruby and she felt something strange happen to her. She felt slightly pale once the scythe struck her. She was panting and felt…weak. The young leader was certain her aura protected her from the attack, but it still felt like something was cut from her.

Holimaca took advantage of that weakness and kicked Ruby hard away from him. The young leader tumbled across the room and stopped. She managed to stand up but still didn’t quite feel like herself. Even lifting Crescent Rose seemed beginning to be difficult for her to carry. “What…did you do?”

Holimaca twirled his weapon around before pointing it at his opponent. **“Imperial Arms: The Mysterious Adayusu.”** He twirled it around once more before setting the handle on his right shoulder. “What it can do is more than just cut my opponent. It reaps the life force from them. And every time it does, you can bet the next attack will take a bigger chunk from you until you’re nothing but an empty husk. It doesn’t even make a difference if you that fancy shield of yours. Judging from your size…I’d say two more hits will do it.” Hearing that scared Ruby. The young leader was already weakened from the first attack. If she was hit one more time, that would be it. She wouldn’t even be strong enough to defend herself from the last attack. The former bodyguard also saw that from looking into her eyes. “Hell of a thing, isn’t it? I know you Huntsmen type people are used to putting your lives on the line. However, those Grimm beasts you lot fight are one thing. It’s different when you’re fighting against another person. It’s natural for those things attacking you. For people, there are three reasons for killing a person. One is doing your job. For example, my job was to kill anyone who’d get close to my client. It’s nothing personal and it was just business. The other is desire. A person wanting or needing to kill another. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do, they’ll kill you regardless. And you, girl, fit into the first one since you’re a target of interest.”

Ruby already knew what that meant. “And that brings to the third reason. It’s survival. If you don’t want to be killed, you have to kill. The thing is…can you kill another person? Killing monsters is easy. Killing another person, that can weigh a lot on some people. Can you handle that weight, kid? Akame, the girl that killed me, she did it without so much as batting an eye and I just dropped dead. It was just another kill in her book. She’s gotten used to it. Now, the question is, can you do that? The only way this’ll end is that either one of us goes down for good. And you’re already one foot in the grave.” Ruby hated to admit it, but he had a point. When fighting against Tyrian, he just wanted to capture her for Salem. Right now, her entire life was on the line. However, she also knew other lives were at stake. If she was killed, who knows who else would follow her. Her only response was spinning Crescent Rose around and set it in front of her, pointing at Holimaca. It’s like Wave told her. All it could take to end a life is one careless mistake. One hint of hesitation.

Leone roared as she swung her right arm at Gilberta with her claw out. The maid responded by kicking back at the attack. To Leone’s surprise, their attacks were equal. She growled and grabbed Gilberta’s leg with her other hand. The Faunus blonde spun her enemy around, but the maid kept her grin. She turned her body and delivered a kick to the side of Leone’s face. The attack resulted in Leone letting go of her opponent and being knocked to the floor. Gilberta just landed on the floor with her feet. Leone shook her head and stood up to face her enemy. She was not liking how this fight was turning out. _“How the hell does one damn maid give me more trouble than those Six Fang guys? All she did was just grope me!”_ The closest explanation Leone had was that her opponent had a power similar to Dorothea. It just wasn’t her strength Gilberta was matching. It was her reaction and speed as well. It was like her enemy had absorbed her abilities.

The Faunus blonde decided to pick up the pace. She slightly crouched and rushed at the maid. Leone immediately appeared right before her enemy and pulled her right arm back. She threw her attack forward, but Gilberta reacted by stepping to the side and the attack missed. The maid grabbed Leone’s arm and the Faunus blonde felt her strength leaving her. Gilberta kicked her opponent’s left leg and it forced Leone to take a knee. The maid then pulled back her arm and socked Leone at the side of her head to the floor. Leone groaned but regained focus. She used her new position to do a sweeping kick at the maid. The new tactic worked as it tripped Gilberta and she fell to the floor. Leone used the opportunity and stood up over her enemy. She pulled her right arm again and tried to stab her enemy while she was down. Gilberta wasn’t going let her do it and pulled both of her legs and kicked the Faunus girl away from her. Leone landed square on her back but managed to stand up again. She was becoming pissed off that the only thing standing between her and Akame was a damn maid. Twice, the Faunus blonde was grabbed, and already Leone felt weakened. And with her weakening, her enemy had become much stronger. However, Leone didn’t care about their difference in strength. All she needed was to get through Gilberta and get to Akame.

Outside the building, Esren screamed in pain as he slid across the ground. Once he stopped, the Huntsmen dropped to one knee and panted heavily. Esren felt the last of his aura fade away and looked straight at Esdeath. To put it shortly, she completely overwhelmed him. Their powers obviously canceled each other, but Esdeath obviously had the edge in close quarters combat. He had never seen anyone fight like her before. Her strength, speed, and reaction time were unlike any other. And her relentlessness didn’t make things easier for him. Esren hated to admit it, but he saw no way of him defeating the general. While he was exhausted from the fight, Esdeath seemed like she didn’t even break a sweat. In fact, Esren could tell she wasn’t even trying in their fight. The Huntsmen could see the disappointment in her eyes. “Is that all you have? How dull. And to think you’re supposed to be my father.”

There was that word again. No matter how long he looked at the general, the person in front of him was not his daughter. Esren slowly started to stand up. “If this is how you turned out to be, something must’ve gone seriously wrong in raising you.”

Esdeath saw the irony in his words. “Oh, you did nothing wrong to raise me. You taught me everything I needed to know about surviving. You even taught me your philosophy. The weak die, and the strong survive. Survival of the fittest. You even made an off-hand comment about the woman who gave birth to me. She died because she was weak, and then you died because you were weak. I still remember you being impaled on your back, courtesy of our rival tribe.”

Esren didn’t reply when she brought up his late wife. He couldn’t imagine how she’d react if she saw their daughter like this. What she’d become. _“Jacklyn…”_

**“Hagel Sprung!”** Both of them saw a giant ice ball appeared above Esdeath and began to drop on top of her. Esdeath didn’t seem too worried and just smiled. “How adorable.” She swung her sword overhead at the ice ball, and the force behind it split it in half.

Esren couldn’t believe what he just saw. _“She cut through that attack?”_ He thought such a feat would be impossible to do. As the two halves fell to the sides, the Huntsmen saw his chance. He instantly clasped his hands together. **“Marina-Felle!”** The two ice halves became water and closed in on Esdeath. She gave a disinterested expression before the water completely encapsulated her. Esren didn't hope much, but the attack should hold her for the time being. He turned to the side to see his actual daughter had arrived. How else would that attack had appeared? Obviously, he wasn't happy to see her here. "Esdeath, why are you here!? I thought I told you to stay with the Faunus! It's too dangerous here!"

Esdeath understood what her father told her to do, but she couldn’t bear the thought of her dad fighting alone. “I’d made sure the Faunus are alright. Once I did, I knew I needed to help you! I won’t let you fight her alone! I know we can beat her together!”

Esren highly doubted they could accomplish such a feat. The last thing he needed was his daughter being here. “Don’t be such a fool! This enemy is far too strong for you to handl-” Both Partas members heard an explosion and turned to the water trap Esdeath was in. They saw a cloud of ice dust sweeping away. Esren stared in disbelief that his water trap was destroyed so easily. _“That’s impossible. Marina-Felle puts enough pressure to render anyone incapable of doing anything. This woman…”_ They saw Esdeath still standing and remained unharmed. _“Is she even human?”_

Esdeath’s expression changed slightly after being trapped. She was…a little peeved. The general glanced at her younger self. She instantly thought of an idea and smiled.

“Little children such as you…” Esdeath bolted to where her younger half was and appeared in front of her. The younger Esdeath gasped and couldn’t react in time. Esdeath delivered a swift and powerful kick and sent R. Esdeath away from her. “Don’t belong on the battlefield!” The younger Esdeath tumbled across the ground before managing to stop. She had a hand on the ground and was her right knee. Once R. Esdeath stopped, she took a quick look at her older half, only to see her right in front with her right hand out in front. Esdeath smiled evilly letting out a blast of ice. In the next second, R. Esdeath was completely frozen solid.

Esren couldn’t tear his eyes away from what happened to his daughter. He could only stare in horror at what happened to her. “Esdeath!” In his moment of panic, Esdeath quickly bypassed him while her sword extended behind her. What happened next was blood spurting out from his left shoulder. He screamed loudly out in pain before feeling a deep stab through his right shoulder. Esren looked back to see Esdeath behind him. She pulled her sword out and Esren fell backward the ground. Pain coursed through his body saw Esdeath standing over him. He could only glare at the general out of anger. His worry for his daughter outweighed his pain. “You…bitch! What did you do to my daughter!?”

Esdeath was enjoying how her own father was acting. It was almost adorable to her. “I simply froze her solid. Don’t worry, she still has her senses such as sight, but it’s for one purpose only.” She removed her sword and then slashed her father across the chest with it. Esren screamed more which was music to Esdeath’s ears. “To make her see herself killing her own father!” She delivered another slash at her father’s chest. “And I’ll make sure to do it nice and slow, one slash at a time! Maybe a stab here and there as well. I don’t plan on giving you a quick, painless death!” The general gave Esren a few more slashes across his body. Esren screamed in pain each time it happened. Esdeath was laughing happily she was doing this to her father. “I must say, I never thought I’d be doing this to my own father! It’s quite exhilarating I must say!” She continued to slash away at her father.

From afar, the younger Esdeath couldn’t do anything but watch helplessly inside a block of ice. It wasn’t just watching. She could also hear the screams of pain her father was yelling out. R. Esdeath had never heard her father like this before. He was always like a hero to her. Her protector. And that very same protector was lying helpless on the ground, being cut apart by her own evil apparition.

**Insert Akame Ga Kill OST Le Change De Roma**

_“Father…Father, no. This can’t be happening. You can’t…you can’t…”_ Memories of her and her father began to flood through her mind. Ever since she could remember, her father was always there for her. Her mother, gone during her infancy and only her father remained to raise her as a single father. He was the one who gave her the courage to push through. He was the one that made Esdeath decide to become a Huntress. It was him who gave her everything she could’ve asked for. And that very same person, that same hero she’d looked up to, could be taken away from her at any moment now. All she could do now was just watch her father writhe in pain and hear his cries. More of those memories began to overflow her mind and could feel her heartbeat quicken. Out of all the memories, one stuck out. She remembered the day her father took her hunting and encountered Major Ursa. The only recollection she had was seeing that Grimm and waking up in her bed. She saw her father and ran up to him for a hug. At that moment, they felt a sudden chill and wondered what it was. Her father figured her semblance had awakened. At first, it was exciting, but then it turned out to be more of a curse. Her power made her isolated from the others and kept their distance away from her. Even at times like that, her father always comforted her in her time of need. One other memory she remembered is when she was making her bed and found something strange. _“When I was cleaning my room, I found something. It was small, like a pebble. An ice pebble and it was incredibly beautiful with its bright shiny blue hue. The strange thing is, I could never recreate that beautiful blue ice again.”_ Her heartbeat raced madly until it came to a complete stop. At that single moment, her eyes brightly flashed. _“FATHER!!!”_

After leaving another bloody slash, Esdeath marveled at her handiwork. Multiple slash wounds across the body, but her father was still alive. However, she felt like now was the time to end it. The general pointed her sword at him. “Well, it’s been fun, father, but our time together is now done. It was good seeing you again.” All Esren could do was stare at his inevitable end. Esdeath smiled gleefully. “Farewel-” A loud explosion occurred before she could deliver the final blow. The general turned around to see what it was, only to see multiple rows of ice headed toward her. Esdeath jumped to the side out of the path to avoid them. Esren used the last of his strength to roll away from the ice before they could hit him. Judging from the direction the ice came from, Esdeath figured who’d done it. _"How? How did that brat manage to break through my ice?"_ There was also another distinction of the ice Esdeath noticed. _“Is that…blue ice?”_ Not a second after, strong winds began to blow through her and everywhere. She knew instantly something wasn’t right. “What is happening!?”

The others noticed the wind blowing strongly through them and thought it was strange. What was weirder was that clouds formed over them and began to darken as they swirled together. Rumblings could be heard, and multiple lightning strikes occurred all over the campus. R. Kurome momentarily stopped fighting her doubles dolls and asked the question everyone else was thinking. “What the hell is up with this weather?!”

Taeko also paused for a moment as she sensed something strange. _“What is this? I’ve…never felt an aura this powerful. It’s…unlike anything else I felt from before.”_

This didn’t go unnoticed for the group fighting inside the building. It caught the attention of Hazel and the others. It also grabbed Qrow’s attention and it seemed somewhat familiar to him. _“This power…it can’t be…there’s no way.”_

Esdeath looked ahead at where her younger self was. She sensed something was different about her. More precisely, her aura. _“What happened to her aura? It’s completely different than what it was from before!”_ One thing was for certain, the general knew her younger self was responsible for whatever was happening. 

The younger Esdeath was panting heavily as her head was lowered. As of now, only one thing was on her mind. “I won’t let you kill him.” She took a step forward to her older half. “I won’t let you kill my father.” She took another step forward. “I won’t let you kill my family!” She lifted her head and glared furiously at Esdeath with tears rolling out of her eyes. “DO YOU HEAR ME, ESDEATH!” At that moment of anger, flames spontaneously flared from her eyes.

Esren couldn’t help but stare at what happened to his daughter. All he could do was close his eyes and look away in shame. _“Jacklyn…I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep your promise.”_

There was no doubt, Qrow knew what this was, and he could only think of one person who could possibly do this. He’s had his suspicions, but now there was undeniable proof. _“So, that’s the real reason you came here, Esren. You knew your daughter was a Maiden this whole time.”_


	76. Awakened Once Again

**A/N: Right, if any of you are wondering if I’m going to put in the Raven vs Cinder battle, I’m not. I’d like to keep my sanity in check, thank you very much. (That and everything else I’ve done recently in this Vol has been a frigging toll.) So, think of this fight as a substitute for that. Also, I was already aware of the changes I’ll have to make for when the actual Winter Maiden makes in an appearance. Worst case scenario: I’ll just make my own version of Vol 6. Not to mention I remember some reviewers wanting me to change things up a little in the canon story. Well, here you all go. That, and you can thank a past reviewer for giving me the idea. I may not have finished the current Vol before Vol 6 arrived, but at least I was able to get this chapter out before it premiered. At least on RT’s website.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Akame Ga Kill and/or RWBY. They belong to their original owners. The OCs that appear here belong to me.

A New Beginning: Vol Four

Kill Seventy Six: Awakened Once Again

Soft coos could be heard in a small child’s room. A young girl, no more at the age of five, opened her eyes and saw the ceiling above. She sat up and seemed confused. “It’s my room. Why am I in my room? I thought I was outside with-” She heard the door open and turned to see someone she recognized. “Daddy?”

Her father smiled as he was happy his daughter was awake. “Well, good morning, Esdeath. How did you sleep?” Esren walked over to Esdeath’s bed.

Esdeath tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Sleep? I was sleeping? But…why was I…” She gasped as her eyes widened in realization. Young Esdeath remembered a powerful memory. She remembered tracking some game with her father and went ahead of him. He called out to her to be careful. Esdeath caught up with their game, but also stumbled across a Major Ursa.

She became deathly afraid and only remembered her father calling out her name. _“ESDEATH!”_ The young child screamed at the memory. Esren quickly wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her. He wanted her to calm down and know that things were okay. It seemed to work since Esdeath stopped screaming. Esren stroked the top of her head and shushed at her. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re not hurt.”

Esdeath breathed heavily but seemed to gain back control over it. She looked over at her father innocently. “Daddy…what happened to the scary bear?”

Esren chuckled and smiled sweetly at his only daughter. “The scary bear is gone. Don’t worry. I didn’t think we’d run into a Grimm. I’m sorry, Esdeath.”

His daughter closed her eyes and shook her head while smiling. She stopped and opened her eyes to her father. “It’s okay because I have the best daddy in the whole wide world!” Esdeath giggled happily as she gave her father a big hug in return.

What happened next was that cold gust of wind just appeared out of nowhere. It was a surprise to the both of them and they separated. Esren wasn’t sure what happened. “Esdeath, what…did you do?”

Esdeath herself didn’t know and looked at her hands. She heard a small noise coming from them and saw some vapor emitting from them. Naturally, she was freaking out. “Daddy, what’s happening to me!?”

Esren seemed to be a little worried as well and held his daughter’s hands. “Calm down.” Esdeath did just that and stopped freaking out. “Now, I want you to open your hands and close your eyes. Concentrate. Think of something and it can be anything that comes to your mind.” Esdeath what she was told and closed her eyes. She opened her hands and thought of the first thing that came to her mind. In the next moment, an ice snowflake appeared. Esdeath opened her eyes and saw what she’d done. She smiled brightly at what she created. “Daddy, look! It’s so pretty!”

Her father nodded and smiled at his daughter. “Yes, it is. Let me take a closer look at it.” He inspected the snowflake carefully. To his relief, it wasn't what he thought it was. _“It’s not blue ice. It’s not the power I saw before.”_ He remembered what happened yesterday during their hunting trip. As soon as he saw the Major Ursa, he tried to save his daughter. However, what happened was something he didn’t expect to see so soon. He heard his daughter scream and was blown back by a powerful gust of wind. The Huntsmen landed on the ground on his back and groaned. He set himself back and gasped at the sight before him. The Major Ursa before Esdeath was completely frozen solid in blue ice. It wasn’t just the Grimm, but there were waves of blue ice around and behind it. What frightened him the most was seeing flames coming out of his daughter’s eyes. The fateful day he dreaded had finally come. He couldn’t help but yell out her name. “ESDEATH!!!” Esdeath gasped as she heard her father calling out to her. The flames dissipated and began to sway back and forth. Esren quickly stood up and ran to his daughter. He managed to catch her before she fell backward. The Huntsmen inspected Esdeath closely and saw that she passed out. Esren let out a sigh of relief but he knew what this meant. From this day forward, his daughter would never live a normal life.

Or so he thought. The snowflake wasn’t made of the blue ice he saw before. It was strange, but Esren was actually glad it didn’t happen. It meant his daughter still had a chance. “Daddy…” Esren looked at his daughter and saw she was scared. “You have a really scary face. Is it bad?”

Esren just chuckled and smiled at his daughter. “No. In fact, it’s great. Esdeath, from what I can gather, your semblance has awakened.”

Esdeath just blinked a few times in confusion. "Semblance?”

Her father nodded in confirmation. “Yes. Think of it as your very own power. It's just like what I can do with water, and there are many kinds of it. And from the looks of it, you can use ice. It can be very powerful when mastered. In fact, believe it or not, it’s that very same power that saved you from the scary bear. It awakened just in time in your hour of need.” It wasn’t technically a lie. At least to Esren, it wasn’t.

His daughter seemed enthralled by hearing that. It seemed like she had the best of luck when her father told her that. “Really?! I did that?! So, does that mean you can use power on my ice?”

Esren loved how his daughter was reacting. "Yeah, I can. I'm pretty sure we could make a good team." Esdeath was overjoyed to hear that. She thought they'd be the ultimate team and be unstoppable. It was a dream she now longed for. "Now then…" He stood up from the bed and continued to smile at Esdeath. "How about I make you your favorite lunch? Think of it as a celebration.”

Esdeath was both happy and surprised to hear that. “Lunch? Does that mean missed breakfast?”

Her father chuckled again. “Something like that. You were out of a whole week. that means you’ll get a double serving. Maybe more. I’ll go prepare it now. You can help me once you make your bed.”

Esdeath found that almost unbelievable. She was asleep for a whole week? Now that the young girl heard about it, her stomach growled loudly. It was a sure sign Esdeath was very hungry. She smiled brightly at her father. “Okay!” Her father took one last look at his daughter and left the room. As soon as he was gone, the young Esdeath tossed the covers aside. As she did, something fell out from the side to the floor. Esdeath wondered what it was and jumped down from the bed. She looked down and saw something unusual. “What’s that?” She crouched down and picked up the small item. From the look of it, it seemed to be a small pebble. However, it felt very cold and it had a bright blue hue. Esdeath was instantly entranced by it and smiled. “Wow! It’s so pretty!”

In the kitchen, Esren started the stove and placed a pan on top of one of the burners. While preparing lunch, he thought back to the strange circumstances that had occurred. _“I don’t know what happened, but it looks like Esdeath doesn’t remember what she did. Is that why the ice is normal and not blue? If so, does that mean her maiden powers are dormant once again? Is that even possible? It’d certainly explained why the ice looks normal. Could it be that…it was simply too much for her to handle?”_ These questions seemed like they would be unanswered for some time. However, there was one thing Esren was certain of. _“Whatever the case, it seems there is a connection between her not remembering and her powers not being active now. I don’t know if I should be happy about that.”_

His thoughts then began to focus on what his late wife said to him just around when Esdeath was close to being born. _"Esren. When our daughter comes into this world, I want you to protect her. It is inevitable her powers will awaken and once they do, her life will never be the same. Raise her the best you can. Teach her. And most of all...tell her that…her mother loved her very much to the end.”_

It was at that moment, Esren would do everything in his power to honor his late wife’s last wish. _“Jacklyn. I promised you I'll look after our daughter. Esdeath is the only reminder I have of you. I still remember when we first met. How I found you wandering through the woods when I was hunting and took you in. Little did I know you would be the greatest thing to have ever happened to me and…told me about the terrible responsibility you were forced to carry. I will make sure nothing terrible will happen to her again.”_ Even with that said, there was one thing Esren feared now. Esdeath had awakened her power once and it seemed she cannot do so again. The question now was…when would her maiden powers awaken once again?

_F_

**Insert Fairy Tail OST: Dragon King**

Rage. It was one of two things Esdeath was feeling within right now. The other was some strange and yet familiar power coursing through every fiber of her body. She had never felt so much power. It was…almost overwhelming to her. Burning, exactly. Esdeath was panting heavily just from just keeping this mysterious power inside of her. She didn’t know what was happening, or what it meant, but there was one thing she did know. Esdeath was going to use this power to stop her otherworld counterpart for good.

Speaking of her counterpart, General Esdeath was still puzzled as to what her younger self had done. _“What’s happened to her aura? It feels completely different from before. What the hell did she just do?”_ Despite this unknown development coming from her younger counterpart, the General couldn’t help but smile gleefully at what she’d achieved.  “So, there is something interesting about you after all! And here I thought you were just unremarkable! Tell me, girl; do you really think you now stand a chance against me with this newfound power of yours?!” The younger Esdeath responded by narrowing her eyes and the flames intensifying. That was the answer the General was hoping for. This was too good of an opportunity for her to pass up. Fighting her own father was one thing, but fighting a younger version of herself who had awakened some unknown mysterious power? She saw this as a golden opportunity. In more ways than one. _“Sorry, Akame. It looks like I’ll have to be a little rougher with this girl. I want to see what she’s capable of. I want to test her limits!”_

**Insert Fairy Tail OST: Silver Raid**

The General raised her left hand and chuckled ominously. **“Walzer der Zorn des Winters!”** A powerful blizzard erupted from Esdeath and it surrounded the entire campus.

Everyone in the vicinity felt the raging cold winds. Especially for the people fighting inside the building. Chelsea thought this was getting ridiculous now. “Okay, can we not have this right now!”

Even the Faunus group away from the campus was hit by the blizzard. Kay shivered severely at the sudden drop of temperature. “THIS IS WHY I HATE THE COLD!”

Blake and Ilia became exhausted fighting Zanku. At this point, Blake’s aura had given out from taking all the headhunter’s attacks. Even when using her semblance, Zanku was relentless with his attacks. Ilia shivered terribly as she fell to one knee and her eyes closed tightly. Her choice of clothing wasn’t exactly suited for cold weather. “Cold…it’s so…cold…”

Blake turned to her as she was worried for her friend. “Ilia!” She heard Zanku laugh and charged straight at the chameleon girl. Her first instinct was run to the other Faunus girl before their enemy could reach her.

Ilia was breathing heavily as her body temperature was dropping from the bitter cold. She didn’t know how much longer she could last. Apparently, not much longer as Zanku near her and laughed at his chance. Ilia heard his laugh and opened her eyes to see him right in front of her. Ilia couldn’t move as she was paralyzed with fear. All she could do was stare into Zanku’s crazed eyes. Zanku yelled as he swung his weapon at her and the next thing Ilia saw was blood. However, it wasn’t her blood. She stared in horror as Blake got in between her and Zanku’s attack. The Faunus girl was able to make it to her friend and grabbed her with her right arm to move away from their enemy. But, in doing so, Blake took the full brunt of Zanku’s attack at her left shoulder. Both girls tumbled away from Zanku and Ilia removed herself to look at Blake’s injury. The wound looked deep and the wound looked worse. Ilia was having a panic attack now that she the severity of her friend’s condition. “BLAKE!”

General Esdeath laughed maniacally at her work. With the ice storm surrounding Mistral and a blizzard blowing through the campus, it was almost perfect to her. Almost. Still, she was having fun. The General lowered her hand and gave her younger self her full attention. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I can use one of your techniques! The answer’s simple! I watched you from within! From within Akame! All of us did! We are the sins that resided inside of her! Everything she knows, everything she’s seen, we know them as well! That includes this!” She held her sword out in front. Large hailstones appeared from both sides of her. **“Hölle Hagel!”** The hailstones were propelled straight at the younger Esdeath. The awakened maiden responded by both her arms up and a wall of intense fire appeared before her. The hailstones melted when they approached the firewall. General Esdeath was quite impressed with what she saw. “I must say, I’m not used to seeing myself utilizing fire.” Her next move was extending her left hand and closed it tightly. **“Große Schlucht!”** Two giant ice walls appeared off the sides of her opponent and closed in on the younger counterpart.

Esdeath’s response was spreading her arms and her own blue ice walls erupted from the ground. The walls protected her from her otherworld counterpart’s attack. The General was mildly impressed at the tactic. _“They say blue ice is the purest and strongest form of ice. Add the aura she’s applying to that ice, and you can consider it almost impenetrable.”_ She loved the idea of that alone. “Let’s see how strong your blue ice is, girl!” General Esdeath slammed both her hands on the ground. **“Gletscherwelle!”** Waves of ice emerged from the ground and headed straight to the younger Esdeath.

Esdeath saw the attack coming at her and copied her counterpart’s action. She slammed her right hand on the ground and waves of blue ice traveled directly at Esdeath’s attack. Both ice waves collided with each other and both built up drastically one section at a time. It wasn’t long before Esdeath’s ice started to overcome her otherworld self’s and completely took it over. Now the blue ice was coming at the General, she continued to smile and jumped into the air to avoid the attack. The older Esdeath pointed her right finger at her younger self. Multiple icicles formed around her, and they were all pointed at Esdeath. **“Weiss Schenbal!”** She sent the icicles right at her younger counterpart. Esdeath saw the attack coming again and yelled as she swept right hand across. Fire erupted furiously out following her palm. Like before, the fire melted the icicles before they could reach Esdeath. The General created an ice pillar to stand on to further observe her opponent. The younger one slightly crouched down and then took off straight at her older counterpart. She created two ice swords once she was halfway. General Esdeath chuckled at the sight. “So, we’re getting up close and personal, are we!?” She jumped off her ice pillar and headed toward her younger self. They both swung their swords together when they met in the center. There was a loud clanging noise from the clash that echoed throughout the area. As General Esdeath suspected, the aura running through her younger self’s ice has strengthened them considerably. However, having strengthened weapons wasn’t enough to overtake her.

The older Esdeath put more of her power behind her attack and sent her younger self crashing back the ground. She landed on the ground as well and saw her opponent struggling to stand up. The General pointed her sword above her younger self. **“Hagel Sprung!”** A giant ice ball appeared above Esdeath and she looked up and gasped. She rolled to the left to avoid the attack as the ice ball fell. The younger Esdeath stopped and slammed her right hand on the ground again. She yelled as multiple lightning strikes came down violently from the sky. They traveled from her all the way to the General. It was certainly an impressive show, but she wasn’t worried. The General dashed at her younger self while dodging the lightning strikes. She easily reached her younger counterpart and was in front of her. Esdeath gasped as the General suddenly disappeared. The next thing she knew, the awakened maiden felt a strong, sharp slash going diagonally across her back. Esdeath stumbled forward before turning around. Only to be struck at the right side of her face by a sword’s handle. After that, she was struck in the stomach by a powerful kick and was sent away.

Esdeath tumbled across the ground before regaining her balance and stood up. However, as soon as she did, the maiden felt another strong slash going across her body. After that, she felt a multitude of slashes occurring all over and around her body. It was all the General’s doing. She delivered one slash while passing through her younger self and then quickly turned around to deliver the next one. All of this while going in different directions all around her. This went on for a least several more seconds before the General delivered her last attack on her younger self. Her back was turned to the maiden before turning around to see Esdeath on both her hands and one knee. She certainly was impressed by the strength of her aura. By now, any other person would’ve been bloodied and writhing in pain. Still, she expected more out of her. “Is this the extent of your power?! How pitiful! And to think I thought you were something special! Maybe I should direct my focus on something else. Perhaps that girl you like.” Esdeath gasped when she heard that and lifted her head to look at her older self. That was the expression the General was hoping to see. “Yes. I know about your little crush on her. What was her name? Ruby Rose, was it? Yes, I remember seeing her when I walked into that building. I could just see the pure innocence residing inside of her. Inside her eyes. And how much I would enjoy seeing that very same innocence fading away in her eyes. Her own blood pooling around her near lifeless body! I can't decide if I should just do it quickly to see the look on her face or take my time carving her every inch of her body. I'm sure she'd made some wonderful sounds as I skin her alive!”

The maiden couldn’t help but envision that very scenario. Her first thought was seeing the General stabbing Ruby through the heart and take in the look of fear and death she had while staring at her. She would then pull her sword out and then swiping it across her throat as blood dripped out from it. Her other thought was seeing Ruby bound in chains, bare naked, and her body blooded by what the General had done. She saw her cutting more pieces of her skin apart while Ruby screamed in pain and terror. The General thought to push her more. Over the edge, if possible. “I JUST WON’T STOP AT THE GIRL! I’LL KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE! RUBY, YOUR FATHER, YOUR FRIENDS, THOSE PEOPLE WITH ANIMAL TRAITS! I'LL MAKE IT INTO AN ENTIRE MASSACRE! IF YOU WANT TO STOP ME, THEN YOU KNOW THERE’S ONLY WAY TO DO IT!”

Esdeath closed her eyes tightly. Her counterpart was right. There was only one way to stop her, but she didn’t know if she couldn’t do it. Regardless, she wouldn’t know if she didn’t try. The maiden opened her eyes and flames intensified more. Esdeath yelled powerfully as she stood up. “I WON’T LET YOU HURT RUBY! I WON’T LET YOU HURT MY FRIENDS! I WON’T LET YOU HURT MY FAMILY!” She created another two blue ice swords and grasped them tightly.

The General pointed her own sword at her younger self. “THEN PROVE IT!” Both propelled at each other and had their swords pulled back. They swung their swords forward and clashed once again. This time, Esdeath was putting everything she had and a little extra too. The General felt a strong electric shock coursing through her arms. She figured out what her younger self was doing. _“She’s having electricity running through her swords?”_ The surprise shock lessened the General’s strength slightly, and Esdeath used it to her advantage. She used both her swords to lift her older counterpart’s sword and instantly closed in.

Esdeath swung both her swords at the General and bypassed her. Two long arches of ice appeared a second after where she had slashed her. **“GEFRIERSCHLEIFEN!”** She quickly turned around and pointed her right sword at her enemy. **“ARKTISCHER RASH!”** Multiple blue ice spikes sprouted out of the ground and were traveling to where the General was. The result also had her drop her sword. The older Esdeath turned around to see the attack coming at her. She shook off the previous attack and jumped to avoid the next one. The attack missed her, and the General landed on one of the tips of the spikes.

The older Esdeath spread her arms and then crossed them. **“KALT MAHLSTROM!”** A violent vortex of snow and ice surrounded Esdeath. She narrowed her eyes glaringly in the position her younger self was in. “YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T BEAT ME! YOU’RE NOTHING MORE THAN A WEAK LITTLE GIRL USING SIMPLE MAGIC TRICKS!” Her response was the vortex being immediately destroyed and Esdeath floating in midair. The sight of it made the General cackle wildly. “NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!”

The maiden placed her hands in front of her and multiple icicles appeared around. A little something extra added was lightning striking the icicles and they became charged. **“WEISS SCHENBAL!”**

All the icicles were sent hurdling at the General. She responded by placing her left hand forward and closed it tightly. **“GROßER SCHLUCHT!”** Two giant ice walls appeared from the side and closed right in front of the General. The icicles were embedded into the wall instead of hitting their target. The older Esdeath opened her hand again toward the ice wall. **“GRAU HORN!”** Out of the wall were multiple ice spears emerging from the wall and headed toward Esdeath. The maiden flew over the attacks to avoid them and over the wall to the other side. As she arrived at the other side of the wall, the maiden turned around, only to be kicked by the chin with a rising knee kick. The older Esdeath then performed a front flip and kicked Esdeath’s straight at the top of her head. The attack sent the maiden crashing back down to the ground. The General landed back on the ice spike, pulled her right arm back and swung it across. **“GEFRORENE MISERY!”** A large swirling wave of ice appeared and rushed toward the maiden. Esdeath couldn’t counter in time and the wave consumed her. The ice wave ran for several seconds before subsiding. What was left was a struggling Esdeath on the ground and her aura had finally reached its limit. The General observed her younger self closely. “IT TOOK AKAME EVERYTHING SHE HAD TO KILL ME AND MORE! AND THAT WAS JUST USING MURASAME! DO YOU HONESTLY THINK YOU CAN ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULT!?”

Esdeath closed her eyes as she struggled to stand up. She hated to admit it, but her vicious counterpart was right. Even with this new power, the maiden could barely match her older self. Not to mention she learned some of her other attacks. How can she accomplish the same thing Akame did? What can she do to defeat her? _"Esdeath's Imperial Arms didn't have a trump card at first but had done the impossible and created one of her own and it was freezing time. It was this ability that made her more powerful than before."_

The maiden gasped as she opened her eyes and realized what her mind came across. _“Freezing time. That’s it! If I can do that, it’ll surely give me the win. But, can I really do that?”_ An idea came to her and realized something. She started to stand up and formulate her end game. _“My semblance may not be strong enough to do it, but maybe this new power can. Or perhaps…”_ She noticed the raging blizzard the General had created and remembered the ice storm surrounding Mistral. _“I can use this power to use hers to my advantage!”_ She turned around to face the General and smiled at her.

The older Esdeath found it strange her younger counterpart was smiling. “And what’s that smile for? Have you finally cracked and accepted your fate?!” The maiden continued to smile as she spread her arms far apart and began her plan. The blizzard surrounding them suddenly changed its behavior and began blowing toward Esdeath’s direction. It began to circle around her arms and the ice storm surrounding Mistral followed similarly. The General had never seen anything like this. She didn’t even understand what was going on. “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?”

**Insert Akame Ga Kill 08 OST 2: Akame vs Esdeath**

Esdeath continued to smile at her older counterpart. She knew how dangerous this was, but it was the only way to defeat the General. “Sometimes, strength isn’t the only thing you need to survive!”

The older Esdeath didn’t understand what she meant by that. What could it be that her enemy was planning? Well, no matter it was, she would put a stop to it. The General summoned a single icicle next to her and pointed it at her younger self. “You think I’ll allow you to execute whatever sorry plan you have, you’re sorely mistaken!” She pointed her finger at the maiden and it propelled itself right at her.

The maiden saw it coming and created an icicle of her own. She sent it as a retaliation and the two collided with each other. It ended in a draw, but in creating an icicle, Esdeath's gathering lessened for a moment. She knew it was risky doing this in front of the General, but it was worse than she realized. _“I thought so. I can’t gather enough power and defend myself at the same time. At least, not for long. I’ll just have to hold out for as long as I can.”_

Unfortunately for Esdeath, her older counterpart summoned more icicles around her. She gasped in fear as she couldn’t repel all of them. If she did, the maiden would have to start all over, and her enemy wouldn’t give her that next chance. **“TOR VON ATLANTIS!”** A large pillar of water erupted from underneath the General and it caused the icicles to disappear.

Esdeath was surprised as well and turned her attention to the side to see the one who did the surprise attack. “Father?!”

Esren panted heavily as he stood from the side. Come hell or highway, he’ll do whatever it’ll take to help his daughter to take down her enemy. Speaking of the General, the water pillar froze and then was destroyed as she yelled. She turned her attention to her father. “You’re still here!?”

The Huntsmen glared at her and wasn’t fazed by her. “If you think I’ll allow you to kill my daughter, you’re wrong! You’re just not fighting her! You’re fighting the both of us! The strongest team there is!”

His words rang something deep in the General’s mind. Something from her days with her father. _“Ha ha! Father, we make a pretty good team, huh?”_

Her father chuckled as he rubbed her head. _“Of course. With us working together, we’re the strongest team there is.”_

 **“AQUA HYDRA!”** A giant water dragon with multiple heads appeared behind Esren and they all roared at the General. All of them attacked the General at once. She responded by holding her right hand forward and freezing all the heads at once. Esren didn’t let up as he summoned another large water dragon surrounding him. **“DRACHE DES WASSER-DRACHENS”** The dragon roared as it charged straight at the General quickly. This time, she couldn’t react in time and the dragon swallowed her whole and swept her away. Esren knew his attack wouldn’t hold her for long. The only thing he could do was hope for whatever plan his daughter had in plan. “ESDEATH! WHATEVER YOU’RE GOING TO DO, DO IT NOW!”

The maiden was already planning on executing her plan. She just needed a few more seconds. Esdeath could already feel the power swelling drastically inside of her. Those few seconds would mean the difference between victory and death for both of them. Unfortunately for them, the water dragon froze over and was destroyed instantly. This fight had gone on long enough for her and needed it for it to end. “I DON’T THINK SO! I’LL STOP YOU BOTH BEFORE YOU CAN FINISH WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE PLANNING!” She brought her hands close together and kept them slightly opened. A bright light could be seen in the middle. **“MAHAPA-!”** A strong sensation went straight through the General and stopped her technique. She was given a powerful reminder and the light within her hands faded away. _“No, I can’t.”_

Whatever made the older Esdeath hesitate, the maiden used this chance to gather as much of her power as she could. It seemed to do the trick as she felt something powerful raging inside of her. She realized that it was time to execute her plan. _“NOW!”_ Esdeath brought her hands together with them open and a bright light formed. She yelled loudly as the light within her hands glowed brighter until it erupted and everything was consumed by its overwhelming flash.

**Insert Akame Ga Kill OST 37: Esdeath no Unmei**

Esdeath gasped as she realized something was off. Everything around was silent and was standing still. Her father didn’t and neither did the weather. Even the General was standing motionlessly. It quickly dawned on her that she had done the impossible. Esdeath was finally able to stop time on her own. As much as the maiden wanted to celebrate in accomplishing such a thing, she knew there wasn’t much time. She didn’t know how long it would last and had to act fast. Esdeath created another blue ice sword and steeled herself for what she was about to do. She pointed her sword at her older counterpart and launched herself right at her. As Esdeath came ever so close to her enemy, time started to move forward again. As it did, the older Esdeath began to realize what had happened to her. She also saw her younger self coming right at her. All the General could do was simply smile. As soon as time returned to normal, Esdeath already managed to stab her enemy right through her body.

It took Esren a moment to realize what had happened. At one moment, he saw his daughter standing and gathering, and the next, he saw her stab their enemy. He couldn't make sense of what happened. _“Esdeath…what did you do?”_

The older Esdeath coughed out blood and some dripped from her mouth. She couldn’t help but laugh weakly at what happened. “So, that’s what…you were planning. To think…you were able to use my trump card, Mahapadma. You may not be…as experienced as I was when I was your age, but you are most definitely…stronger than I was at your age.” She looked directly at the maiden and cupped her cheek gently. The General gave her younger self one last confident smile. “I wonder… how far you’ll go? That’s something…I’m looking forward to seeing…deliciously.” Those were the last words the older Esdeath had spoken before her body reddened and then dissipated into several strands of dark red energy. The strands didn’t stay long as they retreated to whence they came from.

**End OST**

The strands of dark red energy arrived at the building and returned inside of Akame. This was enough to gain Merraid’s attention from her fight against Qrow. _“What!? One of Akame’s manifestations was defeated?! How!?”_

Qrow had noticed it as well and could only take it as good news. _“So, those things can be defeated. I have a feeling it was that girl who did it. The only question is how?”_ As prior to the General’s defeat, the blizzard had lessened and then disappeared. Not only the blizzard but the ice storm as well. It began to lose power and slowly started to scatter about. This phenomenon confused the Mistral Police and the citizens, but nonetheless glad it was over. Still, they wondered what could've happened for the storm to go away. Even if the storm went away, the Mistral Police still had to be wary of any Grimm heading toward the city.

Esdeath dropped her sword and the flames coming out of her eyes faded away. She felt terribly exhausted after obtaining her victory. Her body began to sway to and fro until she started to fall backward. As the maiden did, Esren managed to catch her. “I got ya.” He managed to set her down and sat on the ground.

His daughter managed to look up and smiled weakly at him. “Father…are you…okay?” Esdeath closed her eyes as she passed out.

The Huntsmen sniff as he came close to tears. He hugged his daughter close to him. “Esdeath…I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.” Now that her maiden powers have awakened once more, he had to explain everything to her. Not right now, of course. Just until this whole ordeal was over. While holding his daughter close to him, Esren heard footsteps approaching from behind and looked back. He gasped at who it was. “It’s you…”

The person the Huntsman saw as none other than Ghira. He came to see what help he could give, but it seemed it wasn’t necessary. The blizzard going away was proof of that. He saw Esren holding his unconscious daughter. He managed to figure out what had happened. “I assume your daughter was the one who defeated that…woman?”

Esren nodded at the question. He still didn’t know how his daughter did it, but she managed to defeat a very terrifying foe. “Yeah, she did. I don’t know how or what she did, but she found a way.”

Ghira would have to believe that. He was just grateful that terror of a human was finally gone. As far as he knew, she was the most dangerous being he had ever encountered. The Chieftain could think of one way to repay her. “Take her back to my people. I believe it’s best for her to recover there. She appears to be in no shape for another battle. And from the looks of it, neither are you.” Esren had to agree his body was still in pain after what General Esdeath had done to him. As of now, there wasn’t anything he and his daughter could do now. All he could do now was have faith in his comrades.

The Huntsmen picked up his daughter and carried her princess style. He looked at the Chieftain with trusting eyes. “Lead the way.” Ghira nodded as he turned around and started to guide Esren back to his group. With General Esdeath defeated, this war was one step closer to ending.


End file.
